Hello!
I have recently been admitted to UIUC for aerospace engineering as well as Purdue’s FYE and University of Waterloo’s Mechanical Engineering, and I am having a difficult time choosing between Canadian schools and American schools.
As a dual-citizen, I don’t suspect having a difficult time finding a job in the US if I were to reside there, but I am unsure of how much more benefits I will get from American schools. Although Canadian schools are much cheaper, I am not concern about the financial aspect (it’s about 40k cheaper). I understand people might think if the cost is so drastic, then the cheaper one is definitely the way to go. However, since cost really really isn’t an issue, I want to know will I get more opportunities in the US or Canada.
The advantage of Waterloo is definitely because of its co-op program. Students are required to do co-ops to successfully graduate and they have a renowned reputation for its programs, especially having a large and well-established career network. But the downside is that Canada doesn’t have large companies so unless I seek opportunities in the US (which is going to be a bit more difficult I suppose), there really isn’t any big companies for choosing. The US schools do have a better advantage for obvious reasons, but I highly doubt that their co-op programs are as good as Waterloo’s.
Many friends and teachers have told me that undergraduate studies really don’t mean that much considering they are all good engineering schools. Having to live in Canada for a long duration, I have to say that Waterloo’s CS reputation is just as high as UIUC’s CE reputation in the US, so Waterloo is definitely a strong school considering its CS program. However, I am planning on going to the engineering field and Waterloo does not have an as high ranking as UIUC. My cousin studied at Waterloo’s mathematics and is recently admitted by Stanford and MIT for masters, so I suppose that studying in Canada doesn’t give that much of a disadvantage in future education selections. But co-ops are especially important for engineering fields so maybe that is worth thinking about.
Ultimately, I would say it’s a comparison between one of the top schools in Canada vs. the US. So since Waterloo’s co-op program is so good, will it be more rational to pick that over schools like UIUC or Purdue? Once again, considering from a career network perspective and not from a financial perspective, though it is definitely a factor.
Thank you for any kind help!