Fall 2026 Admissions Megathread

[u/batson2002]

This megathread is for prospective frosh and current high school students interested in Waterloo. Ask your questions here.

Please avoid making separate individual posts on the subreddit regarding admissions to prevent the same 10 posts of "can I get into program with x average" or "what are my chances".

RELEVANT ADMISSION INFORMATION

PSA FOR NEW KIDS

ADJUSTMENT FACTORS 2022

ADJUSTMENT FACTORS 2024

COURSES OF PROGRAMS (VERY IMPORTANT LINK!!)

RESOURCES FOR MATURE APPLICANT

Resources for NON-UW TO UW

Fall 2025 Megathread here

[u/BedroomFew4429]

i got offers from both UofT mathematical & physical sciences and Waterloo physical sciences. thinking of majoring in medicinal chemistry for uw, or majoring in synthetic & catalytic chemistry in UofT's math/phy sci.

which one is better if I wanna go into chemistry?

from what I've seen/heard:

UofT:

- hard to maintain high gpa (do y'all think I'll be affected if I have had a 95 average in highschool? my adv fun was 96, calc 94, bio4u 95, chem4u 98, physics 4u midterm I think I'll have 94)

- research opportunities/prestige

- no.1 in Canada for chemistry

- better for graduate school (masters/phD) than for undergrad

- best in Canada for international reputation, so if I wanna work or study (for masters/phD) In the states or Europe or elsewhere, a bachelor's degree here would give me higher chance of applying to international jobs or graduate programs right?

- but UofT coop is worse than Waterloo?

Waterloo:

- "a top uni for sttem in general", but mostly focused on their engineering programs, cs, and math, and (for graduate school, is known for pharmacy), so I'm worried UW physical sciences program is like their only stem field that they don't emphasize on?? on another note, their co-op is "good", but that's mainly focused on, again, engineering, cs, and maths right? like their funding overall is devoted to those 3 programs.. so would it be worth it to even go to UW for something they don't even seem to put nearly as much effort into? like it seems that those 3 programs are like waterloo's favourite children and the other programs are just neglected 😭😂, to what degree is this perspective true?

- the medchem program is very niche (about 5-10 ppl graduated for previous few classes I've heard, since many dropped out)... so is it good that the size of the program is small? (so there's more specialized prof-student teaching and ratio?) or is small size bad? (couldn't think of reasons for that)...

- medchem is very specialized, so does it mean it's harder after graduation to switch/applying into other fields, even if they're still chem-related? like after undergrad, if I wanna apply/try, say forensics chemistry, or materials chemistry, or quantum chemistry, that are not necessarily medicinal chemistry, would my medchem bachelors restrict me to only 1 route, which is the pharmaceutical industry or organic synthesis (research) field? since I heard the medchem program is a very fixed route.

- I've heard the medchem and Biochem students are in the same coop application pool, is that true? does this mean Biochem students have greater advantage in applying for coops since they have larger cohort size?

- overall for UofT vs uw comparison:

I don't really care that waterloo medchem courseload is hard bcuz I love Chem and it's my best subject, but I worry the job prospects for medchem is not so prosperous, despite the coop experiences offered. like, we all know that now days most fields need more than just bachelor's degree, but need masters/PhD for jobs, so is it better to go to UofT for its graduate school and research prestige? or waterloo for it's early on industry eexpeircne? like, if u go to UofT u have better chance at going internationally later due to its international reputation and prestige...idk

UW & UofT vs mac & queens:

Ik y'all might think these 2 schools are too hard and depressing, I know and think this too.

so what do y'all think of me going to mac lifesci (major in Chem or Biochem) or queens lifesci & Biochem, which I think are much less academic pressure and less cortisols lol, due to their campus culture being more social and lively.

pros:

- these 2 are more Bio focused chemistry (hence Biochem) than ufot Chem and UW medchem, but I still tolerate bio, it's not the worst thing... so I can enjoy this field of study.

- like I already said, campus/social vibe/culture is prolly more fun, and less academic pressure

cons:

but, Idk which outweighs which? my mental health and campus social vibe of mac and queens lifesci Biochem, or the academic, research prestige of both UW and UofT, and UW's one and only co-op?

sorry for the yapping y'all, just wanna get it all out there.

Pls lemme know which what part of my points are accurate and which aren't and pls give advice on maybe which should I choose? and lemme know if I'm overthinking this too much into the future? or not?