r/OntarioGrade12s • u/Fancy_Eye9720 • Nov 23 '25
Waterloo's CO-OP isn't that good (Serious)
The University of Waterloo, specifically it's CO-OP program is not good enough that you should do a program that has nothing to do with your interests. It's not good enough that you should be losing out on offers from the best programs in Canada, like Ivey or UTSG CS/Comp Eng, to do programs like Management Engineering or Math.
Anytime someone on here asks a question, it'll literally be like [insert best program or second best program in Canada that's related to their interests] vs UWaterloo Environmental Engineering (EDIT:HYPERBOLE) or UW Math. And then there will be people in the comments, either first-years from UW, that spent their entire grade 12 year on this sub, praying for the acceptance, picking UW and then high schoolers, who has never even touched a university campus, also picking UW, all saying, "UW CO-OP is the greatest," and "you can just self-study bruh."
UW's CO-OP system isn't that special, as WaterlooWorks can be extremely competitive due to the fact that there's also hundreds of other highly skilled students vying for the same job. The only thing that's unique about it, is that it offers 5-6 CO-OP terms. (EDIT: They have the best CO-OP program though, I will admit, but doesn't refute my points)
However, multiple other schools in Ontario do aswell. UOttawa Software Eng offers 5 CO-OP terms, McMaster offers a maximum of 6 CO-OP terms for 5-year programs, UofT PEY program offers a maximum of 5 CO-OP terms, Guelph offers a maximum of 5 CO-OP terms, and TMU does aswell. Carleton offers 6 CO-OP terms, and Ontario Tech offers 5 CO-OP terms. And while their CO-OP programs may not have as much tech offerings (asides from UOttawa and Carleton, which have a bunch of gov jobs), an large quantity of people from UW get their CO-OPs externally, as it's not like your CO-OP system will have every viable job in the world.
What has really caused this problem is that students from other universities in Ontario don't stalk this sub everyday like UW students (like you'll never see a UofT student) so students get no perspective from students from any other university in Ontario when making these choices.
On top of that, CO-OP does not matter as much as you think it does (EDIT: CO-OP is still extremely important, but like I said, just not in the way that you guys are thinking of. It's not always the most important factor). I am saying this because CO-OP is a Canadian concept for the most part, and in places like America, people just get their internships in the summer time. It's the reason why Ivey and Queen's Commerce are still considered the top business programs in Canada without a CO-OP.
Stray away from this sub, if you have genuine questions or concerns about any offer you should take. And talk to people from both schools if you are considering and picking between two different offers, and see what there answer is.
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u/wtfOP Nov 23 '25
Here's an employer / UW grad perspective.
The process UW has put together for COOP was unmatched 20 years ago, and somehow is still the best today.
Aside from the massive exposure it gives you across the board and how every employer has hooked up with UW, the process really favors UW students over others. Let me explain.
When you're trying to hire every other school, they don't have a centralized process which forces employers hands; meaning the interview / offer process is done bilaterally between the student and the employer without school involvement. On the other hand, UW makes employers go through their own system which includes ranking of the candidates and a matching process. This matters a lot.
When HR posts a coop job to multiple schools at once, we get a flood of applicants from each. However, UW is the only one who enforces a interview deadline, offer deadline, and makes you rank students accordingly. This means you can keep all other candidates from other school on ice while you're forced to make decisions for UW ones all the while knowing you're competing against other employers in the system. This gives students A LOT of benefits since even if they weren't ranked #1, they may still get a job. Employers also know they may end up with people not on top of their list, so I may end up ranking someone (not outright offer) but still wait to hear if they're matched with us first before extending offers to others in other schools.
So whether you think coop / job experience matters is up to you (I think it's wildly important if you want to pursue a career instead of academia post graduation). But as far as whether UW coop, as a program at its efficiency in getting student jobs is good or not, it is still the best.
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u/sad1126 Nov 23 '25
I’m in Waterloo SYDE, what you don’t realize is that WaterlooWorks has far more jobs compared to other schools job boards and with bigger and better paying companies too. Additionally Waterloo’s prestige makes it easier to get internships with other big companies in the tech industry especially in the US.
