<p>So I'm posting this in the admissions forums because I want to know how Canadian schools rank for the average American. </p>
<p>So first of all, which Canadian Schools do you know (if any)? </p>
<p>And how would you rank those schools in overall prestige? And how would you rank those schools in terms of their engineering programs?</p>
<p>And how would you compare the top Canadian engineering programs to the top 10 engineering programs in the states prestige-wise?</p>
<p>Oh, actually, I meant to post this on the College Admissions forum but reply anyways lol</p>
<p>I am acquainted with only Toronto and McGill.</p>
<p>[ARWU</a> Field 2009 ENG](<a href=“http://www.arwu.org/ARWUFIELD2009ENG.jsp]ARWU”>http://www.arwu.org/ARWUFIELD2009ENG.jsp)</p>
<p>I don’t approve of these rankings, but they paint an accurate portrait of how large research universities are perceived by leading academics around the world–or, at least, in China, where prestige is of chief importance.</p>
<p>As you can see, both McGill and Toronto rank in the Top 50, which is excellent.</p>
<p>[ARWU</a> 2009](<a href=“http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2009.jsp]ARWU”>http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2009.jsp)</p>
<p>Toronto and McGill make an appearence in this general ranking, as do UBC and McMaster.</p>
<p>Canadian universities command a presence on the world stage.</p>
<p>American students rarely consider Canadian universities, especially for engineering. However, the good ones who have done their research thoroughly will know of these schools and their good reputation. Can’t speak for American academics or professionals.</p>
<p>University of Waterloo. Considered Canada’s MIT.</p>
<p>I’m fairly familiar with Toronto, McGill, and UBC. Like 1980, I’ve heard of Waterloo’s reputation for tech/engineering. </p>
<p>I’ve heard the names of McMaster, Simon Fraser, Queen’s, York, and Calgary mentioned, but I know nothing about them.</p>
<p>I’ve always considered Toronto the top school in Canada, McGill a slight notch below, UBC a little below that, and the others trailing.</p>
<p>Mcgill is no 18 in the world and for a Canadian costs about 6000$ a year…it is the HARVARD of Canada…Queens University in Kingston is great, Western in London Ont , University of British Columbia, Univ of Toronto are also great as are most others in Canada…there are very few Canadian Universities that are poor …Maclean’s Mag does a survey every year…google it…hope this helps…it also depends what you wish to study.</p>
<p>sorry to chip in, but when I read that Waterloo is considered Canada’s MIT, I was like
what??? </p>
<p>Waterloo is not only 100x easier to get in (the cutoff is in the 80’s and although they do consider EC’s, EC’s are not heavily weighted and are only considered when grades are borderline), but like U of T, it has those huge class sizes and doesn’t give that many scholarships. </p>
<p>Waterloo is reputable for engineering mainly because of its co-op program, unlike U of T which has a professional experience year (PEY).</p>
<p>As someone who went to the U.S.'s MIT 
and worked for many years at a large, well-respected tech company, I have an extremely high opinion of Waterloo. We had a lot of co-op students who went on to full-time jobs. They were uniformly bright and well-prepared. I think their engineering program is excellent.</p>
<p>In a more general sense, I think McGill has the strongest reputation outside Canada for most people.</p>
<p>Waterloo is definately the best for engineering. The second best is probably UofToronto.
