UofC as a University

[el_fefes]

I'm currently goint to Mt. Royal, and I'm thinking of transferring to the university soon, but lately I've heard/read from other people that the UofC is not really good, and that I should probably go to another university?

What do you guys think? BTW I'm an ECON major.

[Skyline_Addict]

i don't think it's a bad university...for a big part, it's the students who make the university what it is. however, in any case, there is nothing special that i see the University accomplishing, producing or striving for. if you want to go to a "good" university, UBC and UofT are "better" choices.

[camby]

For the price, you can get a better degree elsewhere.

[Weapon_R]

Your choice is very limited. Whether we think its a good university is besides the point.

Do I think that its better than MRC? Far better.

Are there better universities if you want to travel? Hell yes.

[kiwi]

Provided you have the grades to get into "better" schools like UBC or UT, then give those a try. It's cool to study away from home, cuz you learn to be independent as well. I laugh so hard whenever I see all the newbies line up at the UofC registrar's office with their mommys so that she can ask how to use Infonet for them!

[el_fefes]

Well my second choice is SFU, I've heard they're really good for econ. And as far as being independent...it was my parents that moved out...they're living in BC now :rofl:

[t-im]

Originally posted by kiwi
I laugh so hard whenever I see all the newbies line up at the UofC registrar's office with their mommys so that she can ask how to use Infonet for them!

serious? People line up for that?

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by kiwi
I laugh so hard whenever I see all the newbies line up at the UofC registrar's office with their mommys so that she can ask how to use Infonet for them!

When I was working in IT Support, I'd get people's moms calling to ask what sort of laptops to buy their kids and how to set up internet and email for them and everything. Fuck, some people are so useless. If you're ~18+ and can't take care of simple shit by yourself (or atleast learn how to do it yourself), NO amount of schooling's going to work for you.

[camby]

Yeah just today a girl with her mom lined up at the Registrar trying to pay fees or something with infonet. Some parents and their kids...

[nismodrifter]

people are sad man, sad, I've been taking care of all the forms since as long as I can remember, parents dont' have time to fill that shit out, I fill all the forms out, get their signature, get them to write the cheque, done (been doing this since like grade 6 haha)

kids who don't take initiative to figure out/do this kind of stuff on their own are useless piles/waste of human skin I tell you.

[604-Mico]

Are you planning to do a masters in econ?
Cause IMO if you're only in it for a bachelors, then i dont see much difference in prestiege in econ faculties in sfu and UofC

[EDM]

Originally posted by camby
Yeah just today a girl with her mom lined up at the Registrar trying to pay fees or something with infonet. Some parents and their kids...

May be they are with their mom because their mom is paying for it.


I think UC sucks in some faculties and is excellent in other faculties. For econ i think its pretty good. Ive taken 201/203 and its not bad compared to courses in other faculties.

[el_fefes]

I think a masters in econ is definetely an option...

haha i think most of you guys must be reading this book

http://www.kentuckypress.com/kentuckypress/images/0813119642.jpg :tongue:

[Weapon_R]

Do you want to travel? Will you be able to afford the extra costs and the feeling of being homesick? If so, go to a better university. The experience here blows.

If you cannot afford it, your question is moot

[Team_Mclaren]

Originally posted by 604-Mico
Are you planning to do a masters in econ?
Cause IMO if you're only in it for a bachelors, then i dont see much difference in prestiege in econ faculties in sfu and UofC



:werd: , it wouldnt make a big different if you are only getting your bachelors I dont think. I suggest you to just save the money and go to a better university when you are getting your masters.

[DEREK57]

Overall I think the U of C isn't that bad of a school, just more hassle than its worth. The University is too small for the growing city, and so its alot more competitive than it should be for the education you get, and in the next few years they are planning some major budget cuts, and some major tuition hikes. That being said, if you have to, or want to stay in Southern Alberta, it should be as good as you're gonna get.

[KELSTAR]

Originally posted by EDM


May be they are with their mom because their mom is paying for it.


I think UC sucks in some faculties and is excellent in other faculties. For econ i think its pretty good. Ive taken 201/203 and its not bad compared to courses in other faculties.

