<p>I am an international students in Canada and, honestly, I love this country. I know I am capable to university like Princeton but the point is: I love Canada. I am planning to study science/ math as, currently, I am having a job in the chemical engineer department at University of British Columbia, despite I am only sixteen. However, my focus is on mathematics and physics (i wish to be a professor and do researches) and I heard that university of waterloo has a pretty good national reputation is these fields. Also, I consider that nobel laureate Anthony James Leggett has accepted a position in the faculty of quantum computing in waterloo: which tells me this university is highly recognized in the field of modern science. Also, there are few research institutes around university of waterloo and those institutes are doing leading research in science (one such: perimeter institute for theoretical physics). Moreover, there are lots of researchers in those institues who are graduated from ivy league universities or top notch universities in UK. </p>
<p>And then, here my question comes: is it worth to go to university of waterloo instead of ivy leagua university?
(consider the fact that I hope to do my post-grad in uk/ waterloo/ivy league)</p>
<p>i feel waterloo has a weaker student pool and a weaker faculty than ivy league schools. i went there during my march break to visit my best friend. i didnt like it .</p>
<p>Since you are strongly interested in research , I would advise you to look at the top US colleges (both Ivy leagues and state) as compared to Waterloo. It is definitely a great school , but the US ones are better(I am from UIUC btw , where Legget was when he won the Nobel). </p>
<p>Oh one thing favoring in Canada is that you dont need a PhD to teach (or at least thats what I have been told) which helps ;)!</p>
<p>From the way you post, I highly doubt you are entitled to any of the Ivy League universities as you might assume. Then again, nobody is.</p>
<p>The fact that UW associates itself with the Perimeter Institute is highly irrelevant to the undergraduate education you might be seeking. I was at PI last summer, and I can tell you that you'd be hard pressed to reap any of the benefits there as an undergraduate at UW.</p>
<p>That said, UWaterloo is a world class university and you can't go wrong studying there. Some of the brightest kids I know have turned down the opportunity to study in the states for a quality education at UWaterloo. What really matters is where you will go to grad school, and I really can't see you devoid of any of the opportunities you could have had elsewhere if you were to choose UWaterloo.</p>
<p>I somewhat disagree with flora. Prestige is not everything. The smartest kids at UWaterloo would certainly trump the smartest kids at Cornell, Brown, and even at my future alma matter, Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Statements like, "I know I am capable enough for Princeton" or "Is it worth it to go to _____ instead of an Ivy League" are certainly really hypothetical, and they come across as arrogant. Also, consider that many people have done what you have done - working in labs and such - and have still been rejected by the Ivies. Despite your age (which is not at all that unique of a case), and from what I see, you don't really stand out all that much in the context of Ivy League admissions.</p>
<p>My advice is to try for Ivy Leagues school only IF you feel that their programs have a better fit for you. And yes, it is definitely worth it to go to UWaterloo.</p>
<p>I think I didnt really express why i dont like waterloo. I went to one of their classes. It was really really really noisy and no one seemed to respect the teacher.200-300 students were just chatting and joking. I could barely hear the teacher from the mid-back of row. It was an introductory level mandatory class tho. but same situation in U of Michigan, where i finished my first year study. similar size,similar class the students were all concentrating on the course materials and no1 really shouted out and played around for the entire 90 minutes. Prestige is one thing. but I doubt many of people will enjoy that kind of study environment. I didn't deny there are some smartest students in UW, but I focused more on the majority.</p>
<p>I agree with florazhao, I've had a similar experience at Queers University in Canada, noisy classrooms.</p>
<p>Big Brother, your claim that the smartest kids at UW would "certainly trump the smartest kids at Cornell Brown, Dartmouth" seems to be an arbitrary claim, I don't think there's anyway to compare the "smartest kids" at these institutions.</p>
<p>There certainly are quantitative comparisons we can make ragingmen. For example, take Waterloo's performance in the Putnam competition. That alone tells you that an exceptional, yet small, problem solving culture exists at a place like UW. And it's not just good times for Waterloo - the university has done consistently well throughout the years. UWaterloo also has some of the more prolific undergraduate researchers compared to some of the Ivies.</p>
