Which University Should I Choose for Engineering: UofT or UofW?

[FarazAB]

Hi Guys,

I am currently in grade 11 (just finished my last exam yesterday :-), who lives in Toronto. I would like to pursue toward an Engineering program. I have some questions:

1- I am not sure which school to go (Waterloo or Toronto).
2- Considering I live in TO, does it worth to go to UW since I have to pay for accommodation and food there!
3- I have looked at the Management Engineering program and it looks interesting to me, is this a good program?
4- My grades are in mid 80s. Is this good enough for either schools or should I would harder next year to bring them up?
5- Do they look at my grade 11 marks as well?
6- I am hoping that I can get scholarship to help me with my tution fee. What are they looking for in terms of extra curriculum? Is there an actual in person interview for the admission?
7- Do they need support documents to proof my extra curriculum?

I appreciate you help in advance,

A confused grade 11 boy!

Faraz

 

[DragonPetter]

Hi Guys,

I am currently in grade 11 (just finished my last exam yesterday :-), who lives in Toronto. I would like to pursue toward an Engineering program. I have some questions:

1- I am not sure which school to go (Waterloo or Toronto).
2- Considering I live in TO, does it worth to go to UW since I have to pay for accommodation and food there!
3- I have looked at the Management Engineering program and it looks interesting to me, is this a good program?
4- My grades are in mid 80s. Is this good enough for either schools or should I would harder next year to bring them up?
5- Do they look at my grade 11 marks as well?
6- I am hoping that I can get scholarship to help me with my tution fee. What are they looking for in terms of extra curriculum? Is there an actual in person interview for the admission?
7- Do they need support documents to proof my extra curriculum?

I appreciate you help in advance,

A confused grade 11 boy!

Faraz

Hello, I think you should ask your question here instead:
https://www.physicsforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=139

I think both schools are good, but you should probably evaluate where you choose to go based on finances and what kind of student-life experience you want to have. Living on your own at a university rather than at home alone is a big experience that you can only live once. You need to ask the schools these other questions that you have.

Don't let the advanced research and big projects that they can brag about to you make you think they are the best program for you. You are going to school for an undergraduate degree, so keep that in perspective as the class size and professors' commitment to teaching are more important than fancy research topics at your stage, and a lot of schools are ranked by their productivity and research topics rather than their teaching abilities.

 

[MATLABdude]

As DragonPetter says, keep in mind that you're going for an undergraduate education. All the 4/5 year universities in Canada that offer engineering programs are accredited by the Engineers Canada and must meet their criteria:
http://www.engineerscanada.ca/e/pr_programs1.cfm

I think that unlike some of the American universities (or so I hear), we try to keep the quality of education (if not necessarily the facilities, amenities, and tuition) fairly equal across the country. That said, if you're interested in academia / research (and specific fields) you should definitely investigate what sorts of research happens where (though you're not necessarily anchored at your university for undergrad summer research and definitely not for graduate school).

Both Waterloo and U of T are highly respected universities, and you probably can't go wrong going to either of them. The minimum admission criteria (and other information for prospective students) is listed on their respective websites:
http://www.discover.engineering.utoronto.ca/admissions/requirements.htm
http://www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/undergraduate.html

Competitive is often higher than minimum, so don't start slacking just because you have the minimum (just kidding, sort of). I'd also suggest going down to your school's guidance councillor, as they can probably better tell you what the "competitive" at these universities is, and what ducks you have to line up to get in.

As per DragonPetter, I've reported this thread and hopefully someone'll be by to move it to the Academia subforum.

 

[snowman]

@OP, if you're living near UofT it isn't such a big deal, but if you live in Scarborough and you're thinking of commuting to UofT it is NOT going to work. It is roughly an hour and a half one way. If you're at Waterloo, you won't have that problem. Also, if you're struggling to get 90's in high school, maybe UofT and Waterloo are not for you. I did get 90's but I am not taking my chances so Queen's it is for me. UofT and Waterloo are not for the average student, or for those brown guys who get by in high school by copying, cheating, getting the first period's or last semester's tests, and begging the teachers to lower their test marks, and still have the gall to brag that "if I tried hard I could eaaaaaaaaaasily get high 90's".

 

[Sankaku]

those brown guys

Maybe I misunderstand, but I hope this isn't some kind of racial slur?

 

[Ryker]

I'm sure he meant "those brown-nose guys". Don't worry, they'll cover that as part of some general education requirement course at Queens, no doubt

 

[Clever-Name]

I'm sure he meant "those brown-nose guys". Don't worry, they'll cover that as part of some general education requirement course at Queens, no doubt

No I'm sure he meant what he said. There is a strong 'brown' population in the Greater Toronto Area (honestly, white people are the minority), associated with that are some strong stereotypes, and I'm not so sure it's just a stereotype. A lot of students from Toronto come down to London (I go to UWO) and the 'brown' ones that I have met fit that stereotype perfectly. My roommate (brown) faked having swine-flu so he could write his physics mid-term at home, in which he proceeded to call 6 of his buddies over to help him with it. That is one of several questionable actions he made from an academic point of view, you could also question the profs sanity in allowing a midterm to be written at home, but that's a different argument.

Now to address the OP, as far as I know the admission scholarships are handed out on academic merit, not based on an interview or extra-curriculars; however to be sure just go to the universities website and find the info yourself, it shouldn't be too hard to find.

 

[snowman]

Just to clarify, I'm brown myself. Yes, I meant brown guys.

 

[AndersonMD]

There is a great tool:

http://www.globecampus.ca/navigator/rankings/

Put in the criteria you want, and it will rank the schools based on your needs/desires.

 

[snowman]

thanks for that.
Apparently, Queen's is pretty good when it comes to education, course variety, and student services.