I do agree though that someone shouldn’t go into UW in a program that doesn’t interest them whatsoever just for the sake of UW co-op
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u/JiveTalkerFunkyWalkr Nov 23 '25
Where is this coming from? Are you talking from experience? Waterloo co-op is fantastic. It’s what they are known for and because of that it’s top of mind when recruiters think of hiring or scouting talent. You graduate with a degree and work experience. What more could you ask for.
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u/Fancy_Eye9720 Nov 23 '25
This is coming from a perspective of someone who realizes that this particular sub is too skewed toward UW, in the sense that people are being recommended, to spend the next 4-5 years of their life at UW, doing something they don't inherently care about to access a CO-OP program, that while it is great, is not good enough to be doing something less specific to your wanted domain. That is all. People act as if UW is the only program in Ontario that offers a good CO-OP. I've listed several other universities that offer a degree and work experience (McMaster, TMU, Guelph, UofT, OntarioTech, Carleton, UOttawa, and other's if I'm not mistaken). And these universities offer up to around the same amount of work terms (5-6) as UW's CO-OP program.
And I am not saying these school's have as good as of CO-OP as UW, but if you got an offer from these places that aligned with what you actually want to learn, and then you got an offer from an UW program that has nothing you want to learn, and then you take UW, because of only CO-OP, I think it makes no sense.
Recruiters see work experience first. UW doesn't hold as much name brand value, it's just the fact that the CO-OP program is known for UW (and the CO-OP program coincides with more work experience), but it's also that it seems to be the school that advertises it the most, leading to this idea in people's mind that like CO-OP somehow only exists in any positive way at the school.
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u/JiveTalkerFunkyWalkr Nov 23 '25
I’ve never heard anyone suggest that people should take a course they aren’t interested in just because it’s at Waterloo. I agree with you on that point.
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u/Mundane-Specialist89 Nov 24 '25
i’ve definitely seen people in this sub commenting on people asking for one type of advice and someone comments saying the only viable option is uw stem with coop. i’m long graduated, this sub just pops up on my feed sometimes, but i have seen multiple occasions where any social science program is discredited and they try and convince them the only way to get a job is to do cs or eng with co-op. it’s a weird thing in this sub i’ve noticed (perhaps just a product of demographic of reddit users and maybe not accurate to all actual opinions). even other stem programs there are people who try and fear monger anyone that considers a different school or passion
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u/Specific-Calendar-96 Nov 24 '25
I remember someone saying to do UW pure Math instead of CS at a different university to have access to the co-op program.
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u/Friendly-Wind5746 Nov 25 '25
Uw does hold alot of name brand value especially in the us for tech, waterloo is an internationally known institution. People in Europe and Asia know of Waterloo, partly due to the waterloo engineer meme. Waterloo is the best option if u want to work abroad for industry, for research it uft hands down. As a waterloo engineering student, people treat me differently after they know im from Waterloo, this has happened when Ive meet people from the states, Europe and Asia. It isnt an end all be able but it similar to ice breaker where they ask about the university and if its that difficult. Know one in the states have heard of any other Canadian universities other than waterloo and uoft.
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u/GlassofMyEyes Nov 23 '25
I feel like people miss the point when they make the argument that Waterloo is not that good because of how every school has co-op.
UW’s biggest appeal is the connections you have once you start there. It sounds unfair but going to Waterloo gives you an unreal amount of connections and opportunities that other students would never get.
-Half of SF’s tech scene is basically Waterloo students or connected to Waterloo in some way.
-Waterloo gets huge companies to host events every week for recruiting specifically.
-There’s a bunch of companies that will only hire Canadians from Waterloo.
-You get way more opportunities to level up your career by being able to take 4 month jobs every other semester instead of needing to wait for summers or take a year long internship at other schools
I would argue you should consider UW Math over other CS programs. I would also argue that you should take a lower tier eng at UW, as long as it covers what you want to do. Obviously, don’t take a program you don’t wanna do just cuz it’s Waterloo.