McGill has the big rep. outside of Canada, but its hard to get into for people outside of Quebec. UBC and UofToronto are the well known outside of Canada.</p>
<p>McMaster and UofWesternOntario are great schools, but as a Canadian, I don’t know about their reputations outside of Canada. McMaster has the toughest program to get into (Health Science), which is a really arbitrary process, but that program yields the highest %'s of students going to Med school, dentistry, and other professional schools. However, it does start with the smartest kids so it’s expected to work out that way.</p>
<p>And our % system is different, an 80% is an A, but I agree ALL engineering programs are pretty easy to get into. UofToronto Engineering Science has a approx. entering average of 93-94% though.</p>
<p>Yeah, Waterloo engineering is good because of its co-op program. </p>
<p>But based on talking to people, finding a job even with co-op isn’t that easy. What usually happens is that you apply to 50 jobs and get 1 or 2 interviews. And since co-op is mandatory, if you don’t find a job (especially with the bad economy), you’d have to volunteer. </p>
<p>So naturally, the co-op students that are actually hired by well-known companies would be at the top of the class.</p>
<p>Again, sorry for chipping in…</p>
<p>^ This doesn’t add up at all. They’ve had a 92-98% co-op employment rate up until 2009, with 3500 co-op companies and earnings averaging between 47-74,000 during one’s degree.</p>
<p>Yeah it’s like getting a real job…just like when you graduate! But there is huge value in that. Even if you had to ‘volunteer’ (which few do) you are still getting an education that is much more likely to get you a job than one that doesn’t provide you with that job experience (especially during these times).</p>
<p>I don’t trust those numbers… it’s probably skewed. </p>
<p>If you can’t find an engineering related job, you still have to find a non-engineering job. Those numbers probably include these. </p>
<p>I know people a people in are at Waterloo because I live in Toronto… </p>
<p>The cutoff for engineering there is usually around 85. Of course, there will be students in the 90’s entering there (because U of Waterloo has the best engineering with co-op) and those students might be the ‘better’ ones, but if you were borderline, then you better get lucky on finding a job.</p>
<p>If you are interested in Business/Economics check out Wilfrid Laurier. Consistently one of the top ranked business schools in Canada.</p>
<p>^Some of my coauthors work at Waterloo, I work there on those projects. I know the data.</p>
<p>Pretty many kids at my school have heard of McGill. It’s known as a pretty good school with a lower drinking age. </p>
<p>I’ve also heard of UToronto, UWO, and UBC, but I don’t think most (if any other kids) have. I think very highly of Toronto, I condisered that one for a while. I don’t know much about UWO, just know someone that went there. And I don’t even know where I heard of UBC.</p>
<p>Most people in the US have heard of two Canadian unis - McGill, and maybe Toronto. The others are not well known, if they’re known at all, except in certain fields - such as UBC in film. </p>
<p>In the US, amongst engineering employers, the only two are U Toronto and, far below it, Waterloo. U Toronto is considered one of the top 10 engineering schools in the world, and holds an international reputation. Waterloo is mainly known for software engineering, and is not considered as strong as U Toronto. It’s known because Microsoft recruits there, due in part to location. </p>
<p>McGill is known for liberal arts. It’s known in the US, and is very well known in the northeastern US. It ranks well in engineering, but engineering employers, when thinking of Canadian schools, think U Toronto.</p>
<p>^Completely agree with RoaringMice. UofToronto is an excellent school. Lot of top companies recruit here, engineering and non-engineering. And after 2nd year you can enroll in a 4th month co-op and then do a 16month PEY after 3rd year. Or opt for another 4month co-op after 3rd year. With NSERC you can get excellent research opportunities too, with some great professors. And according to US News, UofT is ranked 8th in the world for engineering and IT. Not too shabby for a large public institution eh?</p>
<p>And I personally think prestige is usually not that big of an issue in Canada. In the US it might be because there are so many universities and colleges. In Canada there aren’t that many school and hence its not really a big of a deal here.</p>
<p>Check this out: [Waterloo</a> co-op employment rate - Math, Engineering & Computer Science - Studentawards Forum](<a href=“http://forums.studentawards.com/yaf_postst9482_Waterloo-coop-employment-rate.aspx]Waterloo”>http://forums.studentawards.com/yaf_postst9482_Waterloo-coop-employment-rate.aspx) </p>
<p>89% employed (paid + unpaid) still isn’t that great, considering that co-op is mandatory and is required for graduation. This is definitely not what MIT stats would look like. Besides, admissions into Waterloo is guaranteed as long as you have 87%+ (and if you’re borderline, they consider your EC’s) . </p>
<p>I agree with most of what eceuoftoronto said, except that it’s harder to get a research position in Canada than one thinks. They’re very competitive…</p>