UofC Versus UofA

[Spoons]

Ok, for starters, I know this could go in Campus chat, but I know most of that forum is for UofC, and I would get a biased opinion. Also I know some people from UofA still go on here.

My question is, next year for fall 2008 I am applying into engineering. My question is, is the education offered at UofA in terms of engineering much better than UofC. Is their faculty better? Also how are admission averages there? Are they higher there than UofC? Also expense wise, is res pretty cheap, or can a student easily live there without much issues?

I don't want to hear the Calgary is a better city than Edmonton vice versa bullshit. I care purely on the type of Education I will receive. Plus to be honest I was born in Edmonton and I already like it as a city more.

[Spoons]

I guess it just got moved to Campus chat... I'm doubting many UofA students go in here based on it is alot of UofC Campus chat... oh well

[7thgenvic]

go to the east if you want a sweet eng school....

[Spoons]

Originally posted by 7thgenvic
go to the east if you want a sweet eng school....

I'm pretty well set on staying in Alberta... its either UofC or UofA...

[Weapon_R]

U of A is the better school, but you'll do fine at either.

[turbotrip]

UofA looks better and isnt as depressing as UofC's engineering department which closely resembles a penitentiary.
UofA is easier (a friend transfered back and forth between the 2 schools twice and his GPA dropped about 0.5 each time for the same amount of work)
UofC has higher GPA requirements for each department

[Spoons]

Originally posted by turbotrip
UofA looks better and isnt as depressing as UofC's engineering department which closely resembles a penitentiary.
UofA is easier (a friend transfered back and forth between the 2 schools twice and his GPA dropped about 0.5 each time for the same amount of work)
UofC has higher GPA requirements for each department

UofA is looking alot better then. It's not that the higher GPA requirements are a real issue, but it would be nice if they were a bit lower so I wouldn't have to stress so much over marks. I would also like to move back to my home town and get out of Calgary for a few years.

[turbotrip]

Originally posted by Spoons


UofA is looking alot better then. It's not that the higher GPA requirements are a real issue, but it would be nice if they were a bit lower so I wouldn't have to stress so much over marks. I would also like to move back to my home town and get out of Calgary for a few years.

yea UofA would probably be the best choice in your case, and trust me the lower GPA requirements definitely take some pressure off you (and evey bit of pressure u can take off counts in engg lol)

[Spoons]

You have any clue what the admission averages are for engg there or transfer GPA's? If not I will give UofA a call soon.

[5hift]

I believe UofA is harder to get into, but it is a much better school. I've attended UofC, but been on campus at UofA quite a bit as my ex used to go there. UofA has the feel of a bigger American college where at UofC everyone just goes to class and leaves. The faculty seems to be better at UofA, and its rated higher in both Macleans and the Globe and Mail's annual ratings.

Too bad the city sucks though.

[Spoons]

Well I just looked... Admission average was 80% at UofA, and UofC was 78.something so I mean it isn't that big of a difference at all. I think I might apply for both and still decide, I have lots of time...

Admission requirements are less tedious though than UofC which is nice. A Bachelor of Arts with an Economics major is my second choice, and I don't need a ton of different subjects unlike UofC.

[buh_buh]

the city isn't that bad if your a student. All the students live in the same area, and its mostly students that live in that area. The campus is better, and so is the area around campus. You don't even have to venture past Whyte if you don't want to. I can probably count on my hands the number of times I left the campus/dt area the 3 years I was there.

[Pahnda]

Just my opinion, but choose whatever school gives you the best 'whole package'... I think people coming from high school don't realize that professions like engineering are highly regulated by the government and by organizations like APEGGA (and the other provincial organizations). Unless you plan on sticking with your school through to graduate level education then in the end I doubt you'll have a vastly different level of education. Plus you can just switch schools after you figure out what you want out of your grad education also.

Sure in 4th year your technical electives will depend on the professors at the school, so perhaps that's something to look into, but the 'curriculum' is more or less dictated by the professional organizations who in conjunction with the government grant universities the ability to give their degrees out.

