<p>I’ve lived and taught at both: </p>
<p>Tuition Fees
Not enough difference to based your decision upon it when cost of living is factored into the equation. Apply to both and see if you are able to earn a scholarship from one, and compute the difference for you personally. </p>
<p>Cost of Living
Vancouver is currently substantially more expensive for off campus housing and cost of food. </p>
<p>Quality of Teaching
Identical. Too much internal variation to see any average difference. The profs are from the same places, very similar status in their respective fields, they use the same materials, textbooks, etc.; they receive the same educational support internall, classes are basically the same size, teaching is valued about the same (both culturally but also in terms of formal reward structure). There will be more internal variation at one school than differences between schools. </p>
<p>Social and Student Life
Both are largely commuter campuses and students are largely from the local area, though both have a substantial international student population that has grown in recent years. It helps when one attends a smaller program within each, joins clubs, lives on campus. But there will be tremendous variation among he 10s of thousands of students at each to draw a conclusion about the social life or how they compare. I do know that the Faculty of Arts at both are known for lacking a sense of community because of their large size (though it gets better as you get more involved in your major, or join other aspects of campus to build your own smaller community within the larger community). </p>
<p>Post-Graduation Career Prospects
Almost identical. I can think of absolutely no data to suggest otherwise. Both have strict grading curves. U of T may present somewhat lower averages but they also report each class average on their transcripts, enabling employers and grad school to see how students did relative to their classmates (a feature not available to UBC graduates). </p>
<p>Internship Opportunities
Both have large alumni networks. Both have coops and internships, and the availability and use of those is highly dependent upon the the particular school and program you are within. Major Canadian and Asian employers recruit from both; graduates have on par opportunities for graduate school in Canada or the US. </p>
<p>Reputation in US and Asia
I have not lived in Asia so can not speak to this. UBC considers itself the “university of Asia” (officially speaking now, this is from the President). My current student from Bejing just told me, “you know what we call UBC back home? University of a Billion Chinese, ha ha”. </p>
<p>City Life and Nightlife
UBC is not downtown so the surrounding area is more residential whereas U of T is downtown; both have vibrant downtown cores, both look exactly like big cities when you are downtown, Toronto however is much larger and is much more highly regarded for its active nightlife and cultural scene. </p>
<p>U of T requires lower averages for admissions for arts and science. But I have found the students largely comparable when teaching them, and the diversity of ability among students within one class, especially at the outset, is substantial. So admissions standards is not meaningful.</p>
<p>As for the earlier comment about ‘viable economy’… this doesn’t make any sense. BC has held the lower unemployment rate for a very long time, only now coming on par with Ontario this month in fact (it entirely missed the recession, buoyed by Asian trade and the lack of dependence on manufacturing).</p>
Thousands of students live on the dorms and many thousands more live within walking distance. There are hundreds of clubs and activities on campus and the student population at the St. George campus is very engaged. It is a vibrant community and anyone who says otherwise hasn’t spent much time there. There will be more activities and more people on campus than you could possible take advantage of as a student. Anyone who is bored, isn’t making an effort.</p>