The Canadian Universities Thread

[Mimerez]

SFU doesnt sound too great from what Ive read, lol.

Anybody been to UofT or UofA? Anyone know if those are any good?

[JohnLocke]

I'm currently going to UBC. It's okay.

Atmosphere isn't the best unless you're staying on campus (which is overrated unless you have money to waste), it's a microcosm of the cold downtown Vancouver attitude. The fraternities and sororities try their hardest to imitate their American brothers and sisters.

My favorite part is the campus, I love getting lost in it and napping in one of million libraries. The food, as you can expect, is horrendous all around in a 2 km radius. The atmosphere again isn't great but I guess it's better than some other options in BC.

I can't wait to get out of here. I've also been looking into John Hopkins in Baltimore for grad school...makes me appreciate Vancouver more.

Do you mind me asking what you're doing for grad school Ms. Bioluminescence?

You're one of the few people on here in science.

[Mr. Ambien]

SFU doesnt sound too great from what Ive read, lol.

Anybody been to UofT or UofA? Anyone know if those are any good?

I haven't been to UofA but there's a lot of butthurt of SAIT and UofC alumni who don't like hearing/reading that UofA is more prestigious. It really depends on your criteria. I personally preferred SAIT for the Polytech route, because I already had a degree, and business partners recommended their Business school. So more than anything else, it's programs should cater to you.

[drummer4now]

Ha, finally someone who realizes my username isn't some crappy metal band...

I haven't decided yet for grad school what I want to pursue specifically (entering fourth year). My degree is going to focus on viral immunology and bioinformatics so I hope to enter some research regarding infectious diseases prevention/monitoring/treatment.

The Netherlands, Germany and the east coast of the States have a gold mine of universities with incredible facilities dedicated to just that whereas in Canada you might get lucky seeing one virologist within the biology faculty. UBC actually has one of the best microbiology programs in terms of funding but it is still very poor in comparison to those aforementioned meccas.

The dream is to switch my MSc to a PhD instead of having to suffer through both, and then to enter the private sector after a solid footing in the industry. From what I've seen, public sector and university research is a pretty depressing road long term.

No more MD?

Also don't you have to complete a MSc. degree before doing your PhD?

I'm still weighing my options right now too.., but one thing for certain I'm glad I got out of the pit of doom aka the biology degree...

[drummer4now]

MD seems kind of boring to be honest, although the money is very tempting. I am still going to take the DAT and MCAT but I won't be sad if I don't get in.

Here are the requirements at UBC but it's the same everywhere. The key is great research ability (ie, get started in your undergrad).

https://www.grad.ubc.ca/faculty-staff/policies-procedures/transfer-masters-doctoral-programs

Thanks for this the more you know... I always thought doing a masters was mandatory then came the PhD.

[Jester13]

I'm at UVic after being at McGill and I much prefer UVic, mainly due to the weather, but the campus feel is hard to beat. My study buddy and I would come out to the fountain from the library for breaks and have a puff and no one ever says a thing, but as soon as someone lights up a cigarette all hell breaks loose :D

There are some great teachers here too, and some great programs. But, again, the weather and the city is what makes this place so special, IMHO.

Good luck, OP!

[The Magician]

SFU Business and Marketing courses.... (good, bad, useful, get you anywhere, meh?).... GO!!! #undergrad

[MadMonk]

You're welcome. I've been looking into this more because of this thread. Turns out Yale does not even offer Masters programs from most faculties unless they are en route to a PhD.

Has anyone here taken the GRE?

From what I gathered most universities in US offer only PhDs, and in fact MSc are handed out to people who drop out of a PhD program. On the other hand in Canada an MSc is a genuine degree.

I have taken the GRE when I applied for grad school, but it has been overhauled since.

[GLASSJAW]

From what I gathered most universities in US offer only PhDs, and in fact MSc are handed out to people who drop out of a PhD program. On the other hand in Canada an MSc is a genuine degree.

I have taken the GRE when I applied for grad school, but it has been overhauled since.

dunno about an MSc, but in America it's an option to just do an MA as part of a PhD for the first year. So if you do a PhD without an MA, it takes 5 years, minimum (usually), and if you transfer into a PhD program WITH an MA, you can skip a year or a year and a half of that PhD, and it's around 4 years--but MA's are definitely genuine degrees at almost every school I've looked at

[MadMonk]

dunno about an MSc, but in America it's an option to just do an MA as part of a PhD for the first year. So if you do a PhD without an MA, it takes 5 years, minimum (usually), and if you transfer into a PhD program WITH an MA, you can skip a year or a year and a half of that PhD, and it's around 4 years--but MA's are definitely genuine degrees at almost every school I've looked at

Perhaps it is a science thing.

I do get a sense that a lot of students end up going to the US for the fact they can directly enter a PhD, and I suspect that departments here in Canada are trying to move towards that. It is certainty true for my department here at U of T where they heavily advertised that students can transfer to a PhD after one years in a masters program.

