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In Canada, 80-100% is considered an A.
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<p>In BC, it's 86-100% (for A's). Somebody on these boards said that in the South Carolinian school system, even a 92% is considered a B, because the A cutoff mark is around 94%. That's simply insane, and if you applied that to my school, everybody would be failing! My god, what kind of inflation must be going on to warrant that kind of curve?</p>
<p>can someone rank these schools in undergrad engineering: Uof To, Mcgill, Waterloo, UBC, Queens, Acadia, Mcmaster, Western</p>
<p>also..help regarding chances would be appreciated
SAT 1300: 740m 560v
SAT2: 710m2c 630 chem 540 writing</p>
<p>GPA: 3.5/4.0 uw will increase with alot of IBs (Academic Letter award for Merit)</p>
<p>6 IB certificates. HL in Math, Physics, History</p>
<p>EC's : President of Environmental/recycling club. weekly volunteer, math league, honor societies. and a couple more</p>
<p>btw. eventhough theres no essays and stuff.. the ontario application fees are paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiinfuuuuuuuuuuuuull</p>
<p>I think you can forget the EC's in Canadian schools as they do not consider them as a factor in admissions (only in scholarships..i think..)</p>
<p>americanadakidd:</p>
<p>Waterloo
Toronto
UBC
McGill
Queen's
McMaster
Western
Acadia</p>
<p>Regarding the grade inflation, I'm happy that was corrected... it is like comparing apples and oranges</p>
<p>Overall, compared to the average US "college," most Canadian universities are very large, and are all public. UofT is massive. If you want to maintain that "college" atmosphere, Queens is the place to go (unless you go to a Canadian LAC, like St. Francis Xavier)</p>
<p>Regarding the Toronto comment (Cowgirlatheart "i would hate to live in toronto... the smog!): I resent it, from both a subjective and objective standpoint. Judging by your "cowgirl" name, I am guessing you are from Alberta, maybe Calgary. If you ARE from Calgary, which is very isolated and subsequently has among the lowest amounts of polution of all Canadian cities, the Toronto environment can be daunting, but it shouldn't be... </p>
<p>Toronto is the second fastest growing city-regions in North America. It is the economic powerhouse of the country, ranking third on the continentbehind New York City and Chicagoin the number of major corporations that have their head offices there. Toronto has a booming downtown residential district, making the quality of life in the inner city one of the highest in North America. Called the most cosmopolitan city in the world, and, in a 1990s report, one of the top ten most liveable cities in the world, Toronto is world-class. In the summer time, and only in the dead heat of July--at times--there is smog, but it is no more of a problem than in other large cities in the US. During the university time (everything but summer), there is absolutely no smog. If there is a reason to not go to UofT, it's that it is so big and spread out in the dowtown of a large city... you could potentially feel more like a number than a student. UofT is a great graduate/research/professional school... whether the undergraduate experience lives up to its overall reputation is dubious. Of course, it also depends of what courses you are taking, as some disciplines at UofT are worldclass.</p>
<p>That said about Toronto, Montreal, home of McGill, is more "liberal"... or, put simply, an awesome place to be for a young university student. Montreal culture is more in-line with that of the average undergrad, while Toronto is more serious and driven. It all depends on your preferences...</p>
<p>I don't know much about UBC, but I can affirm a previous comment on UBC being very "friendly" to IB students... the truth is, or so it is told, they LOVE them</p>
<p>UBC is very involved as a university in the IB program... I think they were the first Canadian University to recognize it...</p>
<p>does anyone know if UBC gives out scholarships to IB students or if there are any other perks besides admissions?</p>
<p>also, how is the smog in toronto compared with los angeles?</p>
<p>kfc4u, I lived in Toronto for many many years and I can assure you that the air quality there is absolutely nothing like it is in L.A. There may be a few days in the heat of summer where there is a smog advisory but even at that, it's nothing compared to what I've seen, and smelled, and breathed, in L.A. Toronto is a beautiful, clean, and safe city with a vibrant cultural scene, great restaurants, great shopping, a beautiful waterfront, and an excellent university in U of T.</p>
<p>I concur with alwaysamom... "smog" really shouldn't be a deterrent to your university choice: it is minimal, happens for short periods of time, and only happens during the hottest days of summer... it is nothing like what I hear and see of LA... not close</p>
<p>Toronto is a big city... do you want to go to university in a big city? That is the question...</p>
<p>Plain and simple: there is no smog (at all, not even close) during the fall, winter, and spring---the times when you would be attending university</p>
