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Chemistry at University of Waterloo
Roy (Year 1)
roy.mant@gmail.com
What did you wish you knew before going to your university? What made you choose this institution over all others? What are advantages and disadvantages of your institution or campus? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your university.
I wish I knew more about the social life at Waterloo. Everyone focuses a lot on their program and studying and just that. It is hard to find people who are willing to hang out and spend some time other than studying all day.
Advantages:
- Program is good
- Good professors
- Good lectures
Disadvantages:
- Social life is poor
- Hard courses at Waterloo
What did you wish you knew before choosing your specific program? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your program? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your program of study.
Nothing really. Program is great, I love Chemistry a lot which is why I love everything about it. One mistake would be to not study enough. It is without a doubt university is tougher and harder than high school, so developing a good work ethic is important.
What was your favourite university experience?
My best experience was definitely sitting in my lectures. The Waterloo profs are really good in talking about and explaining their lectures and they try to make it interesting. I don't know if it is because I love chemistry, but I find it so interesting and unique at Waterloo.
What was your least favourite university experience?
My worst experience is definitely living on campus. As I mentioned above, everyone focuses mostly on school and there is no social life. I am more of a social guy so I was looking for that.
What is the hardest part about your program and what were the steps that you took to overcome any difficulties?
The hardest part is definitely being up-to-date on your house. Near the beginning I found myself not putting in enough work and I got behind. Then, to get myself back on track I spent extra hours in the day studying to mining my GPA and to start doing well on assignments and tests.
If you were able to take electives, what was your favourite elective? If you were not able to take electives, what was your favourite course and why?
My favourite course in this program was definitely, General Chemistry (Chem 120). I think this is because it was extremely easy for me and I already knew most of the information so it was just a breeze sitting in lectures and doing assignments.
Additional Comments
Make sure you start studying right off the bat and don't slack as it will be bad for you down the line. University is really different from high school so maintaining a good work ethic is needed.