University of Waterloo or Umich Ann Arbor for CS

I am an international student and have gotten into Waterloo and Umich for CS? Which one would you recommend? Also, I eventually wanna do a masters in CS or MBA from a top US college, such as: Stanford, MIT, Harvard, e.t.c. I know that it is really tough, but I still wanna give it a shot. Would I get some extra “points” by the admission committees of these grad schools for getting a undergrad degree from uMich when compared to Waterloo. Basically, would an undergrad CS degree from uMich increase my chances of getting into these colleges when compared to an undergrad CS degree from Waterloo. Thanks for the help.

Waterloo may be the better option for an international student due to Canada’s friendly policy toward non-citizens & work visas / permits. Plus, Waterloo is outstanding for CS.

Yes, I agree. But what do you think about the chances of getting into a top US school for a grad degree when u compare uMich and Waterloo? Thank you for the help.

Both schools are very well respected in the US. Both should enhance one’s grad school application for a masters degree in CS as well as for an MBA.

I agree with @Publisher. For CS both of these schools are excellent. The admissions staff at top schools in the US are very much aware of how strong both Waterloo and Michigan are for CS. Graduate admissions at top US schools is tough, but a degree from either Waterloo or Michigan will help you. Great grades and internship experience and great letters of reference (which themselves might come from internships) would also be helpful.

One difference will be in terms of what happens if you want to stay in the country after graduating. In the US international students are normally expected to return home after graduating. In Canada international students can get a work visa after graduating – the last time that I looked a four year degree such as a bachelor’s degree allowed you to get a three year work visa.

Right now of course economies are still impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. However this will be over long before you graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Also high tech is impacted less than most of the economy.

It is four years before you graduate, which implies that immigration issues could change. There are a very large number of software engineers in the US right now who are immigrants. Without immigrants the company that has employed me for twenty years would not even exist. Somehow they (actually we) did manage to immigrate to the US.

In terms of graduate school admissions, even in the US, and in terms of the quality of the CS programs, you are deciding between two really good universities.

The biggest factor for b-school is work experience, so it does come down to what your can do after graduation. If Waterloo means you can stay in Canada and work for three years, maybe more, that could give it an edge. As others have said though, immigration and covid are real wild cards.