Admissions · University of Waterloo
What Average Do You Need for Waterloo Software Engineering?
Short answer: the low to mid-90s, and even that is not enough on its own. Waterloo's program page says it selects Software Engineering students from the low to mid-90s, and in the 2023 cycle an Ontario applicant with a 95+ got an offer 30% of the time. Across all of Waterloo Engineering, 66.7% of the Fall 2022 entering class from Ontario high schools came in at 95 or above.
Waterloo says: individual selection from the low to mid-90s[1]
Required Grade 12 Courses
- ENG4U: English
- MHF4U: Advanced Functions (free unit tests: Polynomial Functions, Polynomial Equations, Rational Functions, Trigonometric Ratios, Trigonometric Functions, Exponential & Logarithmic Functions, Combining Functions)
- MCV4U: Calculus & Vectors (free unit tests: Limits, Derivatives, Curve Sketching, Optimization, Derivatives of Trig, Exp and Log, Geometric Vectors, Cartesian Vectors, Lines and Planes)
- SCH4U: Chemistry
- SPH4U: Physics
Six 4U or M courses including these five, each at 70% or better. Waterloo also requires programming experience: a Grade 11 or 12 computing course, or self-study you can describe in the interview.
MHF4U builds on Grade 11 Functions, so if that's shaky, start with MCR3U.
The AIF, the interview and the programming requirement
Software Engineering asks for more than marks. Waterloo's page says "supplementary information forms, including the Admission Information Form" and an online interview are required for admission, and it emails the instructions after it receives your application.
Then there's the line most applicants skim past: "You're required to have experience in a programming course", with self-study and a demonstrated interest in problem-solving and debugging accepted in its place. The interview is where you show it.
Reading the offer odds
For the 2023 cycle Waterloo published, per average band, the share of Ontario applicants who got an offer. For Software and Biomedical: 30% at 95+, 7% at 90 to 94, 2% at 85 to 89. That is the lowest of the three groups Waterloo Engineering reported.
The current admission-averages page gives the ranges without the odds, so treat 2023 as the latest year published, not this year's. The bands are your average before Waterloo's adjustment factors, and before the AIF and interview count.
What these numbers mean for you
"Low to mid-90s" is where Waterloo starts reading. The odds table says a 93 got an offer about 7% of the time in 2023, and a 96 about 30% of the time. Software Engineering is the hardest Waterloo Engineering program to get into by its own numbers.
The CUDO table is the whole faculty's entering class, not Software on its own: 94.3% at 90 or above. Software's class almost certainly sits above the faculty's, which is already Waterloo's second-highest group after Computer Science.
Am I Cooked for Waterloo Software Engineering?
Drop your top 6 into Am I Cooked, pick Waterloo Software Engineering, and get a straight verdict against the same published numbers as this page.
Check my averageSee the numbers Am I Cooked uses for Waterloo Software Engineering.
Waterloo Software Engineering FAQ
What average do you need for Waterloo Software Engineering?+
Waterloo says it selects from the low to mid-90s. In the 2023 cycle, Ontario applicants with a 95+ got an offer 30% of the time, and those between 90 and 94 got one 7% of the time.
Is a 95 enough for Waterloo Software Engineering?+
It is inside the range, and in 2023 it got an offer about 30% of the time. The AIF, the interview and your programming experience decide the rest.
What courses do you need for Waterloo Software Engineering?+
ENG4U, MHF4U, MCV4U, SCH4U and SPH4U, each at 70% or better, plus programming experience from a computing course or self-study.
Does Waterloo Software Engineering have an interview?+
Yes. The Admission Information Form and an online interview are both required, and the interview is where you describe your programming experience.
Sources
- University of Waterloo, program page. The range on the program page on the day checked. “Admission average: Individual selection from the low to mid-90s. You're required to have experience in a programming course” Checked 2026-10-21.
- University of Waterloo, Faculty of Engineering admission averages (Internet Archive snapshot, 2023-11-22). 2023 admission cycle, Ontario high school domestic applicants. “Probabilities of acceptance are shown for Ontario Secondary School domestic applicants admitted during the 2023 admission cycle.” Checked 2026-09-18.
- Council of Ontario Universities, Common University Data Ontario (CUDO). Fall 2022 entering class: full-time first-year students who came straight from an Ontario high school. “B. Admission · University of Waterloo · Fall 2022” Checked 2026-09-17.
Requirements change every cycle. Check the official admissions page before you apply.