What Is the Waterloo AIF? A Plain-English Guide
What the Admission Information Form asks, what it's really looking for, and how strong answers look.
The AIF (Admission Information Form) is Waterloo's supplementary application. It's how the university decides between otherwise qualified candidates, and for competitive programs it can be the deciding factor. Here's what it is and how to approach it.
What the AIF is and who needs it
The AIF is an online form that Waterloo requires for all Engineering programs except Architecture, all Faculty of Mathematics programs (including Computer Science), and Computing and Financial Management. Some other programs, such as Pharmacy, Optometry and Social Work, use their own shorter supplementary forms. The AIF shows up in your Waterloo applicant portal after Waterloo receives your OUAC application. For Fall 2027 entry the AIF is due February 1, 2027 for Engineering (and for anyone applying to both Engineering and Math) and February 15, 2027 for most other programs. Waterloo does not review late submissions.
What you're actually submitting
The Fall 2027 AIF has four written questions, each capped at 150 words. They ask about a passion or strong interest, your community involvement, a time you saw or experienced unfair treatment, and your goals for attending Waterloo. A fifth section lists your activities outside the classroom with the hours you spent on each. Engineering applicants must also complete a short recorded online interview (a single 90-second video answer) by the document deadline. Math and CS applicants complete a supplementary information form about contests such as the Euclid and CSMC.
It carries real weight
This is the part students miss: Waterloo's competitive programs choose between many applicants with very similar grades, and the AIF is a major part of how they separate them. Waterloo says trained human reviewers score the AIF, with an AI tool as a second check, and identifying details are removed first. A strong AIF can carry an applicant with slightly lower grades past one with a weak AIF. Treat it as coursework, not paperwork.
How strong answers look
Strong answers name a specific role, a concrete activity, the timeframe, and a measurable outcome — 'Secretary of the CS club in G11, where I organised two school-wide hackathons with 40 participants each' beats 'I was in the coding club.' With only 150 words per question, structure matters even more: what you did, why, what you learned, and what you'd do differently.
Where your resume builder fits
If you've logged extracurriculars in your dashboard, the Resume Builder's AIF template pulls those same activities into a Waterloo-style format — same roles, hours, and dates you've already tracked. Keep your activity log current through the fall and filling the AIF is mostly review, not reconstruction.
Key Takeaways
- The AIF is required for Waterloo Engineering (except Architecture), all Math/CS programs, and Computing and Financial Management.
- It has its own deadline: February 1, 2027 for Engineering and February 15, 2027 for most other programs this cycle.
- A strong AIF can outweigh a small gap in grades. Engineering also requires a short video interview.
- Concrete roles with outcomes beat descriptive language.