zupgiusto

Congrats! Disclaimer: this is all my personal opinion and observations. I don't live in Kitchener or Waterloo but I've been going to UW for 7 years, and I went to highschool in Kitchener, so I've watched them both change/grow a lot. If your classes are all going to be at the Kitchener campus, there isn't much draw to live further away. Rent is cheaper in Kitchener, there are lots of great restaurants, as someone said above it's more historic, there's a farmer's market right downtown, etc. There's also Communitech where the Google office is with loads of young companies, so there is a cool start-up vibe and lots of new businesses to serve this growing demographic. In Kitchener you can get great deals renting apartments that are in beautiful old homes. In Waterloo, the apartments are more "student" apartments (the bland, shared kind). In the area between UW and Laurier's Waterloo campus there have been tons of big tall apartment buildings going up in the last 2+ years, which is nice if you want something new. I have not been in any of them yet but there's an incredible amount to choose from. Kitchener has the GO train/bus station + Greyhound station + GRT terminal + Via rail station. GO buses stop at Laurier and UW main campus too, as do Greyhounds, but using these is more of a hassle. In Waterloo, a lot of Laurier undergrads live in the area around Ezra Ave, so that's something to take into consideration if you want a more lively neighbourhood. If you wanted to be in Waterloo with student housing that is a bit quieter, I would recommend living closer to UW than Laurier. It is fairly convenient to get around by GRT, though I'm not sure if a GRT pass comes with Laurier tuition. Last but not least, we don't have Uber. Hopefully this can help you with your decision. If you have specific questions let me know and I'll try to help!

Wow! I love this idea. I am a mac user but will pass along to my Windows friends.

I'm late to the party, but was also going to recommend TD. They have a lot of US/Canada programs and my experience with them has been all positive. Plus their mobile banking apps are great. I was just thinking the other week how American students here must be killing it in terms of getting discounts on their tuition with how awful our dollar is. I wanted to leave this link here, which students at my school wrote to help Canadian students working in the US. There is a whole section on ways students might consider transferring money from US accounts into Canada, and some tax stuff: https://stephenholiday.com/Unofficial-Waterloo-USA-Intern-Guide/

I checked in at UW over 2 weeks ago (March 12) and they said it should be a 'couple more weeks' before we hear back. I think that's because OGS announcements are April 1/2. Good luck everyone!

Yes! I use my ipad for exactly that. The system that has worked for me is: - evernote for meeting minutes/notes when talking to supervisors etc, then I can have evernote open for reference on my computer later while I'm working on documents (and can switch between notes easily) - google docs for class notes (I tried Word for ipad because it syncs to dropbox, but I found the saving/overwriting to be buggy so I use google docs and have the app on my computer - doesn't make a difference to me) I also use papership to sync with my zotero library, which is a dream. You can sync google drive with Goodreader as well to get at PDFs that way. I use that to mark students' papers which I find to be faster than marking them up in adobe reader. I hope this helps!

What is your goal after? If it's a PhD, then I would lean towards Queens for its reputation, well-established program, etc. If you want to work after, then do consider co-op. I am just finishing a co-op masters at Waterloo and I have a job waiting for me (but I'm going to do a PhD, lol).

I have been following this with great interest as I'm a masters student in the area. Something I find interesting is how they're even able to strike because they're unionized. At my school, there is nothing we can do. Is it common to be part of a union when you're working as a TA or RA in the US?

That's great, congrats!

In Canada it is common to find someone who will supervise you ahead of time, and a big part of that is making sure your research interests are aligned. So I would recommend talking about your research a bit more because it shows you are planning ahead for grad school and will arrive prepared. That's just my opinion, though!

What school is your supervisor going to? Canada is actually great for digital humanities, there is a thread on here from this year where there are likeminded students talking about it. This is ultimately a very complex decision and I wish you all the best!

Seconded. Amayan, you are a genius. May you be accepted to anywhere your heart desires. I've been loyal to LoseIt since highschool but this is another compelling case to switch to MyFitnessPal. Do you mind sharing how you made the changes to track costs? Or did you find this in a tutorial somewhere? Edited to be on-topic: when I was living on my own in Montreal, I budgeted 50/week for food and ate out basically never. I don't think I ever actually spent 50 in a week on food, it would be more in the 30-40 range. I used the rest to go out or buy treats or whatever. I was much younger, didn't know how to be smart about groceries, and also terrible at budgeting. So.

I have a late-2011 Macbook Pro that lasted me through the last 2 years of undergrad and it was getting reeeeally sluggish into the second half of my 2nd year of my M.A., so over Christmas I replaced the hard drive with a 500gb SSD and maxed out the ram and it is GOOD. AS. NEW. I highly suggest exploring this option if your laptop is fine but super slow. When I did the migration and I opened my computer it was exactly the same as before (even remembered all my tabs in Chrome) but lightning fast. The steps involved were incredibly simple to do at home. I put a picture ledge from Ikea on the wall behind my desk, and my laptop sits up there out of the way in clamshell mode while plugged into my external monitor or when it's charging. I can also lean my keyboard up there when it's not being used. Yay desk space! FLUX: I love this app (justgetflux.com). Use it on your computer. You put in where you live and your typical sleep schedule and it will adjust the white balance on your computer as the day goes on/after sunset, to make it more yellow. Lots of blue light messes up your internal clock, and blue light also stresses your eye muscles which makes them deteriorate faster. It's weird at first, but it is wonderful and beneficial. Especially if you're just reading, it can't hurt. My eyes got significantly worse over the last 2 years, so I'm doing what I can to help. Other things: Ear plugs! You can get plastic washable ones with a little case. I bring these around everywhere. Sometimes I just really need to block out sounds to concentrate. Space heater. Electric blanket? A good quality pillow Eye mask (in case your sleep schedule is off kilter but you still need some zzz's, or if you nap!) Extension cords/power bars - Target has power bars with an 8ft cord for something like $11 CAD "Daylight" light bulbs (as opposed to the 'soft white' ones) A pillow with arms on it that you can use to sit in bed Lysol wipes

@ADI-S, you might want to check this thread about living in Kitchener-Waterloo:

I did! Each department has its own timeline so I have totally given up on estimating when to hear back.