Taking 201/203 doesn't really set you up for what an econ major will be like. Almost everyone takes these courses with either Tracy or Holden and the rest of the profs are quite different. There are some good ones but I would not say it is an excellent faculty. (prof wise) 201/203 make the faculty look way better than it is
I was an econ major for my first 2 and a half years at the U.. NEVER AGAIN! but then again , I didn't enjoy the classes all that much

EDIT: Meant to still write that it is still an ok faculty. No huge complaints here

[604-Mico]

Well what are you hoping to achieve from getting a masters in econ?
A research position at the university?

Something that you can look to do instead of a masters may be designations such as CFA CSI etc...


Originally posted by el_fefes
I think a masters in econ is definetely an option...

haha i think most of you guys must be reading this book

http://www.kentuckypress.com/kentuckypress/images/0813119642.jpg :tongue:

[eblend]

my sister got a major in econ at the uofc and she is not without a job for like 4 month, and if you saw her resume u would be very surpriced about that. She said that whenever she is looking for jobs, all she sees most companies need is a Bcom degree....not to say econ is bad, but a bcom degree is really valued around calgary, there is osmething to think about

and i think uofc is good..but then again..it depends what faculty you are in, haskayne is all good, good profs, good atmosphere and it cna be tough (not engg tough but u get the point) and 95% of grads from haskayne get a job in 6 month of graduation. so it really depends on the faculty

[Gainsbarre]

Originally posted by el_fefes
I'm currently goint to Mt. Royal, and I'm thinking of transferring to the university soon, but lately I've heard/read from other people that the UofC is not really good, and that I should probably go to another university?

What do you guys think? BTW I'm an ECON major.

Don't make the same mistake that I made. Be sure to at least apply for universities besides the University of Calgary. Only have the U of C as an alternate choice. If you're in the econ department at the U of C, be very careful in your selection of classes. DO NOT take any econ classes from graduate students, it's just not worth the trouble and they won't prepare you for future classes. Some of the faculty members are great (e.g. Zuzana Janko, Rob Oxoby), but they're in the minority. At least the econ department doesn't typically curve grades and give out unfairly high marks to undeserving students like the Haskayne School of Business.



Originally posted by eblend
haskayne is all good, good profs, good atmosphere and it cna be tough

:rofl: Haskayne? Tough? Hardly. For example I've taken half a dozen finance courses, and none of them use math that's beyond the grade eight level. Economics is much more stimulating and challenging than anything that is offered by Haskayne.

[fredro]

Economics is much more stimulating and challenging than anything that is offered by Haskayne.

I've heard good things about 445 and 447 though.

[elmo909]

How is the faculty of Engineering?

[RiCE-DaDDy]

doesnt this apply to a lot of other unis?
i go to UBC and van may be not booming as much as calgary, but its hella crowded and competitive here. There's a housing crisis and entry marks are a reflection of the competition.

On a side note, I remember people criticising the construction of ICT, but at UBC, they building like mad! CPSC, just CPSC has like 2 new buildings for themselves and dentistry is gettin a new building etc....


Originally posted by DEREK57
Overall I think the U of C isn't that bad of a school, just more hassle than its worth. The University is too small for the growing city, and so its alot more competitive than it should be for the education you get, and in the next few years they are planning some major budget cuts, and some major tuition hikes. That being said, if you have to, or want to stay in Southern Alberta, it should be as good as you're gonna get.

[Gainsbarre]

Originally posted by fredro


I've heard good things about 445 and 447 though.

Really? I've heard that Gordon Sick is the worst prof in the finance area (his infonet ratings support this), so I made sure to avoid FNCE 447. He has been the only prof for that course for the past 5 years or so. But then again, there seems to be a correlation between how easy a prof is and the student evaluations that they receive. I take it that he's OK but people don't like him because he's a tough prof?

I'm in 445 right now, and a different prof is teaching it now -- Carlton Osakwe instead of Mark Cassano. Osakwe picked on me before the first lecture even began (points at me "You! What's your name?")...oh well, he seems like a good guy so far. At least it can't be worse than 291 with Norm Althouse where he pranced about the room and picked on me 2-3 times every class :thumbsdow

[eblend]

Originally posted by Gainsbarre



:rofl: Haskayne? Tough? Hardly. For example I've taken half a dozen finance courses, and none of them use math that's beyond the grade eight level. Economics is much more stimulating and challenging than anything that is offered by Haskayne.

fnce classes are all single person work, if you take marketing or the links, huge and time consuming group projects. One of my classes right now....Database systems....75% of the class is based on a single group project, so its pretty big stuff. In my e-commerce class, 65% is a group project...so if the class has groups, most of the time the projects are going to be pretty big..unless ofcourse you are just taking the simple 317 classes (except marketing, big project in 317)

