Waterloo or University of Toronto @ Scarborough

[TheOneTrueGod]

Herin referred to as UW and UoTSC respectively.

Allright, i've been accepted to both, but i'm not sure which I should go to, so i'm turning to the online community for some information on which is more advantageous.
Note: If you're just promoting your university because of pride, please don't. I want informative... information... on each one, not putting down of the other one... (Though if you do it to emphasise a point, go for it...)

Allright, heres what i've got so far:

UW
(++) More prestegious
(-) I might not wind up with a physics mark to get in, and if I accept UW, and then not get high enough physics, i'm not sure what'll happen...
(-) Apparantly lots of work (like more so than other universities)
(- and +) Its very far away from home.
UoTSC
(+)Still somewhat prestegious
(+)Apparantly less work than UW (Though still more so than others.)
(+)I've got the marks to get in fo' sho'
(- and +) Its very close to home.

(I have mixed feelings on the last point for both of em)

Anyone have any Input?

edit: Forgot to mention, its the Computer Science program.

[jamonathin]

My comment isn't based upon experience (i too am first year university netx year) or knowledge about the universities, but simply thinking about what you said.

UW has 1.5/4 +'s (prestegious counts as 1 )
Toronto has 3.5/4 +'s

Now why is that? If you're conserned about the workload, and if that is really going to effect your choice of university, then may i mite add that you shouldn't go to university - but i know that's not you so dont worry bout it .

Now your physics mark - i think it's what . . the 12th you have? that's definately before exams so you may as well accept both offers, what can it hurt? because im shure you can decline at a later time - i thnk .

Now for location. I'll tell you something about going to a different school because you want to be away from home. My friend went to western so she could get out of windsor from home (independant dumbass) - now she has a 18,000 debt for all expenses mad in that time - how? Frig i dunno but she does. Stick it out with your family for a few more years, you'll be glad you did.
I mean, i too got into Waterloo, but i'd have to be ficken nuts to o there cuz i live in windsor - but any distance other than home still means residence and food.

So my overall choice for you would be toronto - it's a for shure thing that will cost much less.

[Cervantes]

Ah, I'm very happy to see you'll be entering university next year, with me.

Cost (and directly related to that, distance from home) may seem like a big factor, but it shouldn't be. What's most important is the quality of education you get.

In that regard, Waterloo would be the place to go. Waterloo is the place to go for computer science. I think UT would probably be #2, but it's a level below UW.

If you got accepted, you've probably got an average of 83 or higher (guessing). Your average can fall to 75%, I believe. So your physics mark would have to drop a lot for it to be a problem (though you still have to pass it).

My vote goes to UW, without question. As an added bonus, I'll be there! (Along with many other compsci.ca members.)

jamonathin wrote:

Now your physics mark - i think it's what . . the 12th you have? that's definately before exams so you may as well accept both offers, what can it hurt? because im shure you can decline at a later time - i thnk

I've never even thought about doing that. I have accepted an offer (Queen's) then declined it later (because their deadline was May 12 instead of June 12). If you're thinking of doing this, make absolutely certain you can. Find the documentation on the ouac website specifying this is valid, and then call them to verify that the website is right.
Another problem with this is that UW requires a $500 non-refundable deposit by June 12 if you plan on living in residence. I'm not sure if UT would do the same.

[cool dude]

cerventes how r u going to afford waterloo? its like $20,000 a year (including everything). if your planning to take a loan you might end up with $100,000 loan after you graduate! i too really wanted to go to waterloo but my financial status isn't all that great and i don't think there scholarships will cover all these expenses.

[Cervantes]

cool dude wrote:

cerventes how r u going to afford waterloo? its like $20,000 a year (including everything). if your planning to take a loan you might end up with $100,000 loan after you graduate! i too really wanted to go to waterloo but my financial status isn't all that great and i don't think there scholarships will cover all these expenses.

I'm not really worried about it. That may just be because of the aura of disillusionment I've built up around myself when it comes to the cost of university.

