<p>I am deciding between Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo and Engineering Science at the University of Toronto. I don't know which one I should choose. Toronto seems to be a more prestigious school, but Waterloo seems to have a better Co-op program. Furthermore, I am planning to apply to some of the top universities in the United States for Graduate Studies after I finish my undergrad.</p>
<p>Can you compare them in terms of:</p>
<ol>
<li>Prestige (w/o looking at rankings)</li>
<li>Overall Education Quality</li>
<li>Job opportunities after graduation</li>
<li>Research opportunities (and other opportunities like paid internships)</li>
<li>Competitiveness among students and student quality</li>
<li>Work load</li>
<li>Chance of getting into a top-tier school for grad school</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>U of T as a whole is definitely viewed as more prestigious, especially in the US. However, those who are really familiar with Engineering know that Waterloo is top-notch for engineering, and those people will be the ones that need to know anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>They’re both really good to be honest.</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to get a job after graduation, Waterloo is definitely your better choice. Many companies (Canadian and American) such as Microsoft recruit heavily from Waterloo, and your 6 co-ops would give you an edge in getting a job regardless.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m not too sure about this one.</p></li>
<li><p>U of T EngSci is uber-competitive. A TON of people drop out. I’m not that familiar with the competitiveness of Mechatronics, but I’m assuming that it would also be pretty competitive.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t know.</p></li>
<li><p>Honestly, they’d probably be looking a lot at your marks, which would likely be higher at Waterloo, considering U of T’s reputation for giving low grades. Although U of T is seen as more prestigious by the general population, those who are familiar with engineering see Waterloo at the same level.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think you might also want to consider other aspects, such as the campus, and student life. In my opinion, the U of T campus is nicer, and it’s location in Toronto means that there’s a ton of stuff to do. Waterloo is much quieter, and there’s less to do, but it’s a less gigantic university than U of T (St. George campus has over 40 000 undergrads!)</p>