Hey, I don't know if you have already checked, but go to the Mac and UW's alumni page and see there testimonials.
I have not been accepted to UW or UT yet but i have gotten my offer from mcmaster and i was really freaking out because I did not want to go to Mac because it is not a top school. I read the alumni testimonials and it helped me assure myself that going to UW or UT isn't the only thing going to give me the best jobs. A lot of the alumni from Mcmaster have great jobs right out of uni as well. You just have to work hard and prove you are one of the best no matter which school you are from.
So yeah now I do feel a bit better about Mcmaster's program and reading the alumni testimonials really helped. I even think that I might go to Mcmaster anyway even if i do get accepted to UW because of how a lot of people say they have a great time at Mac.

I am also going to speak to some people I know who work as engineers and ask them about how much of a difference it would make if i went to UT or UW instead of Mac. I hope they tell me what i want to hear! I will post a new topic after i talk to those people to inform other people on the forum.

I'll definitely check the testimonials! I feel the same way as you...before, I was like Waterloo all the way. But now, I kinda want to go to Mac even if I get into UW, because it seems like a well-rounded school.

I'll look out for your post soon :)

Just fyi, I don't know if you've visited the residences, but the rooms in all the UW residences are tiny. When I was living in UWP it felt like being stuffed in a closet, so I never stayed around in my bedroom...

But I still liked living there, great location with lots of friends nearby. :)

- The campus does suck, everyone can attest to this.
- Not as social as mac? Not sure what you're basing this on. One's social life depends on the individual more than the school.
- Four month co-op terms may seem bad, but you can work with the same company on multi-year projects. On your second or third term back to the same company you can really hit the ground running.
- You can request 8-stream once you accept your offer.
- You get what you pay for.

I can say that you will have at least one friend at Waterloo or Toronto. I'm going to Waterloo tomorrow on one of their campus/residence tours. I'll let you in on the scoop with that tomorrow night. Although, for now maybe trust the current students opinion on the residences since they're there more than I.

If I can take pictures I will, and send them.

To be completely honest with you...all the residences I've seen seem pretty small. However, I have only seen the residences at Queen's, Toronto and Trent. They look perfect size for me. I really just need a place to sleep and study, but seeing as I may do studying in a library I might as well choose a school with a large one and use residence for sleeping.

I try not to worry about debt too much, I will always be in debt by the end of university. The university and program just determine how far in debt. I would still try to find a part-time job or on-campus job to bring in some money.

Anywho, may I ask you, Stella, one thing? What hindering factors are you looking for in a university?

I agree in part with what you're saying. There are "silos" of student social groups, segregated by faculties. There are individuals that see themselves as attending a school that is stronger in certain areas. But attend any Warriors event and you'll see that an overarching school spirit does exist.

Engineering programs at every university have an inner sanctum of comradery, precipitated by the team work nature of being successful in your studies. More often than not, it's more of a bitchfest and feeling each other's pain, rather than parading around like we're the kings of the castle. There is also the issue of relatability and "talking shop" with your buddies. There are a lot of passionate students who like to mix work and play. But there are arrogant people in engineering, no doubt.

In many cases, departments operate with such autonomy and large differences that you might as well be going to different schools. Even individual engineering programs see themselves as vastly different at times. But facility and students alike are always looking for synergies between different units.

I would like to know, do Mac Health Science students identify with the rest of the school?

Is UW's lack of identity a result of having some very strong programs, rather than academic strength in every program?

I'll have you Stephen, IF I go to UW :P and I'm not sure, there's so much to consider when you're choosing a university.

As someone who was accepted to both UW and Mac and being in your exact same situation this time last year, i guess i can offer some insight into this situation.

I'd like to point out a couple things from your pros and cons list:

Mac:
Mac offers 16 month internships, not 1 year, and it's not a maximum either, you're welcome to do 4 month co-ops every summer, then a 16 month internship, you just need 16 to get the co-op title on your degree. (only like 70% sure of this...)

Mac has sneaky co-op fees too, $300 a term, or $1200 for the 16-month internship for "using their co-op services". However, if you find a placement without the aid of the co-op office, it's free.

Chem and Bioengineering is limited to around 25 people and you can't use free-choice. This means you fight to the death for slots second year. This also means the cut-off is completely random. Say theres 25 kids that have an 80 average that apply to chem and bio, guess what, your mark needs to be above theirs to get in, so good luck LOL.

Smaller classes is an absolute lie. 1400 first years, that's pretty comparable if not more than first year UW (not sure of exact numbers of first year UW, feel free to correct). One of our classes this semester was literally so big it broke fire hazard codes and the prof had to cancel lectures. But that was because he was the only prof that spoke without an accent, the other three math profs had really thick accents and everyone left their classes LOL. People literally filled up the aisles of a 500 person lecture hall and lined up in the back to learn from him haha.

Social life is... uhh, debatable. Mac's a ghost-town on weekends. Being so close to the Toronto, and most kids living in the GTA a lot of people go home for the weekend. Plus, as engineers you're gonna miss a lot of parties since engineers literally have DOUBLE the hours, courses and work as other faculties.

Waterloo
I guess i don't really know that much about UW since i don't go there, but from what my friends have told me the social experience is genuinely what you make of it. You sure as hell will have a good time if you want to have a good time.

Co-op fees are negligible when you earn 50 grand throughout your undergraduate career.

4 month co-op opportunities diversify your resume which is always good, but at the same time that's too short of a period to do any serious working projects and learning.

Also as others have mentioned, while UW is a wonderful school for engineering, Chem eng isn't their specialty, but i guess that's debatable since that's mostly opinion.


Anyways, if you have any specific questions about Mac feel free to ask.

edit: actually IMO a good way you can resolve this now is find out the importance of the bioengineering minor at Mac. Because you really are comparing different programs. If you'd prefer a pure chemical engineering program, then i guess either school will suffice, but if you're genuinely really interested in getting a bio minor then your choice is already made since it's not offered at UW.

No, UW's co-op program is completely superior.

I don't really know what you think happens. It's not like Waterloo has a super secret list of employers that are only accessible by Waterloo students, that only accept Waterloo students and only care about Waterloo students. That's not the way the world works. Stupid analogy, but think of it like if Waterloo was a facebook account they're "friends" with a lot of the employers. But what's to stop a Mac student from looking up the employers on google and adding them manually? Or looking at Mac's facebook page's more limited "friends" list?

You consider Hydro One to be prestigious? Most co-op jobs are in that ball park, i dont really know what you think other co-op jobs are, not like you're gonna apply to McDonalds as part of co-op haha. Mac students have worked in RIM, and have worked in companies that have UW students.

Mac offers a 'Management' minor. You take business courses, and it allows you to do an accelerated MBA - you can finish your MBA in graduate school in only 1 year if you graduate with that minor.

Not saying anything is a positive or a negative - I would have chosen UW 100% if I had to choose again. Not everyone could the tradeoffs that UW has for its oppurtunities though.