Thomas Guo
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My personal (and candid) thoughts on my 1A term as a CS/BBA student

Dec 28, 2025 • 10 min read

I'm not going to lie, this program is very much silent. I'm not talking about the University of Waterloo's CS or Wilfrid Laurier's BBA on it's own—they're very much talked about in their respective spaces. However, I don't think most people talk about the double degree program at UW and WLU. That being said, this program does exist and so do the people! If you do some digging online, you will likely find other pieces of media talking about this program. I'd like to contribute to this growing collection.

Now that I've completed my first term at these two universities, I feel like I can talk about a few things out there! I hope this article can help anyone out there—be it 12th grade students deciding on which offer(s) to accept, current high school students, or just a random internet friend who stumbled on my blog!

Just a quick disclaimer: This blog is just my own experience and are not an objective reality of this program or any other program out there. If you have any serious questions about admissions, I highly ask you to contact UWaterloo or WLU admissions—they know it all! I've only completed my first term at these institutions so I'm only here to talk about what I feel so far.

Now, I'll answer the frequent questions I get from other people I've spoken to interested in my program. I'll update this post if anyone would like a question of theirs added here and answered.

Q: How is the workload?

A: In term 1A of CS/BBA, students typically take 5 courses, though the difficulty can manually be changed for the Math and CS courses. Here were my 1A courses:

This is your typical CS/BBA 1A courseload, consisting of the standard courses. With the transition to university, it is expected to treat your workload as a full-time job. That being said, you can always find efficient ways to allocate your time accordingly to let you succeed.

Math 135—Algebra for Honours Mathematics (UW)

For Math 135, learning proofs was a very new concept for me, and during the first three weeks of the term, the entire course was structured around weekly assignments, often taking hours to solve (this is expected, so plan your submission time carefully). The quantity of questions per assignment was in the single digits, though the solutions could take hours to figure out. You do have the option of teaming up with a group of friends and submitting the work together; just be sure to understand each problem and solution on your own when you work with one another. For the rest of the term, weekly assignments were no longer administered and weekly quizzes instead, took over the course. In previous years, Math 135 consisted of 11 assignments, 1 midterm, and 1 exam (to my knowledge). As of 2025, Math 135 had 3 assignments and 8 quizzes (respectively). Overall, I liked parts of the course post-midterm (cryptography, modular arithmetic, polar numbers..)! Many questions were designed with elegance, and the weekly quizzes reflected very well with the content taught in lectures. Many proofs taught in this course required a lot more thinking, while other proofs could be boiled down to almost formulaic—it's okay to spend a lot of time on proofs; the course quizzes often provide more than enough time to create a quality solution. Many students will compare Math 135 as a significantly harder math course compared to Math 137 (though I personally belong on the opposite side)..

TL;DR Math 135 was a good start for learning proofs and writing them out on paper. Assignments are expected to take a lot of your time, and quizzes were on-par with textbook material.

Math 137—Calculus 1 for Honours Mathematics (UW)

As for Math 137, I personally found it harder than Math 135, though many students who did IB Math AA HL in high school would find this course as a simple revisit to high school life. This is your standard Calculus 1 course found in your typical university. First half of the course was focused on limits, second half was on derivatives. Limits would be a new topic for most students who grew up with the Ontario curriculum/IB Math SL, while derivatives have already been taught during high school. As with a typical standardized course across many universities and continents, Calculus 1 at UW shouldn't be any different than Calculus 1 at (insert any university here). That being said, watch out for the weekly quizzes. Quizzes were often out of 20 points, and they always consist of multiple choice, true and false, short answer, and long answer problems. All of these question types like to deal with edge cases that aren't typically discussed in textbooks, and may require you to think outside of the box, though some of the questions on the quizzes are written very similar to the extra practice in the textbook. Quizzes are very easy to lose points, with quiz averages ranging from mid 50s to mid 70s. The first few weeks of Math 137 will have some more easier quizzes, with cohort averages 85%+, but expect quiz averages to skydive once the first few weeks are over. Midterm and final exams were luckily standard questions you could practice and find anywhere. Do as many practice exams as you can find.

TL;DR Math 137 weekly quizzes are evil but they help you a lot for the midterm and final exams. Content before midterm can be very difficult to understand, and post-midterm topics should be familiar for most of you.

