Computer Science Canada

University in 2 years (wut to do)

Author:  djlenny_3000 [ Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:52 pm ]
Post subject:  University in 2 years (wut to do)

hey there everybody i know many of you are in university or past that stage and i was wondering what universities should i be interested in signing up to

iv looked at waterloo, u of t, york, mcmaster, windsor and a bunch more but i would like your opinions, please if you want to reply give me the location, required marks for entrance and pros and cons, this would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys

Author:  Martin [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:01 am ]
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Two years man? Don't even worry about it yet. Just enjoy yourself.

That said, Waterloo. Definitely Waterloo.

Author:  codemage [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:52 pm ]
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Take it easy & enjoy your time in High School while the homework is easy. Very Happy The rest is probably obvious, but I'll state it anyway:

Don't shoot yourself in the foot by taking applied courses.

Keep your marks as high as possible, particularly in maths, CompSci & English. When you decide what actual program you want to get into, make sure you find out what requirement courses are, etc, etc.

If you'll be taking programming, find out what language your school uses & get some basic practice in.

Author:  cool dude [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 2:17 pm ]
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codemage wrote:
Take it easy & enjoy your time in High School while the homework is easy. Very Happy


umm i think grade 11 work load is harder than grade 12 because theres a much bigger jump from 10 and 11 then 11 and 12. but thats my opinion. most universities are good, but in order to choose the right one for yourself u will have to consider

1) do u wanna live at home or on campus

2) wat program do u want to go into

3) r u looking for high scholarships b/c different universities offer different amount for entrance scholoraships

also make sure u have all your requirements for university. i.e for engineering i believe u need requirements phyisics, chemisty, calculus, english. if u have a minimum of 80% average your very likely to get into most computer programs. also i suggest u try out the waterloo computer contests at your school b/c i know that waterloo university might look at your scores on the contest if it comes to choosing u or the other person plus its good experience. as everyone said don't stress to much about it, and enjoy highschool.

Author:  Cervantes [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 4:29 pm ]
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cool dude wrote:
codemage wrote:
Take it easy & enjoy your time in High School while the homework is easy. Very Happy


umm i think grade 11 work load is harder than grade 12 because theres a much bigger jump from 10 and 11 then 11 and 12. but thats my opinion.

Yes, in the sense that it's more common to have a spare. No, in that the courses are harder. No, in that you're also applying to universities and scholarships/bursaries etc.

Author:  Dan [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:43 pm ]
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I think a big factor peoleop forget about when looknig in to unis is the comunity there. There is a big difrence between a big uni and a small one comunity wise and in alot of other ways. It is impornt to find a uni that fits you rather then finding one that has a good rep or your firends say is the best, beasues for ontatio at least most of the undergraute progemes are going to be the same as there coutnerparts at other unis and i personaly find it unlikey that it will effect your emeployment if u get an undergard degrea at some ontario uni over another one. But even if it did, you have to rember that repuations chage over time.

Author:  person [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:45 pm ]
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does anyone know if canadian/american unis look at wat skool the candidate graduated from?

Author:  Dan [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:51 pm ]
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person wrote:
does anyone know if canadian/american unis look at wat skool the candidate graduated from?


Althougth the pratcess is looked down apone some unis in ontatio look at what highschool you are coming from. From what i have seen this is a big factor for some unis like u of w and ingored by others (ushely smaller ones). Also some unis ask for adation infromation other then grades and send lots of forums for you to fill out.

Author:  Hikaru79 [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:55 pm ]
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person wrote:
does anyone know if canadian/american unis look at wat skool the candidate graduated from?


Some Canadian universities do favor a small selection of schools. For the most part though, it's all fair game.

Author:  person [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:56 pm ]
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Hikaru79 wrote:
Some Canadian universities do favor a small selection of schools


can u name some of the ones that r situated in toronto?

Author:  brenn [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:13 pm ]
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person wrote:
can u name some of the ones that r situated in toronto?


Well, that isn't really published information. (At least not publically).

