My First Year at the University of Waterloo

My First Year at the University of Waterloo

Last year, I predicted that my second semester at university would only be harder than the first. And somehow, that prediction became true and false at the same time. That may seem impossible, but let me explain.

In the previous term, I signed up for all three advanced courses and swapped out of one of them, granting me the nickname "MATH 145 Dropout". This term, I signed up for two advanced courses, continuations of the two I finished last term.

MATH 148 was just a standard Calculus 2 course with some more analysis. The content did seem harder than MATH 147, but to me I just didn't have to study as much as I did last term. Maybe it was just me adapting, but concepts seemed to click much easier.

CS 146 was more of a melting pot of CS concepts. We kept using Racket but also started learning C, with a heavy focus on memory management. We learnt about the C memory model and how data structures like arrays and hashmaps work behind the scenes. We also learnt how to formally prove correctness of programs, calculate amortized running time, and even learnt assembly-style programming through languages like MMIX. The course culminated in several assignments where we had to write our own assembler and compiler for a teaching language. Even now, it still feels crazy that I managed to complete that assignment.

Despite the much harder concepts, I found myself with much more free time than I thought I would have. Even after making sure I had completed all my assignments and studied for all my upcoming assessments, I would be left with time on my hands. I ended up picking up more hobbies as the term progressed to fill up my free time.

Like last term, I was an active member of the Concert Band Club, where I played both percussion and the clarinet. I also joined SERVE, the volleyball club. I joined the UW Poker Studies club, where I once 6x'd my starting chips in one night. I also attended several events hosted by the quant club, where we listened to lectures on topics like game theory and played trading-related games. I also found the time to start consistently going to the gym, which I had been neglecting for a while. I even registered for a Valorant esports tournament with my friends, where I managed to team MVP against many teams with formal Immortal players.

Another big part of this term was the co-op hunt. I had an abysmal search, sending out 358 applications only to receive 2 offers. The combination of being a first year student and the current job market made it feel impossible to actually get anywhere. This was especially compounded by hearing about my peers getting matched to employers as early as cycle 1.

Sankey diagram of my applications

I spent hours perfecting my resume, grinding LeetCode, and writing cover letters, while I became one of the last people in my friend group to remain unemployed. Finally in cycle 3, I was matched on WaterlooWorks with Cavalry Fence, a fence construction company in Edmonton. I was actually very happy with this arrangement, as I could work remotely, choose my own hours, and get paid above the average first-year salary. Afterwards, I received another offer from a company I applied to externally, which I had to decline.

Getting matched was one of the best feelings in the world. I had been applying since August of the previous year, and so when I was finally employed, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I could finally relax, although I'm still receiving rejection emails to this day.

Last year, when I finished my first semester, I felt as if I had made a huge accomplishment. This time, I just didn't feel anything. Instead, the only thing I see is the long road ahead of me. Topics that I need to study. Internships I need to apply for. Projects that I need to finish. This summer, in addition to working, I already have a long list of goals to achieve. My first year may be finished, but my career is just getting started.