I've got a $10000 scholarship from UW. I'll also get bursary money. I'll undoubtedly have to get a loan, but I'm okay with that.

Heck, I'm not even doing co-op.
Heck, I'm not even going to make much money this summer. Half of the money I make will go towards paying rent.

As I said before, quality of education is the most important thing here. Money is important too, but less so. You'll pull through.

[md]

Going to waterloo is no more expensive then going to any other univeristy away from home. Tuition is rediculous everywhere

Waterloo is definitely the place for CS. What extra money you might pay to go there is well worth it. And like cervantes said; it's about the education not the money. There is always ways of getting free money if you really need/want it, but your education is worth so much more if you come from waterloo.

Also, though living away from home may cost a wee bit more it's definitely worth it. You learn a lot about how to be responsable and depending on where your living you might also learn key things like cooking. Also, girls don't generally like going back to yoru place if you live with your parents

[Delos]

jamonathin wrote:

UW has 1.5/4 +'s (prestegious counts as 1 )
Toronto has 3.5/4 +'s

He said UTSC! Not St. George. No offense to any alumni from there, but UTSC doesn't have half the prestige of St. George...it's simply a fact of being a satellite campus. And to think that the MAC Admin is thinking of creating a similar satellite in Burlington! Bah!
I do agree with most others here. If you're up for Comp Sci, then UW is the place to be. I'm not too sure how the system works there, but AFAIK, first year will be a very general and generic year for you. I would guess that you'd be applying to the Faculty of Mathematics. This means that your first year will allow you the opportunity to fully explore what your chosen discipline is going to be like. I know many, many people who have gone into one stream in first year and switched over the next for whatever reason. The most extreme example I can give is someone who got into Engineering, did extravegantly well in his first year, then switched over to Music because he got bored. He's switching into ArtSci next year.
Don't be alarmed if your first few courses aren't what you expected them to be. Heck, don't be alarmed if the entire experience isn't what you had hoped for. Uni takes a lot of getting used to - though it just so happens that they give you about half a week for all of it to happen. That's what frosh week is mainly about.
By the end of first year, you'll have a fairly good idea whether you're in the right place or not. If you find yourself abhoring every course, prof, and TA you encounter - chances are you're either extremely lazy, or just in the wrong field. It's a sad, sad truth that outside of AP, high school offers only limited preparation for Uni life (on the whole). (And for kids like myself, AP wasn't even offered at my high school...).
It's definitely good that you have a goal and game-plan. Just keep in mind that starting in September, you're going to be thrown into a hectic and energetic lifestyle that is going to change a lot of who you are. Hold your own, persevere, and take the fullest advantage you can of the fact that you have choices at your disposal.
Choice == exercising will == manifestation of freedom.

[Andy]

cool dude wrote:

cerventes how r u going to afford waterloo? its like $20,000 a year (including everything). if your planning to take a loan you might end up with $100,000 loan after you graduate! i too really wanted to go to waterloo but my financial status isn't all that great and i don't think there scholarships will cover all these expenses.

uw does not cost 20k a year, i just bought a 270 dollar blazer yesturday, and according to my budgets, im only spending 15-16k. Also, Co-Op pays for most of your education, I was only 1 thousand short for this term from what i saved from last term ATI, and NVIDIA is paying me twice as much as ATI.

UTSC has almost no prestige, and it's really not that hard at all.

Just a word of advice, if you come to waterloo for compsci, make sure you like it, i mean really really like it.. sometimes i even have doubts about my major...

[TheOneTrueGod]

Thanks for the replies guys. Compsci is my life, I took 5 years of night school before high school on it, and more extra curricular courses outside of school during high school.

Finances aren't really that big of a problem for me, but I think what will be a problem is the marks. I'll try calling UW on tues and asking them about it.
As for the prestiege thing, I was allways under the impression that UTSC had the same prestiege as UTSG.

