Engineering School/Program

[boy1_]

Its about that time that I start to think about what university I would like to attend. I am almost 100% settled on going into engineering, and 75% sure on mechanical engineering. My question is what universities are good for this(canadian institutions please), pretending I am getting 100% in all courses that is.

[Idratherbsidewayz]

1) Waterloo

The U of A is very good for engineering from what I hear, but Waterloo is still the best...

[Skyline_Addict]

yes waterloo is good, or u of t is not bad either.
in most circumstances, it doesn't matter where you get your bachelors', if you are concerned about the quality of your degree. however if you are concerned about the quality of your education, which i'm sure you are, then waterloo is definetely the best.

[Vanish3d]

I'm currently in my 2nd/3rd year of Engineering right now and I came across a list of top 100 University for Engineering. I will try to find that list for you and post it. I think UofA is somewhere in the 10-20. UofC is way down there for engineering according to the list, but they have a pretty decent program.

If you are going into engineering, be prepared to throw away your social life (not trying to scare you) because the work load is very time consuming.
First and second year of engineering is said to be equivilant to most other major's 4'th year work load. As long as you have dedication, it shouldn't be a problem though.

Pm me with any question you might have and i'll try to answer them for you

[Aleks]

Ah don't let them scare you. I graduated from engineering this year and I didn't find it that bad. Just make sure you have plenty of lube

[Stratus_Power]

i heard waterloo is one of the best too

[Vanish3d]

Originally posted by altima
Ah don't let them scare you. I graduated from engineering this year and I didn't find it that bad. Just make sure you have plenty of lube

Which program?

you got the lube part right :P

[Aleks]

I graduated from Manufacturing program. Currently working in the "Natural Resources Transportation" industry.

[sml]

Engineering is not THAT hard... I mean it's hard, but not like you have to throw away your whole social life. Maybe if you're really dumb or something... haha! Waterloo is pretty good, but only for certain types of engineering. ie) computer, electrical... Not sure about others. Obviously U of C and U of A is better for Chemical Engineering (because the oil is right under your foot!). I mean, it's not just a univ is good for engineering, engineering itself is so broad... You'll have to do better research on the specialty that you're interested (mechanical) and see which univ is best for that. And all these people saying that it doesn't matter which univ you get your undergrad at, well... all I have to say is that yes it's true to an extent, but what a lot of people don't realize is not just the education (actually very unimportant), but it's the alumini connections afterwards. Smart people go to good univ, rich people go to good univ, why? Because, there they will meet other smart and rich people who will help them in their career paths in the future. It's all about connections and reputation. Even if you're not very smart, getting yourself associated with a good school can open a lot more doors for you... kinda like me! haha!

btw, my ranking of engineering schools in Canada:
1) Waterloo
2) Queens
3) Simon Fraser
4) UBC
5) UT
6) UA

[boy1_]

I have also been toying with the idea of going into Mining Engineering, it looks like a career that could be very interesting and really go places. Does anybody have any experience or knowledge about this field?

[kaput]

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[camby]

I heard from a prof at the UofC that the engineering program at the UofC is ranked 26th in North America. Overall I find that most engineering programs are fairly similar. A couple of my friends go to Queen's and they learn the same stuff as what I learn at the UofC mostly. Like what sml said, those eastern University can offer better networking opportunities.

It also depends on whether you want to do an Internship or Co-Op program. The UofC Internship program is good. A few of my friends who go to Waterloo who do Co-Op say its not that great. It's hard to find jobs for 4 months and then go back to school and then work for 4 months etc...

Definitely talk to school counsellors to clarify your questions.

[kaput]

.

[kanjus_paki]

Originally posted by sml
Engineering is not THAT hard... I mean it's hard, but not like you have to throw away your whole social life. Maybe if you're really dumb or something... haha! Waterloo is pretty good, but only for certain types of engineering. ie) computer, electrical... Not sure about others. Obviously U of C and U of A is better for Chemical Engineering (because the oil is right under your foot!). I mean, it's not just a univ is good for engineering, engineering itself is so broad... You'll have to do better research on the specialty that you're interested (mechanical) and see which univ is best for that. And all these people saying that it doesn't matter which univ you get your undergrad at, well... all I have to say is that yes it's true to an extent, but what a lot of people don't realize is not just the education (actually very unimportant), but it's the alumini connections afterwards. Smart people go to good univ, rich people go to good univ, why? Because, there they will meet other smart and rich people who will help them in their career paths in the future. It's all about connections and reputation. Even if you're not very smart, getting yourself associated with a good school can open a lot more doors for you... kinda like me! haha!

btw, my ranking of engineering schools in Canada:
1) Waterloo
2) Queens
3) Simon Fraser
4) UBC
5) UT
6) UA

haha sfu does not belong on that list...and u of a doesnt really either

[gpomp]

Originally posted by sml
btw, my ranking of engineering schools in Canada:
1) Waterloo
2) Queens
3) Simon Fraser
4) UBC
5) UT
6) UA

er, i heard mcgill is pretty good...

[boy1_]

Thanks for all the help. I think that I will be trying for Waterloo and UBC. Waterloo because by all reports seems to be the "best" and UBC because i live one block from main campus. Either way it looks like I am gonna have to light a fire under my ass.

[V6-BoI]

I'm in 3'rd year right now at the U of C, and the engineering program at the U of C doesn't seem too bad. I think the best thing about it is probably the internship program. The chances of getting a job seems pretty promising. It seems to be better than U of A. I talked to a friend going to U of A, and he said that 3/30 people in computer engineering got internships at U of A. But according to the internship director at U of C, 3/30 computer engineers, DIDN'T get internships.

[boy1_]

Ya, I plan on going into the co-op program which sounds like the same thing you are talking about. And if I get into Waterloo as I understand it you have to go into the co-op. Makes it 5 years of school, but you get to earn money and gain experience.

[kaput]

.

[boy1_]

That is pretty much how I interpreted what the Waterloo website said. And I plan on working my ass off during the summer (with or without co-op program), so that won't make a huge difference to summer.