[Gainsbarre]

Originally posted by eblend


fnce classes are all single person work, if you take marketing or the links, huge and time consuming group projects. One of my classes right now....Database systems....75% of the class is based on a single group project, so its pretty big stuff. In my e-commerce class, 65% is a group project...so if the class has groups, most of the time the projects are going to be pretty big..unless ofcourse you are just taking the simple 317 classes (except marketing, big project in 317)

Actually, all of the 400 level finance classes I've taken (443, 445, 451, 463, and 475) have major group projects. I wouldn't consider group work in itself challenging, it's more time consuming than anything else (i.e. busy work). But I will agree with you in that if you get paired up with group members who have a casual attitude (all to common in Haskayne) you could be sunk.

[fredro]

Originally posted by Gainsbarre


Really? I've heard that Gordon Sick is the worst prof in the finance area (his infonet ratings support this), so I made sure to avoid FNCE 447. He has been the only prof for that course for the past 5 years or so. But then again, there seems to be a correlation between how easy a prof is and the student evaluations that they receive. I take it that he's OK but people don't like him because he's a tough prof?

The complaints I've heard are that he makes the course more complicated than it 'has' to be and that he's too mathematical. Thing is that's his background and it may not mesh with the skills of business undergrads. I think we can agree that the undergrad curriculum at Haskayne is not very quantitative/math focused. I checked out his site (http://www.ucalgary.ca/%7esick/FNCE447/) for capital budgeting and he seems very thorough and organized. I guess he could be too uptight or a prick or something, but I'll be taking his course next year and finding out for myself.



I'm in 445 right now, and a different prof is teaching it now -- Carlton Osakwe instead of Mark Cassano. Osakwe picked on me before the first lecture even began (points at me "You! What's your name?")...oh well, he seems like a good guy so far. At least it can't be worse than 291 with Norm Althouse where he pranced about the room and picked on me 2-3 times every class :thumbsdow

I think Mark Cassano may have left Haskayne for Econ. I noticed he's teaching econ443 this semester. lol @ Norm! We only had him for a couple of classes (we were very fortunate to have Jeremy Hall), but he was completely ridiculous and took the course 100x more seriously than anyone else, though everyone knew it was basically fast-paced fluff. then he made fun of kids who didn't know time value of money even though he hadn't taught it to us prior. what an ass.

[eblend]

Originally posted by Gainsbarre


Actually, all of the 400 level finance classes I've taken (443, 445, 451, 463, and 475) have major group projects. I wouldn't consider group work in itself challenging, it's more time consuming than anything else (i.e. busy work). But I will agree with you in that if you get paired up with group members who have a casual attitude (all to common in Haskayne) you could be sunk.

not intersted in fnce so didn't know that, cool cool, well i guess they are not challanging..its just that when ur group sucks and u have to do the work of 3 ppl it can be challenging hahah, story of my life last...as least 2 other ppl did something...3 didn't do much at all

[Sorath]

just wondering, admission from high school. what it based on for admission. credits marks and courses?, lets say i take business.

[Skyline_Addict]

Originally posted by Sorath
just wondering, admission from high school. what it based on for admission. credits marks and courses?, lets say i take business.

as recently as i can remember, admission requirements differ depending on the department you wish to apply for. different courses and different grade average minimums were required for each department. however, I have heard that the University (atleast here) is changing it's admission regulations, such that only ONE administrative body handles registration. this would likely mean that this one body looks at your mark and simply says yes or no. so let's say the "cut-off" is 80%. that means you'd need 80% to just get in - art, enggineering, business; doesn't matter. i could imagine they would ask you to list your choices 1-5 of admission into certain departments and depending on your marks, you will get into the department that reflects your academic standing compared to others. i'm not sure when this will be implemented, or if it's just a proposal. i don't know too much about it, cause I don't have to.

[bksze]

My 2 cents. If you're just doing a bachelor's degree, the school doesn't really matter. In my opinion, the school only matters when you can rely on the school for your success. (ie. putting Harvard on your resume guarantees you a job the instant you graduate) However, being that none of the schools you mentioned carry that illustrious prestige, your determining factor should not be based on the merit of the school, but rather on, the costs involved, willingness to travel, quality of environment.

The greater measure of success would be dependent on your own ability, regardless of which school you attend.