[DL-6]

For things like quality of teaching, living costs, what the areas like etc

Basically I'm trying to get onto a course with a year abroad and the following are available...

University of British Columbia

University of Alberta

University of Massachusets Amherst

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Baltimoron]

Illinois and Massachusetts are both huge party schools. UMass is nicknamed ZooMass for how crazy it is. Illinois is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. If you go there, I hope you like corn fields. However, it is a good school. I don't really know much about UMass beyond it's party school reputation. Maybe that says something right there.

[cryptic-clues]

(Original post by DL-6)
For things like quality of teaching, living costs, what the areas like etc

Basically I'm trying to get onto a course with a year abroad and the following are available...

University of British Columbia

University of Alberta

University of Massachusets Amherst

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

I would say Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Uni of Mass, Amherst. Both have excellent ratings and are very well regarded. It is true that UMass is also called ZooMass for its huge reputation for partying. If you want to know more, U Mass is also the bedrock of progressive, left-wing, radical thinking in the US. Being a university town, Amherst has reasonable living costs and excellent facilities including the tallest library in the world. But it is very cold especially if you are from the tropics. If not, it wouldn't matter much.

I think you should decide on the basis of your subject, specific departmental facilities what scope it offers, other partnerships, courses and modules on offer, and so on.

If you tell me more about your subject, I can offer further comments.

[Podcaster]

(Original post by Baltimoron)
Illinois and Massachusetts are both huge party schools. UMass is nicknamed ZooMass for how crazy it is. Illinois is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. If you go there, I hope you like corn fields. However, it is a good school. I don't really know much about UMass beyond it's party school reputation. Maybe that says something right there.

Lol @ zoomass. Gonna go there just for girls when i'm older.

Is the flag in your sig the flag of Maryland?

[fellowjoe]

(Original post by DL-6)
For things like quality of teaching, living costs, what the areas like etc

Basically I'm trying to get onto a course with a year abroad and the following are available...

University of British Columbia

University of Alberta

University of Massachusets Amherst

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Any info would be appreciated.


Thanks

I can only help you with UBC and Alberta since i applied to only Canadian universities for this fall.

UBC:
- located in Vancouver, one of the most expensive Canadian cities yet one of the most liveable ones in the world
- ranked quite highly across the world and quite reputable in Canada too
- unlike most Canadian universities like McGill and Toronto, extracurriculars are quite important an indicator in admitting students
- first year students are pretty much guaranteed a dormitory room
- tuition fees are however quite expensive by Canadian standards
- milder climate (cooler summer and moderate winters with rainfall for most of the year)

Alberta:
- after Toronto, UBC and McGill, Alberta is probably the next Canadian university well-known globally
- tuition fees are relatively affordable as compared to schools like Toronto and UBC
- situated in the province of Alberta where there is a growing demand for the oil industry
- being in Edmonton, cost of living is comparable to Toronto but cheaper than Vancouver's
- harsh winters
- its not as industrialized and exciting (IMO!) as Calgary

[Eldedu]

I would choose UBC for academics and UMass for partying. Depends which variable you're looking for.

[DL-6]

(Original post by Baltimoron)
Illinois and Massachusetts are both huge party schools. UMass is nicknamed ZooMass for how crazy it is. Illinois is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. If you go there, I hope you like corn fields. However, it is a good school. I don't really know much about UMass beyond it's party school reputation. Maybe that says something right there.

Thanks for that, lol at ZooMass.

(Original post by cryptic-clues)
I would say Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Uni of Mass, Amherst. Both have excellent ratings and are very well regarded. It is true that UMass is also called ZooMass for its huge reputation for partying. If you want to know more, U Mass is also the bedrock of progressive, left-wing, radical thinking in the US. Being a university town, Amherst has reasonable living costs and excellent facilities including the tallest library in the world. But it is very cold especially if you are from the tropics. If not, it wouldn't matter much.

I think you should decide on the basis of your subject, specific departmental facilities what scope it offers, other partnerships, courses and modules on offer, and so on.

If you tell me more about your subject, I can offer further comments.

Cheers for the reply, it'll be Chemistry I'm doing. Whether it's a good party school or not does not particularly bother me, as I'll only be doing a year so as long as it's regarded as a decent school and the area is nice with things to see I'm satisfied

(Original post by fellowjoe)
I can only help you with UBC and Alberta since i applied to only Canadian universities for this fall.

UBC:
- located in Vancouver, one of the most expensive Canadian cities yet one of the most liveable ones in the world
- ranked quite highly across the world and quite reputable in Canada too
- unlike most Canadian universities like McGill and Toronto, extracurriculars are quite important an indicator in admitting students
- first year students are pretty much guaranteed a dormitory room
- tuition fees are however quite expensive by Canadian standards
- milder climate (cooler summer and moderate winters with rainfall for most of the year)

Alberta:
- after Toronto, UBC and McGill, Alberta is probably the next Canadian university well-known globally
- tuition fees are relatively affordable as compared to schools like Toronto and UBC
- situated in the province of Alberta where there is a growing demand for the oil industry
- being in Edmonton, cost of living is comparable to Toronto but cheaper than Vancouver's
- harsh winters
- its not as industrialized and exciting (IMO!) as Calgary

Thanks for the info, would prefer the weather in Vancouver it seems but I am already used to cold

(Original post by Eldedu)
I would choose UBC for academics and UMass for partying. Depends which variable you're looking for.

More so the academic side of things, then whether it's a good area in general.

[NYU2012]

University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign is a pretty good school, number 45 in the US with UT-Austin, George Washington, UC-Irvine and UW-Madison. It's a very good science-y school as well, as it's quite a major research university.

According to world rankings, it's ranked #61 overall, while University of British Columbia is ranked #51. According to the world rankings, UCB is #19 for Chemistry while UI-UC is #20.

Both are excellent choices and I would definitely recommend either of those two over your other choices.

[DL-6]

(Original post by NYU2012)
University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign is a pretty good school, number 45 in the US with UT-Austin, George Washington, UC-Irvine and UW-Madison. It's a very good science-y school as well, as it's quite a major research university.

According to world rankings, it's ranked #61 overall, while University of British Columbia is ranked #51. According to the world rankings, UCB is #19 for Chemistry while UI-UC is #20.

Both are excellent choices and I would definitely recommend either of those two over your other choices.

Thanks