[MadMonk]

How much preparation did it take for you at the time? I've only looked at some sample questions but it's hard to gauge the difficulty.

If PhD is the default for grad school in the States, does that mean that during application you need to have a fully fleshed out project proposal to present to a potential PI?

Not too long, maybe a month?

I was apply for applied math programs mainly, and the departments didn't care how I do for the verbal section as long as I get a good mark for the quantitative section, but that wasn't too bad for me as I did my BSc and MSc in applied math. The verbal section was challenging for me as I am not a native speaker, but I only aimed for a decent (i.e. not embarrassingly low) mark so I didn't spend too much time. I had to learn a lot of new vocabulary but if you are good with that then that shouldn't be a problem.

The subject test was entirely a different matter. I spent maybe 4-5 months on it, and still didn't do as well as I had hoped. Part of it is that I didn't do courses in pure math so I had to learn it on the go, but that didn't turn out well.

I would ask the departments you're interested in to see how much weight they put on the GRE. I suspect that they don't really place that much weight on it for science PhDs, particularly the general test.

As for your second question, not really.

What I gathered is that you will be expected to have a full course load in your first year, and starting in the summer you get to rotate through a few labs to see what kind of research they do. You then have to pass a comprehensive/qualifying exam before you starting thinking about picking a supervisor and start your research.

[Apple Juice]

Honestly SFU isn't as bad as they make it out to be. Yes the campus doesn't have a great design and taking transit there is sometimes a hassle as only four buses go up there (135, 143, 144, 145) so commuting to and from SFU Burnaby might sometimes be a pain in the butt. But university life is what you make of it.

I go to SFU right now majoring in Communications and I honestly never would have met the friends I've met if I didn't get involved with the school and participated more in class. Yes, a majority of the students here (seems like 65% of the entire student body) are made up of Asians, specifically wealthy Chinese fobs that can barely speak any English, but the campus ain't that bad. When it rains, it sucks but when it's sunny, SFU is really beautiful and it's got a gorgeous view of the mountains.

FYI, in my faculty of Communications, it's basically 85% females 15% males and a large majority of the females are extremely good looking

[MillerGenuineDraft]

I think I'd regret paying those extra tens of thousands of dollars more.

I never said it's for everyone. No offence, but if money is an issue, then obviously living on campus isn't an ideal thing to do.

[Dral]

SFU doesnt sound too great from what Ive read, lol.

Anybody been to UofT or UofA? Anyone know if those are any good?

SFU is fine - I went there and had a blast. I really have no idea what other people are talking about - all the profs/TAs spoke perfect english, I rarely had trouble getting my classes and yeah, we didn't do much hanging out on campus (except in the pub or in the gym playing rec sports), but we had a blast.

Like I said in my original reply - you'll get out what you bring with you... if you're a depressed, angry kind of person, you'll find life in general, no matter where you are, depressing and infuriating - but if you're optimistic, fun loving and not so shy that you won't even try to make friends, then you'll have a great time regardless of where you go.

[GoaltenderInterference]

I'm currently at BCIT. I like the set schedules and courses because it prevents me from procrastinating and gives me a little structure. The instructors within the program were super helpful, and even the instructor in a program I'm applying to right now is really good at replying to all my questions about the program.

PS. If you ever, for any reason, have to take an online course, never turn to Athabasca University. I'm so angry at them for how they dealt with a course they had "available."

[drummer4now]

I'm currently at BCIT. I like the set schedules and courses because it prevents me from procrastinating and gives me a little structure. The instructors within the program were super helpful, and even the instructor in a program I'm applying to right now is really good at replying to all my questions about the program.

PS. If you ever, for any reason, have to take an online course, never turn to Athabasca University. I'm so angry at them for how they dealt with a course they had "available."

There online MBA program looked enticing... I wonder how credible it would be compared to others though.

[Blue90]

I went to Western.

It was fun.

Party party party cheat party party

[JohnLocke]

MD seems kind of boring to be honest, although the money is very tempting. I am still going to take the DAT and MCAT but I won't be sad if I don't get in.

Here are the requirements at UBC but it's the same everywhere. The key is great research ability (ie, get started in your undergrad).

https://www.grad.ubc.ca/faculty-staff/policies-procedures/transfer-masters-doctoral-programs

I'd say go into something that you would enjoy doing over monetary incentives.

From reading your posts, you definitely seem more like a research person so MSc/PhD sounds like a great route for you.

Or if you get into med school, you could always go the MD/PhD route!

[Offensive Threat]

I'd say go into something that you would enjoy doing over monetary incentives.

Its gotta be something that you can build a career out of though. Too many people study something because it interests them and then, with student loans and 4 years gone, they realize then that they cant get a job with it.

Also be aware that later when you want to marry, have kids and buy a home money becomes very very important.

[Heretic]

Anyone have experience with UBC Okanagan?