Waterloo Software Engineering or Dalhousie Computer Science

[Macmee]

I was really fortunate to have been accepted into both Waterloo for Software Engineering and Dalhousie for Computer Science. I had my mind set on Waterloo for the longest time but then when the general scholarships were announced at Dalhousie I was also really fortunate to have gotten $8,600 from them. Although that wont pay for everything at Dal, with it I could go to Dal for a lot less money than I could go to Waterloo. Also I have to be really honest and say I really don't feel good about leaving home, leaving Nova Scotia and moving into residence at Waterloo; the prospects of that really frighten me especially if I end up doing poorly and I'm completely isolated from friends and family.

I would definitely feel a lot more comfortable going to Dalhousie because it's local, but I think in the back of my mind I'll always wonder if I made the right decision because I've heard really amazing things about the CO-OP programs Waterloo offers in Software Engineering. I'm also not sure if it would hurt my ability to become employed after University by going to Dal instead of Waterloo because at Waterloo I would be working towards a SE degree (as opposed to CS at Dal), and then there's also the more extensive CO-OP at Waterloo which I'm sure appeals to employers as well.

[Tony]

- you'd be making a lot more than $8,600 through co-op; if that's the only price differentiator, than UW will likely cost less overall (although there might be higher upfront cost initially).
- very few people come to Waterloo with "friends and family" (it's a very small town); as everyone will be in the same position as you, it'd be easy to make friends (especially in SE; having just about all of your classes with the same group of people).
- if you get especially home-sick, you can try finding a co-op position in Nova Scotia, and go back every other 4 months. If you don't think there's enough work opportunity to support co-op positions... then you'd have just as much trouble finding employment after graduating from Dal (as co-op students actually have work experience to put on their resume).

But I think the most fair description is not that you'd "hurt" your chances... it's just that Waterloo is known to be a lot more challenging -- once you come out on the other end, a career will simply be "easier" than it would be otherwise.

[Macmee]

My guts telling me to go to Waterloo Tony but I just extraordinarily don't want to leave the province. Do you know if it's possible to delay acceptance at Waterloo for a year?

[Tony]

Your best course of action at this point might be to contact UWaterloo's admissions directly. They should be able to answer such questions.