<p>umm Anyone have any information about waterloo apart frm really good engineering programs and the fact its near Ontario?</p>
<p>Waterloo started off as sort of a semi-autonomous unit of Laurier, and outside of engineering really isn't known, at least publically. The emperor of Japan's son went there and they have good co-ops for engineering. The problem with engineering in Canada is a lack of jobs and the co-ops go a long way in securing those jobs. If I were you I wouldn't go for engineering within Canada. If you are an american you will get better job placement in the states out of an american engineering school.</p>
<p>Waterloo is the best in engineering. It's especially known for it's computer engineering/science and co-op programs. Waterloo students have consistently beaten MIT students in engineering contests (can't remember the names...but look it up) and IBM and Microsoft recruit heavily at Waterloo. Waterloo is also ranked number 1 in the most recent MACLEAN's magazine's rankings (similar to the US News rankings of US universities), so its other programs are pretty good too.</p>
<p>To "americanadakidd", I can't assess your chances but I do know University of Toronto does not accept any students whose SAT fall below 1200s and for engineering: below 1300s and SAT IIs can't be below 500s either.</p>
<p>Waterloo has a niche in engineering... beyond that, I don't think it offers much (compared to some other Canadian Universities)... I think is has a good science program... but this is my conjecture</p>
<p>I DO know that Waterloo students have a reputation of being "hardcore," somewhat like MIT</p>
<p>engineering wise, waterloo and uto are more widely known in us and foreign countries then?</p>
<p>It is hard for me to judge how Canadian Universities are judged from outside of Canada, but yes, Waterloo has a very good name for engineering (and some of the sciences) outside of Canada (along with UofT)... </p>
<p>In fact, in a Macleans report on Canadian Universities, Waterloo toped the list for reputation... Waterloo has very good connections to top employers in and outside of Canada because of its strong "co-op" program, where a large component of the Waterloo degree is getting real experience working with real firms... (many times the firms hire their "co-op" students upon graduation)... I think this has probably helped Waterloo establish its reputation among employers...</p>
<p>If you want, read this, and browse "macleans.ca" for further info on Canadian universities: </p>
<p>Another good engineering program is Queens University. In Canada, it rivals UofT and Waterloo. Generally, Queens doesn't have the same reputation in the States, but it should... Queens University, in Kingston Ontario, is considered to be the most "American College-Like" in its atmosphere... Queens engineering students are fiercely proud...</p>
<p>Anyways, thats about all I know, I think...</p>
<p>
[quote]
In BC, it's 86-100% (for A's). Somebody on these boards said that in the South Carolinian school system, even a 92% is considered a B, because the A cutoff mark is around 94%. That's simply insane, and if you applied that to my school, everybody would be failing! My god, what kind of inflation must be going on to warrant that kind of curve?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think Americans give more A's. I went to American schools until grade 9; grades 9-11 were at a private IB school in NS. Our headmaster told us upon entrance that "Americans give too many A's." I think it's believable; i've moved back to the US since and it's fairly easy to get a grade in the high 90's. Also, TONS of people have super GPA's now so it's pretty hard to rank well.</p>
<p>Wow thanks you guys, that was a lot of information. I am planning to do computer engineering so i think waterloo would be good. Do you have any information about the campus, type of people, entertainment etc.?</p>
<p>chrisscarre I am an international applicant currently studying in the US ( High School ). Thanks for the info !</p>
<p>To be honest, although I have not visited the Waterloo campus, some of my friends have, and some of them did not like it. In fact, one of them was turned off of Waterloo solely because of the campus. For him, the old, Gothic/Classical architecture of a university was very important, and Waterloo doesn't provide this... so, it was just his personal preference... but still, the campus is not the university's finer points, although someone might correct me... I the joke is, being known for its engineering, the campus was "designed by boring engineers, not architects"</p>
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I think Americans give more A's. I went to American schools until grade 9; grades 9-11 were at a private IB school in NS.
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<p>Unless the American school you went to was also a private IB institute, it's not fair to compare them, as an IB school in any country will be more stringent with grades than a regular public school in any country.</p>