Accounting & Financial Management at University of Waterloo

Gary (Year 3)

gruan@uwaterloo.com

What made you choose this institution over all others? Did the university exceed your expectations?

Waterloo offers an unfair advantage compared to any other school in terms of co-op and job prospects right in first year. We have the opportunity to do up to 6 4-month internships during your undergrad, where people work all over the country in startups, silicon valley (apple, facebook, google), investment banks, Big4/Big5 financial institutions. When we graduate, we'll be easily employable due to the connections and working experience we have accumulated during co-op.

Do you have any lingering thoughts or regrets in your year as a whole (ex; application process, mistakes going into first year). If so, describe them.

I applied to lots of schools and should've saved my money by only applying to three institutions.

Briefly describe the academic rigour of your program (in terms of competitiveness, courses, professors, etc.)

The profs are great in all levels- most of them were ex-partners/directors of large firms and decided to retire as profs. So, they can provide a lot of industry insight and be a valuable resource to your development. There are a lot of group projects/presentations which can take up time, so collaboration and teamwork is an important skill to have in AFM. Exams can be hard, but the workload is manageable if you don't cram. In terms of grading, profs will do their best to maintain a course average goal (~70% average per course), and will curve based on the situation and class performance.

Describe the social life at your campus based on your own experiences (making friends, clubs + extracurriculars, party culture etc.)

Too many keeners, don't expect to have crazy parties because everyone is probably studying during the week. There are lots of great clubs to make friends. If you want to have fun go to Laurier.

What are some of the best and worst parts of your university experience so far?

Everything's pretty nice, no complaints so far!

List three effective study techniques and/or habits:

1. Test bank

2. Friends

3. Student run study sessions!

List advice for first-year students:

Be yourself but don't be afraid to try new things!

Additional comments:

Time flies!

#UniversityofWaterloo #UW #Accounting #FinancialManagement