I used to be leaning towards UTSC, but from the replies here, it looks like UW is probably better... Ah well, i'll see what answers I can get on tuesday.

Thanks

[Ninja]

hey guys. sorry for bothering u but i had some questions to ask, since most people here are university/college compsci students. im from india, i moved to canada around august of 2003. ive been working with computer for a very loong time, and been into programing and learning new operating systems since last summer (2005). i can say for sure that i enjoy compsci, specially programing. my dad, who has previously worked for microsoft and oracle as a programer and a linux/unix server admin for oracle has been teaching me programing and linux for the last year too. so its not like i have no help at all. now i am in grade 11, aproaching my last year in high school and i have to decide where to go to after next year, in fall of 2007. the question i had to ask was that im thinking of taking the information/system security course at sheridan, or maybe going to mohawk for something similar. i havnt looked into a lot of universities/colleges yet, but just wanted to ask what are the requirements of going into compsci at some universities u guys go to. sheridan's requirements are 65% minimum average, grade 12 science, math, and english, university level. my average last semester was 81.2%, and this years its around 75%, cause of all the hard courses. so in grade 12 if i get a 80+ average, which i hope i do, what are some good college/universities u guys recommend. i will look into this myself in the summer once i dont have 20 hours of homework to do everyday. thank you once again

[Cervantes]

Waterloo is, as mentioned, a good school. For compsci at waterloo, you should probably have an average of 85 to be safe, though I think the requirements are closer to a low 80. 82?

For compsci at waterloo, English and Calculus are a must, geometry and discrete is highly recommended. I think one science might be needed (preferably physics). And of course ICS4M is good to have, but not required (some schools don't offer it).

[Ninja]

ah, thanks for replying man, i appreciate it. the cources u mentioned i have takend next year. i have calculus, and data managment and stats next year, along with ENG4u1 and ics4m1. but if i get an average 85% below this semester, will that make my going to waterloo hard, or do they look at grade 12 marks?

[Cervantes]

Admission is based on grade12 marks. Scholarships may be based on grade 11 marks.

Aren't you taking geometry and discrete math?

[Ninja]

hmm, im not sure bro. even still, when next semester starts ill be changing one subject to geo and discrete math anyway . thanx for the advice man, much appretiated, as always

[NikG]

Andy wrote:

UTSC has almost no prestige, and it's really not that hard at all.

Andy, I gotta take offense to that. What do you have to back that up?

I'm a soon-to-be UTSC (not UoTSC) graduate. I'm not in Comp.Sci although I almost went into it. But hear me out anyways.

I'm not going to pretend that UTSC has a more prestigious comp.sci program than waterloo. I knew it when I was applying, and I'm sure it's true now, waterloo simply has the best program.
As far as program toughness goes, I have good friends at both uni's and they all bitch and complain about the workload, so I really can't compare.

One thing I can tell you is that UTSC is the only UofT campus with co-op (well... I'm sure UTSG doesn't have co-op, not 100% sure about UTM). And co-op experience REALLY helps for when you graduate. I'm sure that's more true for comp.sci students than it is even for us management students. So my point is that if you're not getting into Waterloo co-op, you may want to give UTSC some consideration.

If you are getting into waterloo co-op, you'll get 6 workterms (as opposed to 3 at utsc). That's really the only advantage... I've heard there isn't much difference in terms of the companies you'll be applying to between the uni's. I know for a fact that Microsoft, SUN and RIM hire year round at both places, and I just finished working at CGI along with about 10 waterloo co-ops.

Now for the other concerns: living away from home, as everyone said, has its obvious upsides and downsides so I'm not going to talk about it. University itself, however, is not easy. A lot of people don't adjust well from highschool to university, so they end up hating it. For those people, UTSC is better because it's a small campus, so it's easier to make friends and it's less intimidating.

Anways, that's my two cents. I tried to be fair in everything I said, and you'll notice it looks like Waterloo is winning in my books too. Hope that helped.