Schools I with choosing a university in Canada.

[apple314]

I'm some Canadian guy in his last year of high school, without much of an interest in anything except physics (specifically astrophysics). I've applied to physics programs in a whole bunch of places.

And shortly after, a whole bunch of places replied to me going all "okay dude, you're a pretty cool guy; we'll accept you". These include Western Ontario, Waterloo, Ottawa, McMaster's, Victoria, and Queen's. I have yet to hear anything from McGill, BC, nor Toronto. Given my 85%-ish average, I don't really expect any good news from McGill.

Though I know I shouldn't have, I've slacked off for the most of the year.

So currently, I am mostly conflicted between Waterloo, Queen's, and Toronto.

I hear that Waterloo has a brilliant co-op program and is spectacularly innovative, etc. But supposing that I don't intend to be employed by some crazy company, are the benefits still just as good? Also, I've checked out their physics specialization's timetables, and it seems to allot very little time for anything else. I was thinking that taking some philosophy or English on the side would be pretty nice. One other thing is that Waterloo's conditional offer requires a 70% in calculus. I'm just barely making it with 70.8% at the moment (In spite of my 94% in honors math). So I'm not too sure what to make of that.

About Queen's -- I'm not too sure about the specifics, but I know that it's a) pretty b) cool c) pretty cool and d) it has a bigger library than Waterloo does.

As for Toronto, my "sponsors" continuously urge me to go to Toronto, simply because it is ~*!*the best*!*~, and stuff. However, I've read that the classes are brutal; the GPAs, low; and other terrible displays of evil. Are these rumors exaggerated, or is the reality they try to depict even worse? Regardless, it would still be kind of nice to brag to my friends at home about how it's ~*!*the best*!*~, and stuff. Although that seems to be a pretty shallow premise for choosing a school? It has a gigantic library.

Apparently undergrad programs are pretty much the same everywhere, but I am still somewhat lost. Can anyone point me towards the right path? Or any path that doesn't lead to a dead end, for that matter? I like libraries and reading, am not-too-awesome at socializing, and I enjoy stargazing; I wonder how that factors into things.

Thanks a ton.

 

[Msh1]

All those schools can provide you with a great education in physics. However, it depends on what you are planning to do after graduation. If you want to go directly into the job market then Waterloo's co-op program seems pretty promising, although Toronto has this thing called PEY too. In general I would say Toronto is a slightly better choice for the following reasons:

-It is somewhat more recognized globally.
-It is ranked higher in global rankings
-Without a doubt, it has the best mathematics education in Canada if you are interested into theoretical physics. (I can argue why that is)
-It is a big school with lots of students, so many advanced courses are frequently offered.
-It is in downtown Toronto, so there are lots of activities you can do besides studying.

As for the horror stories you have heard, there is some truth to them, but I don't think it is a lot different from Waterloo and McGill.

 

[apple314]

Thanks for the reply; what of Queen's, though?

 

[Heresy]

I'm some Canadian guy in his last year of high school, without much of an interest in anything except physics (specifically astrophysics). I've applied to physics programs in a whole bunch of places.

And shortly after, a whole bunch of places replied to me going all "okay dude, you're a pretty cool guy; we'll accept you". These include Western Ontario, Waterloo, Ottawa, McMaster's, Victoria, and Queen's. I have yet to hear anything from McGill, BC, nor Toronto. Given my 85%-ish average, I don't really expect any good news from McGill.

Though I know I shouldn't have, I've slacked off for the most of the year.

So currently, I am mostly conflicted between Waterloo, Queen's, and Toronto.

I hear that Waterloo has a brilliant co-op program and is spectacularly innovative, etc. But supposing that I don't intend to be employed by some crazy company, are the benefits still just as good? Also, I've checked out their physics specialization's timetables, and it seems to allot very little time for anything else. I was thinking that taking some philosophy or English on the side would be pretty nice. One other thing is that Waterloo's conditional offer requires a 70% in calculus. I'm just barely making it with 70.8% at the moment (In spite of my 94% in honors math). So I'm not too sure what to make of that.

About Queen's -- I'm not too sure about the specifics, but I know that it's a) pretty b) cool c) pretty cool and d) it has a bigger library than Waterloo does.

As for Toronto, my "sponsors" continuously urge me to go to Toronto, simply because it is ~*!*the best*!*~, and stuff. However, I've read that the classes are brutal; the GPAs, low; and other terrible displays of evil. Are these rumors exaggerated, or is the reality they try to depict even worse? Regardless, it would still be kind of nice to brag to my friends at home about how it's ~*!*the best*!*~, and stuff. Although that seems to be a pretty shallow premise for choosing a school? It has a gigantic library.

Apparently undergrad programs are pretty much the same everywhere, but I am still somewhat lost. Can anyone point me towards the right path? Or any path that doesn't lead to a dead end, for that matter? I like libraries and reading, am not-too-awesome at socializing, and I enjoy stargazing; I wonder how that factors into things.

Thanks a ton.

I'm currently in the Physics Specialist program here at UofT and I'd say that the rumors are exaggerated... I'm FAR from the best among my class and I can still pull off As and A+s in most of my physics courses.

Solid stats:
-Within the physics department, course averages tend to hover in the C/C+ range, lab courses have an average at B+
-Only the top 10% or so of the undergraduates in the Faculty of Arts and Science have a cGPA of 3.5+ (though I can assure you that this is definitely possible)

Can't comment or compare to other schools since I don't know anything about that.

 

[flyingpig]

I'm currently in the Physics Specialist program here at UofT and I'd say that the rumors are exaggerated... I'm FAR from the best among my class and I can still pull off As and A+s in most of my physics courses.

Solid stats:
-Within the physics department, course averages tend to hover in the C/C+ range, lab courses have an average at B+
-Only the top 10% or so of the undergraduates in the Faculty of Arts and Science have a cGPA of 3.5+ (though I can assure you that this is definitely possible)

Can't comment or compare to other schools since I don't know anything about that.

Well UoT is known for tough on GPAs, I've heard some painful stories for last year's freshmen St.George Campus...

I think all Physics courses have that range, C/C+ range. The labs average are much higher though.

 

[PavelGrb]

I go to a tough private school in US which is priamrily focused on Math. I have taken the highest math courses offered and just finished my AP Calc AB junior year. My grade averages are in the high 80's and low 90's, and GPA is 3.3. I am also a national karate champion.

 

[JNBirDy]

If you were asking about advice on where to go to graduate school, I'd say UofT without a doubt. But honestly, in Canada where you go for your undergrad doesn't really matter (except for maybe engineering or business). From what you wrote I think you'd have a better time and probably achieve a higher GPA if you went to Queens (or Western since they're very similar) - and you'd get a solid education.