<p>Hi CC, I am a junior getting ready to start making the tough decisions and to get right down to it I am wondering what McMaster's international reputation is like. I know that the US generally regards McGill and UofT highly, but McMaster has the nuclear reactor which holds the most interest to me. </p>
<p>I want to pursue an undergrad in nuclear engineering but would also like to attend graduate school afterwards, is going to McMaster going to hamper me from getting into US grad schools?</p>
<p>My brother’s been through college applications in America, and he tells me that people hardly even know about UT and McGill, let alone McMaster. I personally think it may be hard getting into the states after graduating from McMaster… Different story if you want to finish education within Canada.</p>
<p>Graduate schools in the US know the quality, or lack thereof, of each Canadian school. But grad schools tend to look at YOU, not the school you came from.</p>
<p>Ginathegenius…your brother I’m guessing is mostly talking to American students. That isn’t really a good reference point. Major US employers, and most definitely, faculty in the US know a lot about Canadian universities (and these are the folks to focus on). </p>
<p>I’ve been a faculty member in both Canada and the US. For over 20 years, I’ve been selecting grad students and also sending former students off to other graduate programs in Canada and the US (as well as grad students into faculty positions). </p>
<p>Like most faculty, I write letters of rec, read them, and do evals of faculty as well. The border between Canada and the US is irrelevant to us, invisible. We care about and know about schools in our field, and the faculty at those schools. Where you go to undergrad matters, as does who you work with there, but whether it’s a school that ‘everyday people in the street’ have ‘heard’ of is irrelevant to those hiring or selecting graduate students. So too are USNWR rankings. We have our own understanding of where to get a great education.</p>
<p>Given the specific question, if this student is interested in pursuing nuclear engineering, given the fact that there are relatively few schools in North America that offer it, you can readily assume that both employers and graduate schools are well aware of McMaster (which is really your only option as an anglophone).</p>