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Checked against uwaterloo.ca on October 20, 2026

The Waterloo AIF for Fall 2027

The Admission Information Form (AIF) is a short form Waterloo asks for on top of your OUAC application if you’re applying to Engineering, Math, Computer Science or CFM. Here’s what’s on it, when it’s due and what Waterloo has said about it.

Waterloo updates its pages during the cycle, so if a detail really matters, check it against the sources at the bottom.

Count your words See the deadlines

The short version

  • Who needs it: every Engineering program except Architecture, every Math program (Computer Science included) and Computing and Financial Management (CFM). Arts, Environment, Health, Science, AFM and SFM don’t use it.
  • Questions 1 to 4: short written answers, up to 150 words each.
  • Question 5: your activities outside class, with the hours you put into each one during 2026.
  • One form for all your programs: you submit it once, and after that you can’t edit it or even look at it again. Screenshot it first.
  • Engineering only: a 90-second video interview, one question, one take. Software Engineering applicants also fill out a Supplementary Information Form.

Deadlines

Waterloo AIF deadlines for Fall 2027 entry
WhatWhen
Apply to Waterloo Engineering (through OUAC)January 15, 2027
Apply to other Waterloo programs, including Math, Computer Science and CFMFebruary 1, 2027
Engineering AIF and video interview (and the Software Engineering Supplementary Information Form)February 1, 2027
AIF if you applied to Engineering and a Math programFebruary 1, 2027,
11:59 p.m. ET
Math (including Computer Science) and CFM AIFFebruary 15, 2027

Add these deadlines to my calendar. Works with Google, Apple and Outlook, and reminds you 3 days before each date. No sign-up.

Waterloo only gives an exact time (11:59 p.m. ET) for people applying to both Engineering and a Math program, so check your portal for yours. Forms that come in after the deadline aren’t reviewed, and late applications are only looked at if there’s still space.

You’ll find the AIF in Waterloo’s applicant portal. The login usually lands in your inbox a day or two after you apply on OUAC. You can save your answers and come back to them as many times as you like before you submit.

The four written questions

This is Waterloo’s exact wording. Most of them ask three or four things at once, and it’s easy to skip one, so the AIF word counter breaks each question into its parts and ticks them off as you go.

  1. A passion or strong interest.

    Tell us about a passion or strong interest of yours. How (and when) did you become involved in this interest and for how long have you been involved? What have you learned about yourself from this interest? How will you apply this knowledge as a student at the University of Waterloo?

  2. Community involvement.

    Briefly describe a group, organization, or community that you have been involved in, are a member of, and/or have contributed to. What contributions have you made as a member of this group? Were you able to lead, influence others, and/or influence decisions for the good of the group and its goals? How has your involvement helped make this community better?

  3. Experience reflection.

    Describe a situation where you were treated unfairly or witnessed someone else being treated unfairly. What did you do at the time and why? Would you do anything differently if the same situation occurred today? Has this event impacted or changed who you are now and if so, how?

  4. Goals for Waterloo.

    What is your primary goal for attending the University of Waterloo? Have you explored, been exposed to, or have experience in the field you plan to pursue and if so, how? Did you turn to anyone for advice in exploring alternative options or backup plans for your goal and, if so, how did this person help you?

Question 5: activities and hours

Question 5 asks what you were involved in outside your studies, whether at school, in your community or at home, and how many hours you spent on each between January 1 and December 31, 2026. If something started before 2026 or is still going, only count the 2026 part.

  • Last year it was a chart rather than an essay: one row per activity, with a short title, start and end dates and a total number of hours. There was no box for a description. Waterloo hasn’t confirmed this year’s layout yet.
  • There’s no separate awards section, so contests and awards go in the chart or in your written answers. Links aren’t reviewed, so don’t count on a portfolio link doing any work.
  • Waterloo doesn’t say what to do about hours you haven’t done yet. Since you can’t edit the AIF later, the safe choice is to count only the hours you’ve already done, or wait until January to submit.

