Hello,
I’ve been admitted to the listed universities for the following programs:
Toronto - Life Sciences (no co-op)
McMaster - Environmental and Earth Sciences Gateway (no co-op)
Guelph - Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences (co-op)
Western - Biology (no co-op)
Waterloo - Honours Environmental Science (co-op)
I would like some advice on picking from those universities and I plan on studying ecology (or whatever closest if the uni doesn’t have ecology specialisation) after year 1. Some additional information is that I’m an IB international student and do not possess a Canadian passport. However, I would like to live in Canada so getting employment in Canada is very important.
Yea tbh I don’t really want to go to Western compared to the other universities. However, for Toronto, while you begin with Life Sciences in year 1, I can make the choice in year 2 and for me, that’s not a problem. I would choose Toronto over the rest because of it’s much higher employment rates and reputation but I hear it’s a very difficult school and it’s really big which I’m not too sure about. Any suggestions for that?
U of T does not have “higher employment rates and reputation” right across the board (at least in Canada). It is very major dependent. In any case there aren’t a whole lot of direct employment prospects for a Life Sciences/Biology undergraduate degree from any school. Many students who major in those fields are using them as a premed pathway so yes it will be highly competitive (again regardless of school). U of T’s top programs include Business, Engineering, and Computer Science. For all other faculties it’s going to be relatively similar in quality to the other schools you have listed except that it is a much larger school and most students who attend are commuter students. As to it being more difficult than the other schools you have mentioned I find it doubtful. It is actually easier in many faculties to get admitted to U of T due to it’s large size. As a result it places a secondary qualification requirement for admission to it’s in demand faculties (first year GPA) which accounts for it’s reputation for grade deflation. The reality however is that the students who don’t make it into their preferred major probably would not have done any better at the other schools you have listed.
Of the other schools you have mentioned:
Waterloo is predominantly an Engineering/Computer Science school. The vast majority of the students in those faculties participate in co-op which can impact the feeling of the campus with regards to a feeling of cohesiveness. It is not known for it’s student on campus experience. It is locally known as the school where “fun goes to die”. They have a very strong co-op program for Engineering/CS but not as much for it’s other faculties/majors. Of the schools you have listed it has the most focus on employment outcomes.
McMaster is very strong academically but it’s primary strength is in the medical sciences. It’s Med Sci program is very highly regarded and very competitive to get admitted to (it has a high placement rate of it’s graduates into med school). If you are aspiring to med school it could be a good choice but it is nothing special with regards to environmental sciences.
Western is also a very strong school academically in addition to being a popular school for it’s student experience. Biology is a major focus and will be highly competitive. It’s a popular school with Life/Med/Bio science students who are aspiring to medical school. The other faculty for which it is highly regarded is it’s Ivey school of business.
Guelph has the strongest reputation in environmental sciences of the schools you have listed. It is a smaller school than the others and focuses more on undergraduate studies. Because it does not have a medical school it doesn’t have the same reputation as U of T/McMaster/Western (Waterloo doesn’t have a medical school either but it is a top Engineering/CS school which boosts it’s reputation). It’s location in a smaller rural/agricultural focused city makes it a more intuitive choice for studying environmental sciences in my opinion than a large urban school. If environmental sciences is your preference I would advocate for Guelph. It’s environmental programs have been around for a very long time and they also have highly regarded agricultural and veterinary programs.
@gwnorth Thank you so much for the information and clearing up my misconceptions. Honestly, I think you single-handedly helped me more than any research I did online. I’ll definitely look more into Guelph. Again, thank you so much, this really helped.