uWaterloo versus UBC??

[x30Jx]

I know that most of the talk here is about UW, but I was wondering if anyone knew much about the CS program at UBC in Vancouver. I plan to move to BC, and was thinking about getting my education there rather than getting it at UW then moving to BC for several reasons (local education makes emplyers happier, easier adjustment (none) before getting work after graduating, no settle in time.)

I would really apprecitate any input you guys can give me.

Thanks again.
Joe.

[jbking]

There was a thread about Schools East and West (of Ontario) that had some remarks about UBC being a good school. There are also a few other schools in BC, like Simon Fraser, U of Victoria, and U of Northern BC that may be worth exploring as well.

[Prabhakar Ragde]

UBC's first CS course will be in Scheme starting next fall (there is a pilot on now). Smart decision.

http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2009/09/04/computer-science-110-breaking-stereotypes-and-new-ground/

[x30Jx]

Just curious, but why is scheme so kick ass? Everyone seems to be drooling over it

And Mr. Ragde, aren't you playing Devil's Advocate right now? Just kidding; thanks for the input.

Thanks for that link, jbking, I apparently did not even see it when it went up in November. Silly me. of course, I wasn't looking in to it then, so I can't really blame myself.


Anyone else have any thoughts on UBC for Computer Science? Or even UBC/BC itself in general/

[Euphoracle]

Scheme is good because there's less

public static void main (string[] args)

memorizing nonsense that confuses a good portion of cs students (at least, in HS it definitely did)

Edit: Amongst other reasons.

[wtd]

To add to what Euphoracle said, Scheme scales well with the needs of a computer science class. Simple programs are simple, and t can grow to demonstrate more advanced concepts later on. Heck, DrScheme incorporates this right into the program, with different subsets of Scheme that expose more and more as the curriculum progresses.

As with many functional and/or dynamic languages, Scheme is very expression-oriented (vs. statement-oriented) and as a Run-Eval-Print-Loop which allows students to easily try code and immediately see the results without having to write any boilerplate code.

[Prabhakar Ragde]

UBC is a reputable school, not only in CS but in most other disciplines, meaning you'll have a good choice of decent electives.

I personally don't like Vancouver much. The setting is stunning but the city itself is ugly, and tough to live in thanks to a lack of urban planning and some fairly selfish and short-sighted attitudes among the populace. It's not a bad place to go to school for a few years, though.

[wtd]

If you come to Vancouver, take the opportunity to take some Chinese language courses. A huge part of the bread and butter of computer science is internationalizing software, and international markets don't get much larger than China.

Plus, Vancouver has a huge Asian community, so you'll have ample chances to practice.

[Prabhakar Ragde]

Also the Chinese food is excellent. I have not had better dim sum anywhere in North America.