I am at U of C, and I don't like to say they're better or worse, it's just a different school to achieve the same thing. I simply picked here because I like Calgary as a city much more than Edmonton and I had to stay in Alberta, haha. It really just depends on the individual to make the most of their education while they're at school though.

[cts]

U of C ftfw.

UofC has an awesome mech program.

[Gondi Stylez]

I went to U of A and I must say it is a MUCH MUCH MUCH better school that the shit hole known as U of C - I was in Pharmacology though. Although a few of my friends are in Eng. and they love it at U of A.

Bottom line U of A >>> U of C

[Perceptionist]

Originally posted by buh_buh
the city isn't that bad if your a student. All the students live in the same area, and its mostly students that live in that area. The campus is better, and so is the area around campus. You don't even have to venture past Whyte if you don't want to. I can probably count on my hands the number of times I left the campus/dt area the 3 years I was there.

This is very true, the whole community around the U of A campus has a much different atmosphere than the U of C. It's a better situation to be in if you're someone that's looking to party and meet other students. It seems like the U of C is kind of isolated in comparison and most of the students don't live within walking distance.
As for engineering, I think they both have good programs. The U of A has a couple of huge new buildings (ETLC and NREF) that I don't think the U of C can compete with at the moment. I wouldn't hold much value in that 0.5 GPA difference that was mentioned. Both have about the same entrance average and both use a similar curve to get final grades, so it doesn't make sense to me that there would be much difference in difficulty.
What you should really look at before deciding is what specialization you're interested in. The U of A offers Mining, Oil Sands, Nano-tech, and Materials specializations that the U of C doesn't. The U of C offers Geomatics and Manufacturing specializations that the U of A doesn't. If you know what you're interested in then you should look at the quality and availability of that specialization at the two schools.

[Spoons]

Yeah I am really interested now because they offer a Co-Op engineering program where I can work in a related field as well which is really appealing to me. Does U of C offer this?

[arian_ma]

I heard that UofC has the second best ENGG school in Canada, after UofT. Not sure if that's true or not.
I have been to UofA, and attend the UofC Engg school. Their university is nicer forsure (I mean their campus), I am not sure if I would want to live in a shit hole city like that though. All the blocks surrounding the uni are COVERED with bums on crack. Fuck that shit man. Don't wanna get stabbed walking home from school because my toonies are jingling in my pocket. I remember walking around white one night and it is reaaaaaaal sketchy man. I have never actually been WORRIED to walk in a neighborhood before until I was on White in E-town.

*Edited for clarity

[arian_ma]

Originally posted by Spoons
Yeah I am really interested now because they offer a Co-Op engineering program where I can work in a related field as well which is really appealing to me. Does U of C offer this?

Yes, internship program is offered everywhere. I think you'd have much better luck finding a good paying job here rather than Edmonton.

[Nav13]

Go to uofa, uofc is the biggest shithole ever, I know, I go there. I am not in engg though, however I spent my first year trying to transfer into engg, so I spent alot of time in the engg buildings. Anyways I have two friends who also were in the same boat as me, they ended up going to UofA to do engg, and I went into geophysics instead and stayed at the uofc. They absolutley love it up there and regret even spending a year in uofc. I regret not going up to do geophysics at uofa, but thats for reasons other then the level of education provided. I went up a month ago to visit them, and its true the area surrounding the uni is full of students. I think there are entire streets that are just homes being rented out to students, its a nice place. When it comes to which city is better, that means jack shit, my sister goes to uofs, saskatchewan is probably the most boring place Ive ever been to, but she loves it there, she lives on rez with all her friends and has a blast there. So again the city doesnt mean much, since you will spend most of the time around campus anyways. If you live on rez for the first years you will meet a whole bunch of people and make tons of new friends, and wont really care how crappy the city is, because being with your friends will matter more. Anyways that my take on it. Also one thing to keep in mind is the UofA gets alot more funding from the provincial government then UofC, UofA is ranked rather well compared to all other cities in Canada, where as UofC is consistently at the bottom, all though the engg program should be going up a bit with the huge schulich funding donation, but I dont think it will catch up to UofA in the time you will be doing your studies.