Planning to apply to:

University of Waterloo Mechatronics, University of Western Ontario Mechatronics, UBC Mechanical (w/ Mechatronics option), Mcmaster Mechatronics.


Just other info:

12th Grade courses:

AP Calculus
AP Physics C (both exams)
AP Chemistry
AP English Lit.
AP Economics
AP US Government and Politics
AP Art History


ECs:

Robotics: One of the division captains at WHS ROBOTICS (a FTC team)
Started a Robotics club in the community (a FRC team) (voted president of the club and captain of the team)
Make and design Pepakura costumes, specifically for the creation of armor (e.g medieval armor, Iron Man, War Machine, etc.)
Varsity Volleyball: Middle, and Right Back
Freelance Broadcasting: Paid to broadcast concerts, religious events, conventions, etc. Also have held seminars to teach basic and advanced broadcasting.

If your transcript is already in % form, then you're lucked out. Because an 84-85 in precalc is good. But don't convert letter grades to %. According to Ontario your 'B' is a % mark from 70-79. Just so you know. But don't know worry, you'll probably get in to most programs because we love to charge internationals 3x the tuition.

@OP: International applicants are considered separately. Don't think that your grades will be converted to a % and then compared with those of domestic applicants! Schools usually set a separate standard for international applications, but of course it will be similar to that for Canadians.

Since you're an American student, it's likely that they'll look at your SATs. Here's what Waterloo says:

http://www.findoutmore.u...ons/intadmissions.php#6

Similarly, for McMaster:

http://future.mcmaster.c...d-document-information/

It's likely that your SAT scores will play a larger role in your admission than your high school GPA, since SAT scores are easy to compare among applicants, and grading systems differ between high schools far too much. SAT facilitates the comparison of the relative academic achievement of applicants much better, and it's probably what the universities will go by.

By the way, why are you applying to Canadian schools from California?! Unless you're a citizen/resident, your international tuition here would be more than you'd be paying for in-state UC colleges. P.S. not one of these Canadian universities ranks higher than UC Berkeley, which seems like a great fit since you seem to be considering engineering-ish programs.

Anyway, good luck! I did the opposite of what you're doing ... I'm a Canadian student now attending school in the US (UPenn/Wharton). I got into Berkeley too but out-of-state tuition was too high for it to be worth it.

I have no idea what the tuition is in California for Californian students and what the tuition is in Canadian engineering schools for international students, but to me that sounds like a very uneconomical reason for going to school in Canada. I get that you think you really like mechatronics, but a) you can't be sure until you've actually studied it and b) even if you really do like it, a minor or some courses in the field should suffice, especially since, according to you, a degree in it is not an option in the US. It's not like US employers are going to expect a degree in mechatronics; they'd have a hard time finding suitable applicants.

Now that is unfortunate.

Why is that unfortunate? That's good for you.




Yes, probably.



I agree with this guy. Most of the time, it's better to go to a school with an overall better reputation and overall better career prospects. The university's recognition in the industry and recruitment options matter much more than a specific major they might offer. As a high school student, you can't even be 100% sure that you will want to go into mechatronics by the time you graduate -- it's very likely that you will change your mind many many times. And, really, you cannot compare University of Western Ontario with, let's say, a UC school. They're nowhere near the same level.

Unless your SAT score and grades are extremely high, and you absolutely cannot settle for mediocrity, then I wouldn't be too concerned about rankings. But, FYI, according to the Times Higher Education world university rankings for engineering (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/engineering-and-it.html), CIT is #1, UC Berkeley is #4, Stanford is #5, UCLA is #8, UCSB is #16, University of Toronto is #18, UCSD is #24, UC Davis is #32, UBC is #33, McGill is #47, and Waterloo is #48. So while UBC and Waterloo may not be on the level, they are not far behind.

It should be noted that these rankings are heavily based on different indicators of research activity/funding, which are probably highly correlated with prestige but are influenced heavily by simple things like government and corporate investment in research (so the California schools would be boosted nicely by that, which is not at all related to quality of education). Also worth noting is that the prestigious schools tend to be the hardest to get into. Employers like this because even if the education were exactly the same at CIT as at Joe Smith's School of Engineerin', the CIT students, being naturally smarter, would gain more from that education and be better, more intelligent engineers. But if you can't get into those schools, then this is of little benefit to you. If reputation is important to you, then you're definitely better off going to UBC or UWaterloo instead of some middle of the road or lower end California school. You also have to consider the economics of it too.

One perk I know of Waterloo engineering (and, again, I know very little about engineering programs in the States) is the excellent co-op program offered. The Kitchener-Waterloo area is a major centre for electronics and computer engineering in Canada, and it is nearby to the Greater Toronto Area. Relevant work experience (whether it be through co-op or through summer jobs) definitely gives you an edge when applying for jobs post-graduation.