Exploring Canadian Universities for Engineering: Prospects for NASA and Beyond

[Quantum_Prodegy]

Hello everyone,

I'm in my first year of the International Baccalaureate program (gr 11) at Ashbury College (Ottawa, Canada) and have a strong interest in maths and sciences. I would like to go into aerospace/mechanical engineering, and then work for NASA. My greatest aspiration is to become an astronaut, but University comes before NASA.

I have a few different Canadian Universities in mind, it would be amazing to get into the US but extremely costly and difficult. So for now, which Canadian Universities should I look further into? So far I have been thinking Waterloo, Queens, McGill, or U of T.

I was hopoing to perhaps hear from others who have attended these schools, what they like/dislike about them, quality of education, etc...as well as what it takes to get into them.

Also, if I were to attend a Canadian school such as one of the ones above, how difficult would it be to get a job with NASA, coming from Canada?

Thanks,
-Jonathan

PS - this is off topic but how does GPA compare to a Cdn high school average, or and IB mark?

 

[Hercule Poirot]

Queen's, U of T, Waterloo, and Mcgill are all prestigious and it doesn't make a big difference on the undergrad level. However, for the grad level, you can try to make it to U of T since it has one of the best aero/mech engineering program

 

[Quantum_Prodegy]

ok thanks, i found that not many Canadian universities offer aerospace engineering...is this correct or am i just researching this wrong.

what programs would you recoment at the undergrad lvl, prior to aerospace/mech engineering at grad lvl?

 

[Hercule Poirot]

i don't know much about aerospace or mech ( i am elec), but logically you would have to start with aero/mech in your undergrad. U of T's undergrad engineering science program has an aerospace option, but keep in mind that the eng sci is highly sophisticated and thus it's very competitive to get in. You may though start with mechanical which it would be easier to get in. you would also need to contact the U of T aerospace institue (click here) to check on their requirements. Beyond that i am not really helpful, i would urge you to continue on your research and seek advice from those who may know better.