Author:  Tony [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:14 pm ]
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School's reputation is based on the comparison of highschool grades reported to grades recieved by students accepted. So basically judging by how well students before you are doing, Universities could weight your marks

person wrote:
Hikaru79 wrote:
Some Canadian universities do favor a small selection of schools

can u name some of the ones that r situated in toronto?


In Waterloo's case there's quite a bit of emphasis on Math and Computer contests, especially when you apply for CS and Engineering. Schools that tend to regularly score well on the contests are more favourable during applications, more so if you yourself produced high contest scores. An example in Toronto area is Woburn Collegiate Institute -- 4 stage 2 medals in 2005's CCC.

Author:  brenn [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:16 pm ]
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Tony wrote:
School's reputation is based on the comparison of highschool grades reported to grades recieved by students accepted. So basically judging by how well students before you are doing, Universities could weight your marks


You mean, like through a Decision Making Matrix? ;o!!

(/derail xD)

Author:  Hikaru79 [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:17 pm ]
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brenn wrote:
Tony wrote:
School's reputation is based on the comparison of highschool grades reported to grades recieved by students accepted. So basically judging by how well students before you are doing, Universities could weight your marks


You mean, like through a Decision Making Matrix? ;o!!

(/derail xD)


In Soviet Russia, the Matrix decides YOU!

Author:  Tony [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:28 pm ]
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brenn wrote:
You mean, like through a Decision Making Matrix? ;o!!

(/derail xD)

RCA - Recommended Candidate of Alternative

//derail

Matrix is for suckers

/derail

ok, back off topic Laughing

The best guide really is to find out how many people from your school have gotten into University + Program of your choice and what kind of an application they had.

Waterloo's Engineering requires a 6 page AIF - Additional Information Form. Such asks about your activities, interests, extracurricular, etc.

Author:  brenn [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 10:07 pm ]
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Tony wrote:
Waterloo's Engineering requires a 6 page AIF - Additional Information Form. Such asks about your activities, interests, extracurricular, etc.


They ask for this when you apply to many other programs and schools, as well, by similar names.

They're very useful to get you admittances, scholarships, etc. Not all faculties/schools require them to be mandatory though--I submitted my UW Engineering AIF late, and I still got in with scholarship, and two other faculties at UW accepted me with scholarship even though I didn't even bother to do an AIF for those. So, it depends on your grades, your school repuation, and other factors.

--Not to say that you shouldn't complete those forms--they do have their merits of course.

Author:  Tony [ Thu Jan 26, 2006 10:22 pm ]
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brenn wrote:
two other faculties at UW accepted me with scholarship even though I didn't even bother to do an AIF for those.

Depends on the faculty. Math (for Computer Science) is 2 pages of multiple choice, none of essay/free responce type of Engineering questions, so Math AIF does not contribute as much.

The bottom line is that if you feel that your school is subpar, there will be a chance to show Universities otherwise. Various contests are a great way to show initiative and knowledge in a field. Administering CompSci.ca also gives bonus points Wink

Author:  brenn [ Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:18 pm ]
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Tony wrote:
Depends on the faculty.


Applied Health Sciences (pre-Opt) and Science (Life Sci).

Did you know that our AHS is this country's leading group for ergonomics and such? Oo

Author:  Cervantes [ Fri Jan 27, 2006 4:33 pm ]
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Tony wrote:
brenn wrote:
two other faculties at UW accepted me with scholarship even though I didn't even bother to do an AIF for those.

Depends on the faculty. Math (for Computer Science) is 2 pages of multiple choice, none of essay/free responce type of Engineering questions, so Math AIF does not contribute as much.


Unless I got the wrong AIF, it's now 4 or 5 pages, and no multiple choice. Plus the reference letter.

Author:  md [ Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:04 pm ]
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I din't really remember the math AIF, but from what I do remember it was 3 or 4 pages (perhaps 5), and definitely did not contain any multiple choice questions. There were even written things (a paragraph or two IIRC).

Author:  Tony [ Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:35 pm ]
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oh darn.. perhaps my recollection of Math AIF is incorrect Confused

Author:  Boo-chan [ Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:38 pm ]
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I don't remember doing an AIF for computer science, just one for engineering. I got accepted for CS to so if there is one it can't be weighed too highly.


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