CS 135—Designing Functional Programs (UW)

CS135.. oh my beloved Racket. This is the introductory CS course at UWaterloo, and no prerequisite coding knowledge is required from any students taking this course. The course is taught in Racket, a dialect of Lisp. By far, I felt that this course was the most time-consuming of them all. The content itself was quite nice to grasp and the coding language was made to be intelligible for the English language. It's also completely normal to feel like you don't understand how Racket recursion or coding works; that's normal. Try to get the hang of recursion as soon as possible, because that's the main premise of the course. That being said, expect to spend 8-10 hours on your weekly assignments/homework (excluding assignment 0 and 1). Unlike Math 135 and 137, there are barely any practice midterm or final papers out there, as this course has been heavily revised across the years (even an exam four years ago would likely be too outdated for today's exams). Your best way to study for these exams (that are handwritten) would be to look back at your assignment solutions and rewrite them by hand. I will say that the midterm and final were luckily not a reflection of the tedious weekly assignments and the problems were very straightforward knowledge checks.

TL;DR PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLAN YOUR TIME ACCORDINGLY! Assignments can take very long and that is completely normal; do them 1 week ahead if you must. Midterm and final exams are knowledge checks. When preparing for these examinations, do as many coding problems by hand, with pen and paper so you understand the formatting correctly.

BU 111—Understanding the Business Environment (WLU)

Now that we're done with the UW-side of courses, I can finally dig into BU111! This is the only course that I would categorize as "Your Mileage May Vary." There is definitely a population out there worried about the difficulty of BU111 or cite it as the worse course to exist, due to the immense time students will spend and the ROI of time invested versus mark received. That being said, I hope that what I say next will clear your worries just a little and see BU111 as a more rewarding and conquerable course compared to any other.

It's a course full of group projects and labs. I will be blunt; the team you get for your group assignments is a very important aspect in determining a portion of your grade (I elaborated more on this below). Unlike any 1A CS/BBA course, BU111 also has a mandatory lab (usually at night) where it's a room of 25~ people and a IA (instructional assistant) leading the discussion—think of it as a highschool class. Because of group projects, your midterm and final exam weightings are half the size of a typical examination weighting for any other course (you may or may not like this). This course was extremely unique, in the sense that there are 2 group presentation projects within the course, with the second project of the two called the "Live Case." This is a case competition for the entire BU111 population to engage in (mandatory for your grade), where company executives come inside Lazaridis Hall and discuss an issue they are grappling with followed by a live Q&A. Then, the case competition begins and you will be in a group assigned by your lab IA. I felt that for my first case competition, a real scenario in front of company executives was an excellent start and it was so amazing to see how the team of IAs for BU111 made this possible!

Now, here is the golden question: how do I succeed in this class?

Subjectively speaking, I felt that all the information I needed for exams were already written in the slidedecks published for the course. I stopped going to BU111 lectures post-midterm (a combo of the freezing walk to WLU and a bad sleep schedule made me unprepared for the 8:30 A.M. lectures), yet ultimately, the slidedecks had more than enough information needed for the midterm and exams. That being said, DO take notes and memorize the concepts in the slidedecks (especially for the midterm). Final exam material also focuses on buzzwords and memorization although (light) mathematical calculations will be prevalent on the exam (for most students, this is where you can "guarantee" your marks for the exam--compared to anywhere else, as the math portion is completely quantitative; grind those practice questions and you too can secure those marks). There will be bonus marks opportunities posted by the professors, and DO NOT SKIP OUT ON THEM. The bonus marks can add 5% to your total grade, which can absolutely change your letter grade from one tier to the next (i.e. 67 [C+] to 72 [B-]). Also, manage your time properly! You'll have to go through hurdles for this class especially given the amount of time needed for your group projects—you may be juggling with midterms and quizzes from other classes during this time; make sure you have enough time to take care of yourself and also finish your tasks accordingly.

This course will feel fine during the first few weeks, but once midterms and business presentation assignments appear, it is completely normal to spend a lot of time on BU111. Lab IAs typically place groups based on students with participation and enthusiasm. Engage with lab materials, answer questions with thought (doesn't have to always be correct!), and be a really good listener. There is a solid chance your IA will place you in a group with other like-minded students which can make your group work experience all the more enjoyable.

TL;DR Take all the bonus mark opportunities possible, and complete your pre-lab work on time. The course is very heavy in terms of time commitment; it's a process and your IAs are here to help ya.

EC 120—Intro to Microeconomics (WLU)

This will be a very standard microecon course you've taken through your high school or via IB/AP. The great part about this course is before your midterm and final weightings, 25% of your grade is fully attainable via the assigned digital textbook problems (no limit to how many times you redo them). Also, lectures are streamed on Zoom, so you can take part in the comfort of your home/dorm. I found that some topics taught in this course were more macroecon-esque (i.e. international trade), but they were more surface level. Also, exams are conducted in multiple-choice format, so no need to perfect the craft of making a neoclassical graph (though I still think drawing your own graphs is awesome ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).

While the topics are not necessarily difficult, there is a lot of practice required. Many students taking this course will struggle without properly identifying the types of questions that appear on exams. Try to do as many practice quizzes your prof will post online; it's one of the best study tools out there. You can be an expert in the realm of microecon and still find some errors within your midterm / final simply because you may not be familiar with the type problems presented—keep grinding the practice quizzes and microecon will not consume your time.

