Anybody accepted for Engineering?
Yes! EngSci at UTSG
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Did anyone get admitted to UTSG in March? I got an email today that said March acceptances already went out, but there will be a round in April and May.
@Luluzinha @witzabtme Looking for advice since I saw some of your posts on the UC Berkeley forum about UofToronto. We live in Northern Virginia area and my S22 was admitted to Toronto St. George (CS), University of Maryland (CS), Virginia Tech (CS), Purdue (Data Science), Deferred at Georgia Tech (CS), Waitlisted at UCLA (CS)& rejected at MIT (CS). He is leaning towards Toronto since we have some educational allowance option which makes the cost similar to an Instate cost. I am a little concerned about the workload for CS at UofT, super competitive nature of education, doubts about social life aspects etc. Any thoughts anyone may have for us in terms of choices above or anything specific to Toronto is super appreciated. Both me and my wife did not go to college in US and are trying to help our kids make the best decision for them. Thank you so much.
My son got admitted last Thursday to UTSG. But he have a few friends that did not receive answer yet.
Thanks for adding me here. Maybe our kid choose the same University for the same program. My son got admitted for CS to main campus too.
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Congrats to your son. My S20 is a 2d year at UMD in CS. He DESPERATELY wanted to go to U of T for CS, but did not get in and it is competitive to get in even after matriculation. UMD has the largest cs major in the country and is ranked very high. I cannot speak to the workload. I am not sure where you are from, but one difference b/w Canadian schools and US schools (as I understand) is that at Canadian schools students are expected to figure everything out themselves whereas at US schools, students are given advisors that guide them through and make sure they are taking the classes they need.
My D22 is waiting to hear from UCB but weâll be shocked if she gets in. She is a bio kid and is also in at UMD (Fire program), UCSD, U of T and a few safeties that are basically off the list at this point.
We are going to visit U of T soon. I happen to love Toronto as a city and the school is top ranked internationally - right up there with UCB. The opportunities for your son are great there.
Hope that helps somewhat?
Thank you so much for all those details, very helpful indeed. We are planning to visit Toronto in the next few weeks as well. We live in VA, about an hour drive from UMD. Congrats to your daughter, sounds like some great options to select from.
My son went there and loved. The campus, the city and the program. He stay for 5 days in a house with students( he said is great because they have people from all around the world and they are in the same situation as him). This is the only things that made him to choose there (for now). The city is like NY, big city and lots of things to do. CS in UOFT is very good, I think they ranked 10 Place the best on the world. We live in Silicon Valley and my husband is Software Engineer, he have been look on the best program around since we are outside US and did not went to University here. I think Perdue is very good. Congrats to your son
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Great, thanks so much. Appreciate the quick response.
U of T is filled with some really smart kids, and is really big. Excellent CS/math, though more theoretical as opposed to the Waterloo CS/SE/programs. Right in the middle of the cityâŠfairly good area in a relatively safe, big city. Public transportation is pretty good. Housing is expensive, and you will need to be in off campus housing after 1st year, more than likely.
It suits persevering students that are good at motivating themselves, and are at home in an urban environment, though the grounds are quite large. Think a really big Columbia rather than NYU. The academic experience might be more like Berkeley- very large classes in the first couple of years.
I know Purdue has a really good CS program, but am unsure of itâs relation to the Data Science faculty. Purdue, for all that it is known for having some tough weedout classes in the ENG/CS schools, would be, in general, a kinder, gentler place than U of T.
S1 would be bored out of mind in West Lafayette, and is at McGill, another urban, challenging school similar to U of T. S2 wouldnât go to McGill(or U of T), but thinks Purdue is perfectly fine. He has applied to Waterloo, which has more in common with Purdue than U of T.
Hope this helps a bit. I know that there are a few posters here who have a more up to date knowledge of Toronto, but I used to know it quite well, and still have family there.
Many thanks, very helpful feedback. Appreciate it.
Feel free to ask me more questions, or PM me. I lived many years in the cityâŠsometimes it feels like I built half of it! I think @gwnorth would have more current info.
My son has been admitted to Maths specialist program at St. George as well as Scarborough, but we are not sure as to which campus to choose. He is finishing up school in the Netherlands and we are completely unfamiliar with Toronto.
He would like to add a CS Major as well, if he could make the CS Post. He feels that would be possible in the Scarborough campus, because of smaller class sizes and lesser competition compared to UTSG.
Is that a fair assumption? Is St. George better even with huge class sizes, simply because it is the main campus?
Any other info that makes one campus better than the other for mathematics?
First you should be aware that it is not possible to complete a 2nd major with a Specialist degree. For that he would have to chose the Major.
https://artsci.calendar.utoronto.ca/hbahbsc-requirements
Program Requirements
1 Specialist, or
2 Majors*, or
1 Major + 2 Minors*
- must consist of 12.0 different credits
St George is the âflagshipâ campus to use the American parlance. It is the premier campus academically and is more selective than either Mississauga or Scarborough. Itâs also in Toronto proper whereas Scarborough is in the suburbs about an hour via transit from St George (and Scarborough is not a particularly nice suburb). If your son has been admitted to SG he must be a very strong student. While by the very nature of his program he would be surrounded by very strong students even at the Scarborough campus, the best of the best will be at SG. He is correct that that would make it tougher to meet the POST requirements for CS especially since preference is given to students admitted under the Year 1 CS admissions category. He would be competing for a limited number of spots as those students are given guaranteed admission provided they meet the minimum cut offs. It would probably be easier to be admitted to CS and then add the Math major afterwards rather than the other way around as Math is not a limited enrolment program. That doesnât mean that itâs not possible however. There is also potentially the option of doing a minor in CS or just taking CS courses as electives.
With regards to first year class sizes, they will not be materially smaller at the Scarborough campus vs St. George. They are going to be large regardless of which campus he attends. After 1st year they become a fair bit smaller but his 1st year Math classes will be specific to those in the Math and Physics majors so those classes should not be as large. There is also the opportunity to take a smaller seminar course to meet breadth requirement through the various colleges.
If he wants to study with the brightest students, he should attend St. George.
Note that UoT CS admission is not actually CS. Your son needs to fulfill the requirements for CSC110 (70%) and CSC111 (77%) to get admitted to the CS Speciality after the first year. This is not the case for US colleges.
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Thank you so much. That clears a lot of things up.
Question: My son has been admitted to the UTSC Math major co-op program and the UTSG humanities program (2nd choice). He is wondering if he can take math at St. George as a 2nd major or minor in addition to a humanities major like English or Philosophy. Since he has a small scholarship to attend UTSC, I am leaning toward that option but everyone on this site seems to favor the St. George campus. Is there a qualitative difference between the programs offered at the 2 campuses? Your input would be much appreciated!
@gwnorth would have a more informed opinion, but in general, the downtown(SG) campus is the main, flagship school, and has the most rigorous and most sought after offerings. The Scarborough and Mississauga campuses are not as highly regarded, though I am sure that they are still decent or better programs.
Commuting between the two campuses would be doable, but not desirable. A lot of time would be spent on the subway. Driving would be terrible!
Thank you, @57special.