Undergrad in canada ---> graduate studies in US? HELP

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>This is my first post on this forum! Wohoooo. </p>

<p>Anyway I am a 1st year ChemEng student at U of Ottawa (in Canada)
I want to eventually do graduate studies either right after graduation of even after a couple of years; preferably right after. Here’s where my question comes in.</p>

<p>I want to do my graduate studies in the US since I plan on moving there after. I need some suggestion on the best way to do this. My hopes would be a top 20 school in engineering.</p>

<p>What criteria are most looked at when they decide on whether to accept an applicant. Are applicants from Canada evaluated the same? Are Canadian students looked at as 2nd tier? To get accepted would I have to do an internship in the US first (which isn’t easy)? </p>

<p>I need some suggestions on how I can get into a good school in the US for graduate work. What should I focus on? What shouldn’t I worry about? </p>

<p>Thanx in advance,</p>

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<p>All academics are driven mainly by grades so I think that if you have a good academics, then you stand a good chance of landing a good chemical eng school in US. I am assuming you are planning on pursuing ch.e grad studies, but you did not say. </p>

<p>I went to a top Canadian school in ch.e and many people went on to good US schools. However, they had good (B+ to A-) academics. I think at one point it becomes are trade-off between the financial incentives being offered and the rank of the school. Like most engineering problems, it becomes finding the right balance (for you) between funding and ranking. </p>

<p>Aibarr, a frequent contributor on this site, talked about the lack of funding for top schools. He was referring to UC Berkely (I think) which held the number 1 spot for structural engineering and as such, had relatively little in the way of financial offerings for grad students. </p>

<p>By the way, I applaud your foresight of seeking a career in the US. I tried to find meaningful work in Chem E in Canada and was never able to. The job prospects for chemical engineers in the US are simply far better.</p>

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<p>Yea, the prospects are not as good here in canada. My coop advisor was telling me how over 60% of the internships offered for my school were in alberta (for ChemE) because of the oil boom they are having there. I dont mind working there for a few years but i wouldnt want to end up living there for good. And i dont want to leave my ChemE major because of this, so finding a way to get into a US school seems like it will make things easier down the road. </p>

<p>Thanx for the input toronto_guy, does anyone else have any suggestions on how I should go about this? </p>

<p>Another thing, Im also very much interested in getting an MBA down the road, but would having an MBA from a Canadian school(if i live in the states) actually carry some weight? Im worried employers wont know much about canadian business school. Am I better off finding a school in the states for this too?</p>

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<p>Regarding the MBA, US employers do respect the Canadian MBA but mainly from top schools such as Schulich (York), Rotman (U of T), Queens, McGill and of course Ivey (UWO). Outside of these, I think you will have difficulty in finding name recognition in the US. </p>

<p>As a general rule, top US employers seek top talent from top schools whether in the US or Canada. I know that in the late 1990's during the tech days that Wall Street firms recruited from these universities. I am guessing that they still do. Of course, with this recognition, comes the dramatic increase in tuition which in some of these schools is starting to approach US levels. In my view, that is very un-Canadian. </p>

<p>However, like top US schools the placement rate and starting salaries are excellent. In summary, while there is no doubt that top US business schools are the best in world, top Canadian schools hold their own and have improved dramatically, which is reflected in their tuition and their appeal in the US and world market.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
All academics are driven mainly by grades so I think that if you have a good academics, then you stand a good chance of landing a good chemical eng school in US.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Nah, this isn't really true in the case of engineering grad programs. If they are mainly driven by anything, they are mainly driven by * research potential *. You can have middling grades, but if you're published in a major journal, and/or you have strong rec's from profs attesting to your research skills, you stand an excellent chance of getting into a top program - in fact, almost certainly a better chance than somebody with excellent grades but no research experience. </p>

<p>
[quote]
Like most engineering problems, it becomes finding the right balance (for you) between funding and ranking. ...Aibarr, a frequent contributor on this site, talked about the lack of funding for top schools. He was referring to UC Berkely (I think) which held the number 1 spot for structural engineering and as such, had relatively little in the way of financial offerings for grad students

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I disagree that there is an inverse link between ranking and funding. Aibarr (who is a 'she') may have just had an unlucky experience. For example, of all of the engineering programs at MIT, the largest and most prominent one is probably EECS, and that one also seems to be the one that has the most funding available. Compared to other departments at MIT, EECS is absolutely swimming in resources. The comparison seems to hold true across different schools also - I know people who got into MIT for grad school and got funded, but didn't get funded at their backup safety school. The point is, I see no clear inverse link between ranking and funding. </p>

<p>
[quote]
By the way, I applaud your foresight of seeking a career in the US. I tried to find meaningful work in Chem E in Canada and was never able to. The job prospects for chemical engineers in the US are simply far better.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'm not sure I agree with this either, at least not to the extent that you are implying. After all, I am quite certain that many engineers working in Alberta would strongly disagree with your assessment. </p>

<p>Like I said before, it all depends on what you want. If you want to work in Toronto, chemE may not be particularly useful, just like if you want to work in New York City, ChemE may not be particularly useful. You have to be willing to move to where the jobs are. If you're not willing to do that, then I don't know what to tell you. That's like somebody who wants to be a movie actor, but doesn't want to move to L.A. It doesn't work that way.</p>

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<p>Grades are at the heart of academe, everything else is secondary .</p>

<p>As for Alberta, I agree with Jordon that the fact so much of the co-ops are being based in1 province is evidence that there is little else chem e related going on in the country. I say this noting that Dow Chemical is slating to close 3 facilities in Canada including one in Fort Sask in Alberta and 2 in Ontario. Lots of process engineering happening there, eh? </p>

<p>The fact is the chemical industry in Canada is not a big one compared to the US and UK/Europe. I think contemplating a career move to the US (or the UK) and recognizing the facts now is a good forward-thinking decision.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
As for Alberta, I agree with Jordon that the fact so much of the co-ops are being based in1 province is evidence that there is little else chem e related going on in the country. I say this noting that Dow Chemical is slating to close 3 facilities in Canada including one in Fort Sask in Alberta and 2 in Ontario. Lots of process engineering happening there, eh?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>And has been massively replaced by all of the Athabascan tar sands projects, which are hiring boatloads of engineers. </p>

<p>Besides, you don't think that ChemE is concentrated within the US too? The US has 10 times the population of Canada, so if Canada has only 1 place doing chemical engineering, then the US has only 10. And the truth is, there are probably no more than 10 places in the US that really do heavy chemical engineering. That's the nature of the business.</p>