<p>I am a student from China and will enter U of Waterloo to pursue my PHD degree in theoretical physics. I also get offers from Stanford and UT Austin, but I declined both of them, due to the fact that Waterloo is extremly excellent at theoretical physics.</p>
<p>I would like to know whether Waterloo is a good school in the eyes of the Americans. If I graduate from Waterloo, how much the chance I can find a decent job in U.S.?
Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of U of Waterloo. I know both Stanford and UT Austin very well however.</p>
<p>University of Waterloo is one of the best universities in the world, particularly for science and engineering. Most of the posters on this forum are in high school or the first couple years of undergrad in the US. To canvas a more informed opinion, you should post on the graduate school forum.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of Waterloo, but not much. I’ve only heard about its actuarial science program from a friend of mine. I can’t say I know too much about it, though.</p>
<p>I think people in the U.S. will recognize UT Austin and Stanford more than Waterloo, but I don’t think that will necessarily hinder your ability to find a decent job in the U.S.</p>
<p>U of Waterloo is known for its great math department. I would also assume that it’s known for its physics department.</p>
<p>As a lifelong university administrator in the U.S., I must admit that I’d never heard of Waterloo. I was sure that it wasn’t in the States, but I figured that it must be in the U.K., because I thought I knew about all the prominent Canadian universities.</p>
<p>Google Erik Demaine, the MacArthur genius recipient who teaches at MIT (beginning when he was 21). He got his Ph.D. from Waterloo. His website is pretty cool!</p>
<p>Ask this questions to administrators from U of Waterloo, especially professors in your field.</p>
<p>Microsoft and Google certainly have heard of U of Waterloo as they recruit their best computer science graduates. That is all you need to know.</p>
<p>gadad- are you an academic or more on the business side of your college/university? </p>
<p>OP- I believe Waterloo and MIT are the top universities for new recruits at Microsoft and Google.</p>
<p>Waterloo is probably top 5-10 in the world in CS, stats, applied math, applied physics and EE</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your advices.</p>
<p>Excellent Canadian university. It is one of the best schools for mathematics and engineering.</p>
<p>hmm, nothing to do with Bonaparte :)</p>
<p>Waterloo has the largest mathematics department of any university in the world (at least according to its website). It is very strong in mathematics, computer science, physics, and engineering. The Perimeter Institute is located in Waterloo. Certainly anyone making admissions decisions regarding theoretical physics or mathematics at any reputable grad school in the world will be very familiar with Waterloo, although people at Podunk U might not be and the general great unwashed masses probably have not heard of it.</p>
<p>Absolutely. Then again, I’m an academic. But honestly, I haven’t met a single academic researcher, in any country I visit, who doesn’t know Waterloo. </p>
<p>Here are a few illuminating tidbits: </p>
<p>During his visit to Waterloo in 2005, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that, “most years, we hire more students out of Waterloo than any university in the world, typically 50 or even more.”</p>
<p>Bill Gates returned in February 2008 “It’s not unusual to have the best solution to a tough problem come from one of the youngest people working to solve it… I saw this kind of innovative thinking when I visited the University of Waterloo this past week and spent time with students there who are focused on pushing the envelope in science, engineering, and other fields.”</p>
<p>Canada’s most respected news magazines is Maclean’s, similar to Time magazine in the United States. Waterloo prides itself on its high performance in Maclean’s Canadian university rankings. In the magazine’s reputation survey, Waterloo has placed first as best overall of all universities in Canada, 13 out of 15 times</p>
<p>RIM maker of the ubiquitious blackberry is in Waterloo near the university. They draw a lot of their workforce from U of Waterloo. Very solid university for engineering with emphasis on co-op programs where students work one term out of three.</p>