University of Waterloo Scholarships & Financial Aid
The University of Waterloo is known for its co-operative education program — and the financial advantage that comes with it. Most Waterloo students graduate with significant co-op earnings that offset tuition costs. On top of that, Waterloo offers automatic entrance scholarships, competitive major entrance awards, and need-based bursaries.
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Waterloo offers both automatic and competitive entrance awards:
- President's Scholarship of Distinction: $10,000 for students entering with 95%+ average (primarily STEM/math programs)
- President's Scholarship: $5,000 for students with 90%–94.9% average
- Automatic merit scholarships: $2,000–$3,000 based on admission average
- Faculty-specific scholarships: Additional awards within Engineering, Math, CS, and other faculties
- Schulich Leader nominations: Waterloo is a participating Schulich Leader institution ($100K for STEM)
Waterloo's co-op program is the largest in the world and a major financial advantage:
- Up to 6 co-op work terms over your degree (24 months of paid work experience)
- Average co-op earnings: $15,000–$30,000+ per 4-month term (tech/engineering pay highest)
- Top CS and engineering co-op students earn $50,000+ per term at major tech companies
- Many Waterloo students graduate with significant savings rather than debt
- Co-op experience also leads to higher starting salaries after graduation
Practical advice for maximizing financial aid at Waterloo:
- Apply for the bursary application through Quest (Waterloo's student portal) each term
- Don't overlook faculty-specific scholarships — check your faculty's awards page
- Budget co-op earnings to cover tuition for academic terms — this is the Waterloo strategy
- International students: Waterloo offers competitive international entrance awards — check uwaterloo.ca/international
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