UC Berkeley vs University of Toronto vs University of Waterloo

College Search & Selection
1

Hey everyone!

I was admitted to UCB and U of T with Computer Science as my main academic focus. For UCB, I was admitted to the College of Letters and Science with CS as my intended major, for U of T I was admitted to the program Computer Science, Mathematics and Statistics with co-op and for Waterloo I have applied to the dual degree program for CS and Business Administration, also with co-op. I hope to hear back from Waterloo by the end of this month, and I wanted to know what you all think is the best option from the three (assuming I’m admitted to Waterloo just so that I don’t need to create a new thread if I do).

In terms of world rankings for CS in 2016, UCB is regarded the highest at #7, U of T is close behind with #11 and Waterloo is #26. I know that these rankings never give the full picture but by looking at them, I don’t think that these numbers play a role when deciding between UCB and U of T because of how close they are. I don’t think this is enough to rule out Waterloo either.

For the programs I applied for, I’m leaning more towards U of T and Waterloo opposed to Berkeley because of the broad range of courses for Toronto with maths and stats, and of course the dual degree at Waterloo. Also, I think the co-op is a big plus factor because of the work experience and getting the chance to set up connections before graduation.

I also know that at UCB, there are lots of internship opportunities as it is essentially at the heart of Silicon Valley. I know that this location is extremely valuable, but I’m not sure how much. Obviously job placement is great because of this, but I’ve heard it’s really good at U of T and Waterloo as well, with graduates going to places like Facebook or Google. Again, insight into this would be great, especially since I’m interested in working at startups or founding one of my own, and recognize how the environment of Silicon Valley would probably be the best for this.

This is the picture that I’m looking at right now, and I’m pretty split. Thank you guys for reading this huge post - I just wanted to express everything that was on my mind and hope that you guys can let me know what you think the best option would be.

Thanks in advance!!

2

What are the net costs? Let’s have those rankings.

What is your citizenship?

3

@Dunboyne Toronto and Waterloo are significantly cheaper - around half of the net cost of Berkeley.

I’m a US citizen

4

Toronto…big international name, wonderful city, good price, world-class academics in nearly every field, extremely interesting ethnic neighborhoods in city, great mass transit. Sports aren’t big, weather a tad on the cool side. Huge # of students, but it doesn’t feel that big due to.compact campus & residential colleges.

5

Which U of T campus is “Computer Science, Mathematics and Statistics”?

6

If you want to study CS, you should consider UCB more. Just like you mentioned the location. You will have no issues to get internship and jobs later. It could easily help your tuition if that is your concern.

7

Waterloo CS produces a ton of startup founders. At the level of Cal and above Toronto. CS there is tough, though.

Thus I would consider only Waterloo and Cal. World rankings in a subject are fairly useless when it comes to comparing undergrad programs as they are a measurement of research productivity of the faculty.
LinkedIn university rankings are better.

8

All three of these schools are good and have solid CS undergrad. I would decide by personal preference and COA including airfares.