University of Waterloo or Drexel University for Computer Science

Guys I have been accepted by both of them for CS. Can someone here guide me which uni to select as i have paid deposits for each university. I am an international student and want to know about life, academics and prestige of each of these university.

Hmm, let’s see. One of them produces Silicon Valley entrepreneurs at a rate that rivals top American CS schools like CMU/Cal/UIUC. The other is Drexel.

Tough choice here.

@PurpleTitan I forgot to mention a pretty crucial detail. I got 40k aid from Drexel. The tuition is 65k. At Waterloo i have coop and 12k entrance scholarship. So in this light i was asking whether Waterloo is worth the investment.

Yes, but what are total costs between the two schools?

The list prices are quite different.

I guess i would have to pay 50k for Drexel and 60-65k for Waterloo. Drexel has coop too so i’ll graduate with a year worth of experience there and a two years worth of experience from Waterloo.

Why are you guessing 60-65K for Waterloo?

Please point me to the page that lists Waterloo’s tuition for Internationals.

Like i said, we have a coop program and CS students earn a minimum of 10k per 4 months and we have 6 such terms and it can go as high as 24k. Plus in some years my tuition would be half as i would have 2 coop term and 1 study term. I have done the math and the net cost would be 60-65k for 5 years at Waterloo and 50-60k for attending Drexel. The tuition fee for CS at waterloo is 27k for two study terms.

They both have co-op.

Are you talking about total costs or yearly costs? And is the scholarship in total terms or yearly terms?

And are you accounting for the fact that the Canadian dollar is cheaper than USD? So in what currency are your figures in?

Also, have you factored in living expenses? They would almost certainly be cheaper where Waterloo is than Philly. Can you pay for all that?

Yes this is the total cost of attendance. I had them checked by current students there. Yes i can pay that but i want to invest where i can get a good return.

I am talking about total cost. And the figures are in US dollars. I converted the Canadian one to USD so it would be easier to compare.

Not even a contest. Waterloo is one of the best CS colleges in the world. Drexel is not even strong in CS, despite thec cost difference.

First, I would vote Waterloo over Drexel any time, unless the cost differential was truly significant.

Next, I had a quick look at the tuition figures for 2017/18 for both schools and I’m not sure how you’re calculating.
Total yearly cost of Int’l. attendance for Waterloo is $37,130 CAN, which currently converts to $27,538 USD.
Total yearly cost of attendance for Drexel is $65,925 USD.
Not know what your aid offers look like, separate from co-op, it’s hard to know what your offer consist of,
thereby difficult to compare total costs with Waterloo.

Are there loans involved in your FinAid? If so, how much? Are there discounts that are merit-based? Do you have
to maintain a certain GPA? Have you factored in living expenses during your co-op terms? Will you need
loans for those living expenses? What about the lost earning opportunities during your fifth year?
What is your projected indebtedness from both schools after your 4/5 years of undergrad?

Finally, CS can be a catch-all.
Are there any specific professors or academic concentrations at either school
that you’re hoping to study? Check out the departmental pages and the faculty listing and see what’s
going on within the academic communities at each school.

Good luck.

Given the insignificant price difference, Waterloo all the way.

Waterloo. Canada has much friendlier work permission policies for international students and recent graduates.

+1 to Waterloo all the way. The price difference means little to nothing here.

Waterloo is a very good university with a superb computer science program. It is very well known in both Canada and in the US. Also, a 4 year Bachelor’s degree from Waterloo (or any university in Canada) allows you to get a 3 year work permit to Canada (assuming that this has not changed since I looked about two months ago). You will want a good winter coat and boots for Waterloo, although it is in the southern part of Ontario where the winter temperatures are significantly moderated by the great lakes, and by the fact that it is close to the southern tip of Canada.

Having worked for a few decades in high tech in the US, I will admit that I know nothing about Drexel.

Anyone still on this thread? I have the same question about UWaterloo vs Drexel BUT in MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. I have got a 26K scholarship from Drexel and still waiting for scholarships from Waterloo since they come in May(just got the Presidential Scholarship of Distinction -2K ) yet. International student here