Before you come:
1. Talk to,and make personal connections with, senior students. That’s the best way incoming students can find out about UW and life in Canada. And when youhave questions, you will know who to ask.
2. Take English learning seriously.
3. Do research on Canada and follow Canadian news. For example, you should know about Canadian firms like Blackberry and Tim Hortons, not just more familiar names like Apple and Starbucks.
4. Talk to foreign people as much as possible to build up confidence with English speaking.
5. The co-op is a key part of the UW education. If you are going to opt-in to the co-op, get started working hard from your very first summer intern.
After you arrive:
1. Take advantage of the EFAS program and take the time to prepare yourselffor main campus study. While youmay think the EFAS program is intense, the study load of the main campus is even greater.
2. Select courses that interest youand serve the purpose of yourfuture study/career. Don’t just follow what others have done.
3. Make a study plan at the beginning of the term. Take the time to mark all the due dates of eachassignment so youwill have a better vision of what will come in that term.
4. Manage time wisely so youcanadd a few extracurricular activities to your schedule.
5. Talk to your program/career advisor early to learn about the options available to you, e.g., specializations, minors,courses needed to fill in gaps on your resume).
6. Make the effort to introduce yourself to local students. They will not always approach you if you are always in a Chinese group. While this may challenge your comfort zone, the local students have the same challenge, so it helps if you make the move to talk them first.
7. Volunteering and internship opportunities are a good way to getexperience and build your resume.
8. Make use of the services provided on campus, e.g., Co-operative Education and Career Services (CECA) for co-op advising,and the International Student Experience for English/culture assistance. Also check out https://uwaterloo.ca/international-students/programs and the Federation of Students (http://www.feds.ca/).
Additional tips for learning English:
1. Watch movies,television shows andtheater without Chinese subtitles. Read books and magazines in English. All of these will help you begin to think in English.
2. Don’t be embarrassed to talk to local people! This is strongly recommended by senior students and the best way to practice your English.
3. Use bilingual dictionaries to see how the words are explained in English and how they are used.
Co-ops:
1. Start thinking and looking early. Don’t wait until JobMine is open.
2. Do research on interesting companies and their openings.
3. Ask native students with co-op experience to review your resume.
4. Don’t limit yourself to Environment and Business. Check out Environmental Engineering, Science, Business, and any other program that may be of interest.
