University in US or Canada?

[compnerd101]

im nearing the end of my highschool years and have been pondering what university i will eventually call my own in 2 years time. but i am stuck outright as to whether to study in a really good cs program here in Canada, or immigrate to the U S of A, and do my schooling there. My question is, do the really big employers like Google and Microsoft care at all where, geographically, we got our degree from? (I realize they will have a pref towards grads from places like MIT and Harvard, but i am speaking in my question explicitly in terms of country)

[ProgrammingFun]

I've also been wondering but I arrived at the conclusion to finish undergrad in Canada and then think about going abroad.

Microsoft and Google also recruit from Canadian universities with a good reputation, such as uWaterloo (primairly) and UofT. In fact, one of the admins here, Tony, got an offer from Google, and has worked with Amazon while still attending co-op at uWaterloo.

[crossley7]

U of T and Waterloo both have world class undergrad programs in CS that get as much attention as some of the top universities in the States. Another fact you will want to include will be the tuition which is significantly higher in the US than Canada (easily 3 - 4x more for top schools)

[Tony]

ProgrammingFun @ Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:45 am wrote:

In fact, one of the admins here, Tony, got an offer from Google, and has worked with Amazon while still attending co-op at uWaterloo.

co-op offer (which fell through because of HR logistics). They flew me in for on-site interviews later though.

As it's been pointed out, U.S. vs. Canada (where Canada is "UWaterloo and UofToronto") doesn't really matter. "Microsoft hires more engineers from the University of Waterloo than any other university" -- http://www.globecampus.ca/in-the-news/article/waterloo-smaller-but-smarter/

Still, if you can afford to attend something like Stanford... oh man, it makes Waterloo look like a farm by comparison. Here's the most awesome picture I know of classy Stanford students on campus