<p>I have been to most of the Ivy League. I was also at Waterloo for a good chunk of my summer last year. Perhaps I was being a little inconsiderate about the holistic strengths of each University. I know Dartmouth certainly has Waterloo beat at job/Wall Street placement, and the liberal arts curriculum at any Ivy beats Waterloo by a long shot. However, it seems that the OP is a hard science/research type of guy, and I was addressing him in the context of a math/physics education.</p>
<p>My point is that the OP shouldn't lose sight of the opportunities he could have by focusing too much on Ivy League prestige. I know a couple of friends going into Princeton engineering, and with all due respect to Princeton, I can't even see why they're doing it. There are far better choices, such as Cornell, or even UWaterloo. People tend to lose sight of their education for, in my opinion, silly things like prestige.</p>
<p>The fact that the quality of the student body is low is highly immaterial if the OP seeks out his own education. There are research opportunities, dedicated study groups (such as those for the Putnam), and a bunch of other resources at a place like Waterloo. Granted, it's easier at an LAC-style Ivy League where advisors can hook you up with nice opportunities and whatnot, but you are definitely not at a loss at UWaterloo, UT, etc.</p>
<p>Weird, I originally replied to this post, but somehow it didn't get through.</p>
<p>Anyways, the condensed version, for the OP is: go to Waterloo. For someone like you, who loves Canada, loves science and math, and whose English still needs lots of polishing, you're more suited for waterloo, and would have a disadvantage in the America admissions process due to your language mastery anyways.</p>
<p>Big Brother: For Waterloo itself, the Putnam alone is a pretty crappy anecdotal measure to point at and say "thus the university has some smart students". Many (most?) American schools don't prepare or pay much attention to the Putnam at all - I know for a fact that Waterloo does, and so they do better. There are definitely American universities, though, where the smartest kids absolutely dwarf the smartest kids at Waterloo. That's just the way it is.</p>
<p>However, that doesn't mean Waterloo is bad in any way. I applied to the top engineering schools in America, and I would put Waterloo in with almost any of them. It's a great university - just because it isn't recognized as much in America, doesn't mean it's not superb.</p>
<p>some questions: why would you suggest a student without a nice English background to go to Waterloo? I would guess over 40% of the students over there are from Asia. and over 20% of them were/are ESLs. I thought enrolling in an American university will help one's ability to polish his/her English skills. </p>
<p>I guess what you mean is that ESL students stand at a disadvantage position in American schools' admission process due to their language barrier?</p>
<p>U of Waterloo is excellent for engineering. One of my bestest friends (now 40+ in age) graduated with income excess of tuition from there and I'd have applied there if they were generous sponsors to international candidates :(. He has a great job now.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure, that if you want to take math and science, then going to Waterloo is your best choice. But from what my friends tell me, the requirements to get into the math department are just crazy. I heard you need at least 95% average to even get considered.</p>
<p>And yes, Waterloo is like the UC Berkeley of Canada. about 37% of the student body is Asian. Ultimately, its not just the faculty that determines where you want to go. There are tons of other aspects such as the school atmosphere. So just try and visit these places and ask your guidance counsellor about Waterloo</p>
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And yes, Waterloo is like the UC Berkeley of Canada. about 37% of the student body is Asian.
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<p>LoL. Well that doesn't look too bad. UC Berkeley hovers at around 50% Asian students. But that's what you get when you don't practise admissions preferences. Good for Berkeley and Waterloo though!</p>
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But from what my friends tell me, the requirements to get into the math department are just crazy.
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<p>Well, I don't know about that. I can see why the engineering requirements are pretty high (engineering is probably the most rigorous discipline at the undergraduate level), but I'm not exactly sure what the cutoffs are for UW math. Of course, a good number of the Waterloo Math students are veterans of the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad contests. If any of you guys are going to UW next year, I hope you guys will have the privilege to meet up with awesome people like Elyot Grant or Steven Karp (who's going to be on this year's sexy IMO team btw) - both IMO participants.</p>
<p>I remember there was a year in the late 90s where Waterloo came first in both competitions. One kid, Donny Cheung of Winnipeg, was on both teams. I know for a fact he was also a former IMO competitor. </p>