Just a little side note: IB Economics HL Credit unfortunately cannot satisfy EC120/EC140 (they will be seen as elective credit instead), while AP Econ Credit should be eligible!

TL;DR Do as many practice quizzes your prof posts—they're a lifesaver! This course is very standard so YMMV depending on your experience with microecon (microecon is very intuitive once you understand it!)

TL;DR of TL;DRs

Now, let me wrap it all up and answer the overarching question: how is the workload?

I've only answered for 1A, so for now, I'll say that its a lot. I remember doing midterms and quizzes on the same day, or completing a midterm for X course and then studying for a midterm for Y course, but a quiz for X course appeared before Y course, even though I completed the midterm for X already. Of course, there was also the time when midterm Z and a BU111 presentation was also catching up..

And for now, I'll say that 1A was amazing. I've met wonderful people outside my program, explored uptown and downtown Waterloo, and bonded with people at UW and WLU over shared projects. Yes, the transition to university is tough, and 1A definitely won't spare you. Many first years across Canada will feel the same with the pressure to adjust, and CS/BBA is no different. It is worth considering how Double Degree has limited options for electives early on, as you will notice how Math, CS, or BBA students have much more opportunity to explore courses their university offers.

Q: What was your favourite course this term?

Math 135. Proofs were difficult and post-midterm content was hard, but it was fulfilling to see everything piece together.

Q: What's the difference between UW-sided CS/BBA and Laurier-sided CS/BBA?

The Official Double Degree Club does a really great job at explaining this. I'll add on to say that Laurier-sided students will not have a mandatory co-op period in their first year summer, compared to UW-sided students.

Qa: Can I drop one part of my degree?

Yes! It's quite easy; filling out a form and speaking to your double degree advisor is all it takes to drop one side of the degree, though staying in the co-op program will depend on the school you're at. Here is the official guide on "dropping" a degree (CS or BBA) depending on your home school. I can only comment on UW-sided CS/BBA, but if you are in the process of picking between UW-sided CS/BBA vs UW CS (with co-op), pick the double degree! You can always drop the double degree even before you arrive on campus—the admissions office can help you out—you don't need an active UW CS (with co-op) offer to do this either (as of 2025 admissions).

Qb: Is it popular for people to drop one of their degrees?

At the end of the day, the Double Degree program—Math/BBA or CS/BBA—is indeed a demanding program. Students are full-time students at both UW and WLU, taking the same courses for their degree plan as one another. I would say that after completing 1A, half the friends I've made in Double Degree have dropped into a single degree plan. While it feels a lot more lonelier after a single term, I'll still see my friends anyway—just without the Double Degree bonding experience added. To those who consider dropping to a single degree plan, I like to think to myself in an EC120 (🤓) sense: am I maximizing the benefits of both degrees? Does my marginal benefit (happiness) exceed or equal my marginal cost (blood, sweat, tears)? I like this program, and I completely understand my friends and the other students before them that have taken the path of leaving the double degree pathway. So for those who are considering: if you do drop one degree, you're definitely not the first, or the last person to do so.

Q: How is the commute between both campuses?

Very different for each person! For some residences, like Ron Edyt Village of UW or 308 King St of Laurier, the walk between two campuses are.. daunting. Walking from one campus/residence to another can take 40~ minutes and many students who live in those far residences often take a bus to commute across campus. Bus / ION (light rail) transit passes are included in your tuition (UW and Laurier). On the other hand, some residences are right between the two campuses, such as UW Place of UW or Waterloo College Hall of Laurier, and a leisurely 8 minute walk will suffice. Make sure to consider commuting times (and whether you'll take the bus often) when considering which on-campus housing residence to consider—especially during periods of heavy blizzards where ice is everywhere!

Q: How close-knit is the Double Degree cohort?

It's a lot more easier to share your experiences and strike a conversation with another double degree student, given how everyone has the same courses, assignments, packed-schedules, etc. However, the double degree community isn't constantly together or in the same room, apart from Double Degree orientation (lol). You will definitely find another double degree student within your courses, as you will be placed in lecture sections with other double degree students for your first year. That being said, the best place to find a cluster of double degree students is.. you guessed it! Double Degree Club.

Q: Give us your unsolicited tips!

YESSS MY FAVOURITE QUESTION!

Denouement

Thanks for listening to me ramble. Feel free to email me (using the link below) I will update this blog post with any additional question I receive along the way. In the meantime, feel free to suggest anything for me to talk about (or give feedback)! See you in my next blog post!

More questions about CS/BBA or.. me (o_0)!? Click here to shoot me an email!