So far, I got accepted into UCSD, UIUC, UW - Seattle, and U of Toronto.
I got waitlisted at Georgia Tech, rejected from UCLA, and am waiting on UCB and McGill.
I expect to be rejected from UCB, do not really care about McGill anymore, and am not so sure I’ll get in to Georgia Tech.
My main debate at the moment:
University of Toronto
Pros: Canada, Paid Work Experience, Easier to get jobs, Cheaper
Cons: My main reason of not going to Toronto is because I feel like it might not be as good as the other unis such as UIUC.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Pros: Really good engineering program, Well known in the US, Smaller city so probably safer than rest of America
Cons: Not Canada, Probably harder to get jobs, Harder to get work experience?
At this moment, I am not really considering UCSD or UW since they probably aren’t as good. If I do get into Georgia Tech or UC Berkeley (highly unlikely) that might change things up. At the moment, my main debate is between going to Canada or going to the US. I am an international student so naturally the situation in America is far from ideal. It is quite unpredictable at the moment, and I feel like it will be hard to get jobs or move there. I also feel like the people in America, while obviously not everyone, are less accepting towards immigrants than in Canada. I know that the University of Toronto is good since it is the best in Canada and well ranked in the world. I just want to know if Toronto is comparable to UIUC for electrical engineering. I expect that UIUC is better than Toronto but not a whole lot better. My thinking at the moment is the Canada is cheaper and I can get some good work experience while seeing what happens in America from a distance. I do plan to do my masters and will probably consider America again at the moment in time. In summary, my main question is would I be making a mistake by going to Toronto or are its standards for electrical engineering comparable to American schools like UIUC? Thanks for reading this really long post.
Do you and your family have the finances for ALL 4 years of UT or UIUC?
Most state Us give little or no financial assistance to international students.
Has UT offered any financial assistance?
The other Us you applied to also are not known for awarding financial assistance to international students. All other considerations would only be after this major one, $$$$.
a. Cost at each school and can you and your parents afford it.
b. Whether you are directly admitted to the major and, if not, how difficult it will be to get into your major after enrolling.
University of Toronto is a perfectly respectable university from a Canadian or US point of view. However, if you expect to work in your home country, you may have to consider how people in your home country view the various universities, and how much it matters.
You are very much misinformed. But it is a good idea that you are not considering them since they are very expensive.
Absolutely.
As an international candidate, you should plan on returning to your home country after your degrees.
I don’t know about Canadian labor laws, but for the US labor and immigration rules, your options will be severely limited. US companies are obligated to hire US citizens first. If a company were to try to hire you, they would have to inform the government that there are no US candidates available for that position. If you look at current web sites for most of the big companies, you will note that they are posting that they cannot sponsor non-citizens. It takes too much time and money.
My parents have said money isn’t a problem but of course it is nice to save money. I did not get any scholarships but I did get into my first choice majors in everything. I was not trying to say that UCSD or UW were not good but I was just saying that they are not as good as UIUC. I do not really want to work in my home country which is why I am thinking about going to Canada. Canadian labour laws are definitely more lenient than America, which already seems to be filled with immigrants in the tech field. I just wanted to know if Toronto was comparable to UIUC.
Let me suggest thinking along another direction. If you want to stay in US, you should on getting an MS degree. The reason is that if becomes significantly easier for a company to sponsor you for H1B and Greencard when you have an advanced degree.
Some schools have a BS/MS program where one can get MS degree within 5 years of starting undergrad. See if this option is available at any of the places you are considering.
@Kant27. I live in the US, and I know people who have graduated in engineering from both schools, and they all are doing exceptionally well, working at leading companies in a variety of sectors. So I don’t think you can go wrong with either school. Overall, UofT is much more well-known globally than UIUC, and UofT is also very highly ranked on global ranking. UofT’s engineering program is also specifically very well-regarded. So you should have an extremely wide set of career opportunities if you go there. UIUC likewise will not hold you back. As between the two, UofT is perhaps a safer choice, especially if you’re not certain you want to live in the USA on a long-term basis, since UofT is more well-known globally. Of course, if you plan on doing a masters degree after your undergrad, then the choice is even more “can’t go wrong”, since you can do your masters to round out your education, regardless of which school you chose for undergrad.