Chance me for McGill and UBC!

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Hi, I am from India. Please chance me for McGill and UBC! for Computer Science in the college of science. So that I should apply or not</p>

<p>Class IX - 9.0 CGPA (approx. 85.5%)
(Math - A2 Science - A2 Social Studies - A2 Hindi - A2 English - A2 )</p>

<p>Class X - 9.8 CGPA (approx. 93%)
(Math - A2 Science - A1 Social Studies - A1 Hindi - A1 English - A1 )</p>

<p>Class XI - 82.3% Class Rank-2
(Math - 64.5 Physics - 87 Chemistry - 75 Computer Science - 89 English - 84 Physical Education - 95.5)</p>

<p>Class XII - 1st terms - 88.7% Class Rank-1
(Math - 100 Physics - 77.5 Chemistry - 90 Computer Science - 77.5 English - 87.5 Physical Education - 100)</p>

<p>And Is it true that Canadian Colleges don't care for the EC's?</p>

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<p>bump!</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t just say that Canadian universities don’t care about ECs, although it is very little in comparison to American schools. I would think that international competition would be tougher, but were you Canadian, you would definitely get in. As an Indian, however, it might be a bit tougher (Class XI Math, Class XII CS), although both schools are definitely in your reach. You will likely get into one if not both.</p>

<p>Of course, while objective data might be more valued, subjective data is still of importance and might be a deciding factor for internationals.</p>

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<p>So @Astrotech where would I have more chances? UBC’s and McGill’s acceptance rate are high!</p>

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<p>No where.</p>

<p>In actuality, I am positive that you will get into both.</p>

<p>There are some other schools that you MIGHT also want to check out, although most aren’t at the level of McGill and UBC, though some are. There is York, Guelph, Ryerson, Mount Royal and the Group of 15; like a mini-Canadian Ivy League, although not really…</p>

<p>The U15 are:
Alberta
UBC
Calgary
Dalhouise
Universite Laval (French)
Montreal (French)
Manitoba
McGill
McMaster
Ottawa
Queen’s
Saskatchewan
Toronto
Waterloo
Western
[<a href=“U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U15_Group_of_Canadian_Research_Universities&lt;/a&gt;, <a href=“http://u15.ca/”>A new era of research security - U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities]</p>

<p>While Ottawa, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Dalhouise are on the lower end, you might want to check the rest out. Toronto competes for number one with McGill and UBC, but has a similar acceptance rate. Waterloo is renowned for its engineering and computer science programs.</p>

<p>Quite frankly, I think you can get into McGill, UBC and all of these universities; it shouldn’t be a problem.
Canadian universities typically really only give most of their emphasis on objective data, and your averages are competitive and, again, you can probably get in everywhere.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>UBC, McGill; Higher-level Safeties</p>

<p>Maybe add in Waterloo for CS, and MAYBE Toronto; both will also be higher-level safeties.
Alberta and Calgary are both also pretty good, and both are safeties.
With Canadian universities, their mission is to offer everyone a great education, and there is no elitism or elite schools, really, aside from McGill/Toronto/UBC at the top, but there is very little elitism at the schools.</p>

<p>My ramblings are over, and again, good luck!</p>

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<p>In summary, definitely apply to both! You have a really good, 90-100% chance at both.</p>

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<p>You are really really informative @Astrotech. Thanks a lot!</p>

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<p>And @Astrotech which one is more prestigious in Canada (in the eyes of any employer)? UBC, McGill or Toronto?
I personally like McGill.
And does Google, Facebook, Microsoft recruit from McGill, Toronto, Waterloo and UBC?</p>

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<p>Sure.</p>

<p>McGill and Toronto are pretty equal / fluctuating in prestige. UBC is a bit less prestigious, but not by much. Waterloo is the most prestigious for engineering, and tied for #1 with Toronto for CS.
I know that Microsoft has offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.
I am not sure about Facebook, but you can probably find that on their website.
Google’s three Canadian offices are in Kitchener-Waterloo (I believe that this is their main one), Montreal and Toronto.
It would be my guess that they recruit at the universities, but don’t hold me accountable on this. Most CS students will go on to work at companies like these, both during their education and after their education.
Toronto, Vancouver and KW have Twitter offices.
Vancouver is home to the headquarters of Hoot Suite, which is very popular in the eyes of companies.
Waterloo is sometimes thought of as Canada’s Silicon Valley, and is home to many startups. Waterloo is also home to Blackberry, but…</p>

<p>Anyway, you can’t go wrong with McGill. Montreal is a huge, cosmopolitan, financial and world city. It is home to many startups and tech offices with many opportunities for those in CS. You should check the websites of your favourite companies to see if they have locations or do recruiting where you’re interested.</p>

<p>Finally, here are the Canadian schools ranked for CS (for those in the top 200 worldwide) by QS. I know that rankings aren’t really reliable, but they are of some accuracy for subjects and this should be used to give you an idea:</p>

<p>Canadian Rank / World Rank / School</p>

<ol>
<li>(19) University of Toronto (Toronto, ON)</li>
<li>(24) University of Waterloo (Waterloo, ON)</li>
<li><p>(41) University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)</p></li>
<li><p>(51-100) McGill (Montreal, QC)</p></li>
<li><p>(101-150) Simon Fraser University (Van. Area / Burnaby, BC) [Not of as much prestige as the others ranked.]</p></li>
<li><p>(101-150) Universite de Montreal (Montreal, QC) [French University]</p></li>
<li><p>(151-200) University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB)</p></li>
<li><p>(151-200) University of Calgary (Calgary, AB)
[Alberta’s economy is doing the best, but it is only home to two Microsoft offices.]</p></li>
</ol>

