UBC vs Waterloo help
I'm currently in grade 12 (Canada) and my goals are either breaking into s&t or working at a top tech firm(like Google,Apple,Microsoft,etc...). I'm expecting to choose from the following programs at these two schools:
UBC BUCS(business and computer science combined major), UBC CS, Waterloo engineering, and Waterloo DD.
There's tons of info on Waterloo on this forum (I have used the search) but very little on UBC. In addition, I'm also a US citizen and would want to go to the school that is the most globally recognized. What are your opinions?
go to waterloo you don't get guaranteed admission to any of UBCs programs once you arrive there, if your grades don't cut it, you will not be allowed to study your chosen major
that said, it's a big risk choosing to go to UBC however, waterloo is depressing as fuck, and not fun at all very strong academically, and has good recruiting and coop programs- just very unfun
UBC has good brand recognition, but quite frankly you're not going to be impressing anyone by going to UBC it's got something like 50 thousand undergrads, and isn't very competitive to get into
Thanks, the waterloo engineering program is soft eng, and the DD was BBA/BCS, for further clarification. In your opinion, is UBC really not a "target" for tech firms at all compared to loo? (Because UBC is ranked high for CS)
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Waterloo, no question.
I go to UW and just by looking at the co-op/graduate job board there are lots of opportunities with tech firms (Apple, Google, FB, Twitter, etc both in Can or US) as well as S&T (Canadian big 5, BB in Can and a couple in US, quantitative firms like Jane Street, etc). Plus if you do the DD - BBA/BCS I believe you have access to both the Laurier job postings and UW job postings. I would consider Laurier a Canada semi target as a fair amount of people there go into IBD or S&T, so a combination of both is great. You can't really make the wrong choice between Eng or DD if tech/S&T are your long term goals, as if you perform well in either you will get a strong look at (perhaps might give an edge to Eng as it's seen as harder). However Eng is very tough at UW. When I was in first year I knew a lot of people in Eng who had to redo first year or dropped out entirely, so be prepared to do a lot of work. DD is still tough, but just not as bad as Eng.
If you're interested in UBC and S&T I would suggest doing the commerce/CS and then trying to get into the PMF program which has a lot of alumni in great places throughout the finance world. Not exactly sure how well UBC CS does with tech, but I am pretty sure UW has better recruiting for tech. I don't really know that much about UBC so take everything I say with a grain of salt
Thanks for that parafilm. As of right now, I'm leaning on waterloo, however, is it really that depressing/dull of a school to be at, or is that just an exaggeration?
Well it is definitely lacking in school spirit and generally the eng/math (CS is part of math) faculties tend to have more anti social people. However I've met some really cool people here at UW including some from eng/math. I enjoy my time here and the co-op program is top notch/helpful. So I wouldn't say UW is dull/depressing, but there are certainly more exciting schools (such as Western or Queens) but it really depends on the people you meet. You will meet a lot of people from Laurier as it's like 5 minutes away and the Laurier campus/people tends to be more "exciting". As it is with every school you'll find people on both sides of the spectrum, but UBC definitely has more a college feel/more school spirit than UW and probably has more people that are more "exciting". I'm also pretty sure UBC has a co-op program, but I don't think it is up to par with UW.
Either school I'd say if you get high grades and good extracurriculars you can end up in a solid tech/S&T position without too much trouble as top firms recruit for both schools (though I'd give the edge to UW).
Hey darkmonkey, I go to UBC and as many have pointed out, Waterloo seems to be better for tech firms, but CS grads from UBC are by no means having trouble getting great jobs. As for Sauder, it is big 4 territory, they recruit BComs heavily, but since you are interested in S&T, this is not really what you are looking for. The fact is, UBC is poorly situated geographically for IB. There are little to no local offices of BB banks. The east coast seems to have much more opportunities. However, many people at Sauder seek opportunities in Asia, and are generally pretty successful since UBC is well-connected on the other side of the Pacific (well... just look at the student body). PMF would be your best bet though if you are not interested in APAC.
It is also true that you would only get to choose your major at the end of 2nd year. Generally, finance cut-off is 75% (3.3) and accounting around 70% (3.0), depending on your class. Other options usually have more than enough space for you to choose freely, but really it should not be a problem to get into Fin. if you are aiming for IB. The career service is average, but the co-op program is nicely organized. As for competition, I would say it is pretty hard to get into being the only recognizable Canadian university west of Ontario, so well done OP, although you are not going to blow anyone out of the water by going to UBC, or any Canadian schools for that matter. It is a curse of small market that we have to deal with.
Plus, based on my multiple experiences studying abroad (schools that are heavily recruited by BB & MBB), the program is well-designed and I learn the best at UBC. Not getting the best grade, but get the most out of courses knowledge-wise. I really think many Sauder grads are underselling themselves, but that is just my opinion.
Whatever you choose to do, best of luck!
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