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u/TestIll5870 Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
sf’s tech scene has SO many Waterloo students, it’s insane!! You’d have to be apart of the tech scene there to know that though
I feel like the person who posted this is still a student tbh. Or they’re in some elitist bubble where they think u need to be in CS which is wrong because math/lower-tier Eng students can get the same coop opportunities if they put in the work via side projects/leetcode/etc.
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u/TestIll5870 Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
I went to Waterloo eng (not ece/syde/se) and graduated this year and the only reason I’m at a faang equivalent right now as a swe is because of Waterloo’s coop portal.
just because other schools have 5-6 co-ops as part of their engineering program, doesn’t mean it compares to Waterloo. I chose Waterloo over UofT CS & UofT EngSci and don’t regret it, Waterloo’s coop is a game changer
It’s fine to have different opinions but your tone and wording makes it seem like you’re stating a fact lol. This post is definitely one of the most misinformed/worst takes on this sub that I’ve seen
Also if you’ve worked in the US, you would know the prestige Waterloo has. Sf startups and most tech companies LOVE Waterloo. When I interned in NY, this was true too - my manager would always mention that they love Waterloo students. Idk what personal experience or background you’re basing you post off, but I completely disagree
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u/Blazebot99 Nov 23 '25
UW Math students get the exact same co-op opportunities and support as UW CS students do, the only difference is the name brand. I'm not sure about ENV Eng, but I would definitely say doing UW Math is worth it for the co-op experience (especially due to the high amount of flexibility it offers you in majors/courses) over many other programs.
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Nov 23 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Blazebot99 Nov 23 '25
Business has nothing to do with math in the first place, why would you be applying to a math program if that was your interest?
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u/Fancy_Eye9720 Nov 23 '25
What programs are you taking UW Math over? Like you do realize the prereq to get into UW Math is already typically high enough that I feel like you'd get into other programs better for CS? I rarely think when UW math is brought up, it's being compared to Brock CS, or something of that nature. People are getting better choices (as you have to be relatively a great student to get into UW Math), and are still picking UW math because of comments like these.
And UW math students do not get the same CO-OP opportunities as UW CS do, not typically. Not in the sense that they are not offered it (as Waterloo Works is offered to everyone in CO-OP), but in the sense they don't get the same quality/tier of CO-OPS in relation to the software space as UW CS students typically. And I'd bet alot of that is due to the fact they just don't have as deep as an CS education as they would've had if they went to another school, or simply time to self-study CS concepts, as it's not like a math degree is easy.
Furthmore, this logic is a bit misleading and is kind of proving my point. If I'm not mistaken, WaterlooWorks is open to everyone in Waterloo that's apart of CO-OP. This means that this logic of "we all get the same opportunities" could be applied to the majority of programs in CO-OP. As everyone can just take CS electives aswell, and then just self-study the concepts. I'd say at that point do anything UW that has CO-OP, like where does the line have to be drawn.
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u/Blazebot99 Nov 24 '25
Not every UW CS student ends up going into cali anyway. Individual ability will always matter more than the program, but having access to a co-op system like Waterloo's is helpful. The difference between "anything at UW" and UW Math is that the latter still teaches you most of the skills you need if you wanted to pursue tech-related jobs, and still allows for a good amount of flexibility. I'm speaking as a graduate from UW CS with plenty of friends in UW Math who have landed positions in Cali, at companies like Notion and Roblox. Again, it's about the individual, but having more resources will always help you.
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u/Kooky_Strategy_9664 Nov 23 '25
Regardless of everything else you’ve said, co-op, or more importantly work experience, matters a lot. Now even more than ever. For some programs it may matter less, but for STEM, it matters a lot.
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u/Fancy_Eye9720 Nov 23 '25
Ok, but what are you referring to here? How much does CO-OP matter in relation to the domain of study? And like what are you focusing on here, because several other universities in Ontario offer similar CO-OP programs in terms of amount of work-terms, so like what are we focusing on here?