<p>McMaster (Hamilton), Queen’s (Kingston) and Western (London) would likely follow (all in Ontario, near tech offices), but they are not in the top 200 worldwide.</p>

<p>Canada:
<a href=“QS World University Rankings for Computer Science and Information Systems 2014 | Top Universities”>QS World University Rankings for Computer Science and Information Systems 2014 | Top Universities;

<p>North America:
<a href=“QS World University Rankings for Computer Science and Information Systems 2014 | Top Universities”>QS World University Rankings for Computer Science and Information Systems 2014 | Top Universities;

<p>Global:
<a href=“QS World University Rankings for Computer Science and Information Systems 2014 | Top Universities”>QS World University Rankings for Computer Science and Information Systems 2014 | Top Universities;

<p>Happy applying!</p>

<p>[Edits: Added Waterloo to prestige, added links to rankings, both for Canada and in context of North America and all universities.]</p>

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<p>Ontario has all the offices except facebook. I’m aiming for McGill and Waterloo. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Will I be able to get into Waterloo CS co-op? @Astrotech</p>

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<p>I would think that you have a really strong chance of getting in. Just remember than I should not be the only College Confidential resource on Canadian colleges to be consulted; I’m sure others have greater knowledge of Waterloo.
For an idea, check <a href=“Admission Averages | Engineering | University of Waterloo”>Admission Averages | Engineering | University of Waterloo. Try contacting the university about their inflation policy on how your Indian grades would be inflated/deflated.
Also, it appears that Facebook has two offices in Canada, in Vancouver and Toronto. So, there is the one office in Toronto.</p>

<p>Estimated Driving Times:
From Waterloo to Toronto: 1h 15min.
From Montreal to Toronto: 5h 30min</p>

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<p>I also just found these links; they might be of interest:</p>

<p><a href=“Frequently Asked Questions | Engineering | University of Waterloo”>Frequently Asked Questions | Engineering | University of Waterloo;
<a href=“Frequently Asked Questions | Engineering | University of Waterloo”>Frequently Asked Questions | Engineering | University of Waterloo;
<a href=“English language requirements | Undergraduate Programs | University of Waterloo”>English language requirements | Undergraduate Programs | University of Waterloo;
<a href=“Admission requirements | Undergraduate Programs | University of Waterloo”>Admission requirements | Undergraduate Programs | University of Waterloo;

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<p>Also, UBC’s CS program is still considered among some of the best, ranking above all of the Indian Institute of Technology schools, along with schools like Columbia, Penn, NYU, Chicago, Brown, King’s College London, many UCs, Michigan, USC and substantially higher than schools like Boston University, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Penn State, UNC-CH and even more substantially higher than schools like City University London, Texas A&M, more UCs, U Mass at Amherst and Liverpool. These are some American, British and Indian examples, but many other schools are not even comparable.</p>

<p>So, that should not be a reason to not apply to UBC.</p>

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<p>@Astrotech agree with you on UBC’s CS program. I think I can’t afford McGill but I can afford UBC and Waterloo. :slight_smile: So, I can’t attend McGill. Is waterloo prestigious enough for a high tech employer in the Silicon Valley of Canada? I think waterloo or UBC would be good for me. If admitted to both, where should I go? How is the social life in Canadian colleges? Will I be able to get into a good grad school (preferably Stanford or Berkeley) after Waterloo? What is the application fee for waterloo? I know of UBC’s but couldn’t find waterloo’s! Admission average of Waterloo CS is around mid-80’s.</p>

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<p>It says on College Board’s Big Future that the Waterloo application fee is $140 (<a href=“BigFuture College Search”>BigFuture College Search)
Waterloo is definitely prestigious enough for any tech job in Canada, and above many American schools for employer prestige in Canada. Waterloo is especially very prestigious in Kitchener-Waterloo.
As for Grad School, many students from Waterloo and UBC will pursue studies at top American colleges, but schools like Stanford and Berkeley are hard to get into regardless of whether you came from Harvard, New York University, University of Toronto or Waterloo.
As for social life, these Canadian schools are huge. I know not too much about their social life, but McGill has a reputation for being a party school. Toronto has a stressed reputation, but I’m not too sure about the accuracy of that. Waterloo has more of an introvert-y stereotype, and UBC has a pretty American-college-type stereotype. Of course, never rely on stereotypes and paradigms; these schools are huge, and you will be able to fit into a large group and live a social life the way you want to, no matter what your personality is.</p>

<p>Where you end up going if cross-admitted is completely up to your preference. UBC is generally more prestige, but Waterloo has more prestige for CS, if it prestige that you care about. Earnings is at around-par, maybe higher for Waterloo Engineering and CS students. As for the school themselves, again, it is based off of personal preference, and you can find out a lot from research online. You should also check the school’s viewbooks and brochures, which you can find from Google (or your search engine of choice). You can also order them in the mail, which can be done by adding request information next to the school’s name in a search engine.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much! I read on some forums that XI grades are used for early admission ,does this mean that my XI math marks will not effect my application if I get strong grades in XII mid-terms and pre-boards?</p>

<p>Also -
My 2014 admission requirements</p>

<p>Program: Computer Science
System of study: Indian System</p>

<p>Program requirements: Std XII Mathematics, minimum final grade of 85%. Std XII English. One other Std XII course, minimum final grade of 85%. All Std XII courses: minimum final grade of 80%.</p>

<p>General requirements:
First or Second Division standing in one of the following:
1.All India Senior School Certificate awarded by CBSE or
2.Indian School Certificate awarded by CISCE or
3.other pre-university certificate awarded after 12 years of academic studies.
Final grades will be evaluated based on board results.</p>

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<p>Hey! If you don’t mind me asking, did you get into Waterloo? I am planning on applying there. What marks do they consider for admission of an international student, pre-boards or predicted marks of boards? (I’m indian too) </p>