UCSD or University of Toronto

<p>I've been accepted to UCSD computer science(Warren College) and to the university of Toronto(Trinity College) for Computer engineering.
I'm an international student so will be paying roughly the same amount to either place and thankfully, finances are not a problem. </p>

<p>Factors:
1) The academics. Which would provide the best Computer Science education? U of T is ahead in all the rankings i have seen, but not by much. UCSD normally places at around 15 and U of T at 10. But i'd still like to hear from students from both institutions if they are happy with what they are getting.</p>

<p>2) Internship opportunities: U of T provides the Professional experience year(PEY) program which consists of a 12-16 month paid professional internship. It's almost like a co-op and sounds like an excellent program(would provide great real world experience before entering the job market). Compared to this, what are the internship opportunities at UCSD?</p>

<p>3) What's the job scene like? UCSD is a growing tech hub so it shouldn't be too difficult to bag a good job provided i do well. But take into consideration that internationals have to go through the entire H1-B hassle after 1 year of work, while in canada, internationals can work up to 3 years after graduating without any special visa. But i've got no idea about the job scene in toronto or neighboring canadian cities.</p>

<p>3.5) Prestige: A few of you must have cringed at the sight of that word. haha
this is not a deciding factor but i'd still like to know.=P
Would a degree from toronto illicit a "wow" or at the very least a "cool" response?
And which of the two would be considered more prestigious?</p>

<p>4) and obviously since you only got to uni once(for undergrad at least), which place is more fun? The lively, cold city of toronto, or the laid back warmer So Cal?</p>

<p>I am leaning towards Toronto, but any arguments for or against this decision would be appreciated.
Decisions decisions...</p>

<p>Could someone please weigh in?i’m so confused.=(</p>

<p>I’m in UofT engineering right now, so I could weigh in a bit. </p>

<p>First of all, do you want to do computer science or computer engineering?
They’re related, but still have their differences.</p>

<p>Especially at UofT, all first year engineers will have to take similar courses. This means if you are in computer engineering, you will take other courses like statics, dynamics, chemistry, and an engineering design course. You have 1 programming course in the C language the first semester. The first 2 years of computer and electrical engineering are the same curriculum, but you choose to specialize more into streams in 3rd year.</p>

<p>UofT does have prestige, but most of it is attributed to the grad students, which does not affect us at all.</p>

<p>What are some of the specifics you want to know about U of T? I don’t know much about UCSD, but I’ll be happy to answer any questions about toronto.</p>

<p>For Toronto, are you in computer engineering or computer science? There are barely any engineers at Trinity College.</p>

<p>Hi Thanks for replying.
I picked computer engineering for toronto because it was similar to the CS courses at other schools while the computer science course(in toronto) looked a lot more math oriented than the CS programs at other schools. does this make sense or am i completely mistaken? Would it be out of the question if i wanted to switch majors later on?</p>

<p>Is it a bad thing that i applied to trinity as my first choice since there are barely any engineers there?</p>

<p>Does every Computer engineering student get good PEY internship offers?also is everyone eligible for PEY?</p>

<p>And i was wondering if the class sizes are too large for comfort?</p>

<p>and lastly, what is the job scene like in toronto or neighboring canadian cities?Do Computer engineering students have to struggle to get good jobs?</p>

<p>Hi Thanks for replying.
I picked computer engineering for toronto because it was similar to the CS courses at other schools while the computer science course(in toronto) looked a lot more math oriented than the CS programs at other schools. does this make sense or am i completely mistaken? Would it be out of the question if i wanted to switch majors later on?</p>

<p>Is it a bad thing that i applied to trinity as my first choice since there are barely any engineers there?</p>

<p>Does every Computer engineering student get good PEY internship offers?also is everyone eligible for PEY?</p>

<p>And i was wondering if the class sizes are too large for comfort?</p>

<p>and lastly, what is the job scene like in toronto or neighboring canadian cities?Do Computer engineering students have to struggle to get good jobs?</p>

<p>p.s i can’t reply to your private message because i don’t have 15 or more posts.sorry</p>

<p>Computer Science and Computer Engineering are pretty related, but you just got to remember that they are two different faculties. Computer Engineers fall under the faculty of applied science and engineering at U of T, so you will be an engineer, which is different from taking Computer Science in the faculty of arts and science. I’d say you’d be exposed to more of the electrical and circuits side of ECE too. The first year, your course load is pretty similar to all the other engineers. Second year, your courses are more programming/circuits related, and you take the same courses as electrical engineers. In 3rd and 4th year, you choose 2 of 6 streams to specialize in. What you specialize in determines if you are a computer or electrical engineer. I personally think this is a good thing, but if you’re someone who only wants to program and write code, computer engineering at U of T comes with a lot more than that.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing, it’s just unusual for engineers to be accepted there. Maybe a few a year. You’ll meet some different people though…I hear they wear robes to dinner on Sunday.</p>

<p>From what I hear, PEY is available to you if you have a 2.0+ average. It’s pretty much like applying for a job, so you have to apply and then get interviewed for the position. There are apparently a ton of PEY jobs for ECE students though.</p>

<p>My class sizes in first year are only about 100 people in a lecture, maybe around 40 in a tutorial. I never found them to be too big, as professors will always be able to answer your questions. Just don’t sit all the way in the back and sleep. Apparently, as you move into the upper years and start specializing, classes get smaller too.</p>

<p>Like what I said for PEY, computer engineers probably have the easiest time out of all the disciplines at UofT. There’s just quite a demand for people with majors in ECE and Computer Science right now. I wouldn’t worry about that now though, there are jobs if you are willing to put in the work to find them.</p>

<p>I think you have 15+ posts now so message me if you have any urgent questions.</p>