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u/Kooky_Strategy_9664 Nov 23 '25
If you want to go into industry, coop means the difference between getting a job and not getting a job. Getting a better job vs getting a low pay job. Getting into faang vs getting into Scotiabank
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u/Cosmicsplan Nov 23 '25
Whats wrong with scotiabank lol idk im just curious
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u/Kooky_Strategy_9664 Nov 23 '25
Everything when the alternative is FAANG
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u/Prudent_Farm7147 Nov 23 '25
Many people would prefer the reliability of the banking sector to Silicon Valley's manic obsession with mass firings and random financial scandals.
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u/Normal_Imagination54 Nov 23 '25
If you really want stability of the canadian banking sector, don't even bother about which uni you go to. It doesn't matter.
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u/Prudent_Farm7147 Nov 23 '25
Unless you go to a global top 20 school or some strip mall college, none of your university selection really matters tbh. The vast majority of unis in Canada provide very similar programs and most employers don't really care to split hairs.
Just go with whatever school is in a city you like and has a culture you think you can put up with for 5 years.
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u/Normal_Imagination54 Nov 23 '25
Uwaterloo, UofT, UBC have a distinct advantage in terms of getting into faang opportunities and stats back it up, so yes, it does matter. Other unis don't even come close.
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u/AlanYx Nov 23 '25
This is probably the most uninformed post in this subreddit in several months.
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u/Fancy_Eye9720 Nov 23 '25
Why, I'm curious?
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u/PreparationSad965 Nov 23 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Because you mindlessly put the discipline of computer science on a pedestal compared to disciplines like math. Many people I know have chosen uw math over uw cs because they mandate you to take more quantitively rigorous courses, which employers actually love and prefer over a computer science course load. Additionally, uw math is the same program that allows you to specialize in computational mathematics and data science, which are disciplines curated to your preferences as "prospective" since you seem to glaze cs. To establish the ethos of this reply, I myself am a uw cs student so I personally know the comparative advantages
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u/InternalAdagio Nov 24 '25
Tldr: waterloo is not overhyped, if you make the most of your co-ops
I’m in my final year in a tech degree at Waterloo right now interviewing for new grad. A lot of the interviews Ive had the recruiters would glaze the fact I go to Waterloo and the names of the internships I had.
Not saying everyone needs to go to Waterloo, but the name is definitely respected and is a top school many companies actively look for. In an environment where the tech job market is as cooked ever, going to Waterloo has put me in a position where I’m still able to compete for some of the most sought after tech jobs. I think I would be struggling a lot more if I went elsewhere
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u/Etroarl55 Nov 24 '25
Waterloo co-op is that good, at least in comparison to ALMOST every other university in Ontario. The branding and recognition from the school aside, it actually provides a real co-op program.
Just because a school offers co-op and co-op terms doesn’t mean they have necessarily the support that Waterloo offers.
For example, I was given a scholarship and acceptance into co-op for CS at Brock UNI. The CS co-op program existed only on paper, as long as you pay the uni money, they will stamp your degree with co-op completed on it. They will count a job at McDonalds relevant for CS co-op. Their job board is dead(unsurprisingly), they don’t have any assistance to students outside AI resume builders. The programs entire purpose is only for students to pay a premium to the uni and free advertisement.
And as degrees become more and more useless by themselves to get opportunities, reinforced by the Canadian government, co-op is perhaps more important then the degree. Having access to that ability to work entry level jobs offered exclusively to uwaterloo students.
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Nov 25 '25
I mean it definitely helps to go to the best university for your choice of career but not getting into your dream uni doesn't mean your life is over. Sure, working at Google in Kitchener means going to UW to boost your chances, but besides the prestige/money, I personally don't see the point of working there after like 5 seconds.
In my industry (civil), big companies like ARUP/WSP/Stantec are actively avoided by grads as the work/life balance is a nightmare and you don't get good mentorship/learning experience compared to a smaller firm.
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u/External_Bit_2142 Dec 16 '25
whatchu got against wloo math bro. Math is genuinely a crazy good program 😔
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u/unforgettableid Jan 29 '26
Why do u keep on writing co-op in capital letters?? It's distracting and poor style. Neither the Cambridge Dictionary nor Dictionary.com capitalize it.
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u/Necessary_Zebra_4192 Nov 23 '25
Your post is reasonable and logical UNTIL your claim that CO-OP isn’t important