The hours calculator works out your 2026 hours for each activity and lays them out as rows you can copy across.

The Engineering video interview

Everyone applying to Engineering, except Architecture, records one video answer on a platform called Kira. This year’s question is:

“What experience(s), inside or outside the classroom, motivated you to apply to your chosen engineering program?”

You get 90 seconds and one take, and it’s due February 1, 2027. Ninety seconds goes by faster than you’d think, so try it out loud a few times with the interview timer first.

Math, CS and CFM

Math programs (Computer Science included) and CFM use the same AIF as Engineering, with the same four questions and the same Question 5. You have until February 1, 2027 to apply on OUAC, and the AIF is due two weeks later, on February 15.

  • There’s no video interview. That’s only for Engineering.
  • Faculty of Mathematics programs also have a Supplementary Information Form, which asks about any Waterloo math contests you’ve written, like the Euclid or the Canadian Senior Mathematics Contest.
  • You don’t need to have written a contest to get in, but some Faculty of Mathematics scholarships do require one.
  • Applying to Engineering and a Math program? Then everything, including the AIF, the video interview and both supplementary forms, is due on the Engineering date: February 1, 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET.

Waterloo’s rules on AI

What Waterloo says

  • You have to complete and submit the AIF on your own.
  • Trained readers score it, and Waterloo also runs its own AI system alongside them. Your name and applicant number are taken off first, and if the scores are far apart, a second person reads it.
  • If you use AI to produce answers that are untrue, incorrect or plagiarized, Waterloo can turn you down or take back an offer.
  • The page doesn’t say anything about AI-detection software.

Does the Waterloo AIF check for AI?

Waterloo hasn’t said it uses an AI detector. But a person reads every AIF, and Waterloo’s own AI system scores it too, so it’s not safe to assume nobody is looking.

Waterloo can reject an AIF if it has “reasonable grounds” to believe it “was written by someone other than you”. The only approach that holds up is the simple one: write it yourself, about things that actually happened.

That’s how I built ApplyWell. Its AI coach asks you questions and gives feedback on a draft you wrote, but it never writes anything for you. It also can’t tell you whether a school will flag your writing, and it doesn’t try to get past AI detectors.

How to use AI honestly for your AIF

  1. Write every word yourself. In Waterloo’s words, “You must complete and submit the AIF on your own.”
  2. Stick to what actually happened. Waterloo can turn you down or take back an offer over AI answers that are untrue, incorrect or plagiarized.
  3. Use AI to ask you questions or to give feedback on a draft you wrote, and nothing more. Waterloo’s page doesn’t mention coaching tools either way, so if it adds a rule, that rule wins.
  4. Don’t paste anything an AI wrote into the form, not even one sentence, a phrase it reworded or a point from a plan it made.
  5. Double-check any fact an AI tells you. It gets things wrong, both about you and about Waterloo.
  6. Draft in a document and paste in your finished answer, which is what Waterloo suggests anyway. Hang on to your notes and old drafts.
  7. Check each school’s own rules. Some programs ban AI help completely, and for those you shouldn’t use it at all.
  8. Close this app before a timed interview, and turn off any AI or grammar extensions before you press Start in Kira.

Practical tips

  • The form has no spell check, so write in Google Docs or Word and paste your answers in.
  • Screenshot every page before you submit. Once it’s in, you can’t see it again.

Free tools for the AIF

No account, no AI. Everything you type stays in your browser.

AIF word counterLive word counts for all four questions, plus a checklist of what each one asks.Open the counter Hours calculatorWorks out your 2026 hours and gives you one row per activity.Count your hours 90-second interview timerRehearse your Engineering video answer against the clock.Start practising

Sources: Waterloo’s AIF page, application deadlines, Engineering’s online interview page and admissions FAQ, all checked October 20, 2026. The Question 5 layout comes from last year’s applicants, not from Waterloo. ApplyWell is not affiliated with the University of Waterloo.