2 programs, side by side

Rows marked with a dot are where these differ. Everything is each university’s own published wording; the “your average” row is yours, calculated the way each program does it.

	Waterloo Computer Science (Regular/Co-op) OUAC WCS Remove	McMaster Life Sciences Gateway OUAC MLS Remove
Your average, their wayrequired courses forced in
Published rangetheir exact wording	90–97%“Low to Mid-90s”	93–97%“Mid-90s”
Required coursesforced into your top 6 — options are the row below	ENG4U MCV4U MHF4U	ENG4U SBI4U
Choose one ofany of these satisfies it	—	one of MCV4U, MHF4U one of MCV4U, MHF4U, SCH4U, SPH4U
Prerequisitesas published	Any Grade 12 U English Advanced Functions Calculus and Vectors One other Grade 12 U course	English 4U 1 of Advanced Functions 4U, Calculus & Vectors 4U Biology 4U 1 of Advanced Functions 4U, Calculus & Vectors 4U, Chemistry 4U, Physics 4U Applicants without Calculus & Vectors 4U will be required to take an equivalent Calculus course in Level I.
More than marks?supplementary application	Yes An Admission Information Form (AIF) is required. We will send you instructions when we acknowledge your application. You are strongly encouraged to write the Euclid Mathematics Contest and the Canadian Senior Mathematics Contest. Individual selection may vary. Usually closes before January 15	Marks only
Co-op	Available	Available
Degree	Bachelor of Computer Science, BCS, Bachelor of Mathematics, BMath	—
First-year intakewhere published	360	1,000
What you study	Artificial Intelligence Computer Games Computer Science Health Informatics	Animal Science Biological Sciences Genetics Microbiology
What it is	You study the design, development, and theory behind computer software and systems. In the co-op stream, you alternate between classroom terms and paid work terms at tech companies, giving you practical experience alongside your degree. This program suits people who want to build real-world coding skills early and explore whether they prefer software development, artificial intelligence, games, or other computing specializations while earning money.	Life Sciences Gateway is a first-year program where you explore core sciences—biology, chemistry, and math—before specializing in areas like genetics, microbiology, pharmacology, animal science, or psychology. It includes mandatory co-op work terms alongside your studies. This broad entry lets you test different life science directions before committing to a specific degree, rather than applying directly to a single specialized program.
The door tomajors you reach through it	computer science	biochemistry biology life sciences medical sciences microbiology neuroscience
Entrance awardsat this campus, by average	4 published, 3 with no applicationfrom 80%See them	5 published, 3 with no applicationfrom 75%See them
Source	University of Waterloo on OUInfo	McMaster University on OUInfo

Also compare with

Same subject area and a similar published range, at a campus you have not got in the table yet.

Ranges are what each university publishes, not guaranteed cutoffs, and limited-enrolment programs often admit above them. Confirm anything you are about to act on with the university; each column links to its source.