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Help me decide! Toronto or Pennstate?

Hey guys, i got an unconditional offer from pennstate and conditional from U of Toronto (aswell as waterloo)

I applied as an engineering student and both schools are good for engineering, however toronto may seem to be a bit more famous and prestigious however it does require some certain a level grades(bbb or abc) which i can achieve(maths chem and physics) however my winter results werent very good(edexcel physics paper 4!!) so i will need to study very hard to achieve better grades.

Im planning to accept my offer from pennstate as i have 11 days left to make my decision, however if i`ll be happy with my summer examinations i will waive my acceptance from pennstate and get in to toronto.

Its a hard choice for me right now, what would you guys reccomend?

note: i havent applied to many north american univrsities, my dad gave me a financial limit of max 27/28 k $-tuition-

Thanks in advance

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Reply 1

aniltr

my AS results are ABB, and my physics paper 4 was D ! :frown:

Reply 2

PercyChatsworth

My subjective opinion would be:

1. Toronto
2. Penn State

Either would be decent choices though. Good luck with your exams :smile:

Reply 3

flugestuge

Choose Toronto.
It is arguably the best in Canada (UBC has a strong claim to this title too ).
Penn State on the other hand, is not even the best in Pennsylvania.

If you plan to work in Canada, job opportunities in Canada on graduation from U. Toronto are excellent.
Even if you want to work in the US, U. Toronto places much better in IB and other top jobs in the US than does Penn State.
Your chances increase even further if you go to the respected Rotmann Business School at U.Toronto.

Reply 4

devil09

Toronto gets my vote.

It has the better reputation, and Toronto > cow country.

Reply 5

aniltr

thanks guys! i was expecting those answers, i couldnt apply for a course in the Eastern provinces and states, i got accepted into the engineering departments,
how about waterloo, i havent mentioned that properly, they require 2 Bs which is easier to get.

I have to accept my offer from pennstate just incase, i may npt be able to get a minimum of three Bs, I could have if we were given a better board rather than edexcel with no past papers :frown:

Reply 6

aniltr

but if you look at the Academic Ranking of World Universities penn state has a good place, god im getting confused now :s-smilie:

Reply 7

aniltr

im not defending any institute or making them look better, there are just many rankings and they all show different things and this makes me get confused, but i know that toronto is a better institute to study at :smile:

you misunderstood me

im just very confused, i`d choose U of T but im having hard time these days, i will have to study very hard to maintain those grades, most of my class mates are having the same trouble, that physics exam bottlenecked us

thanks alot for your help,

Reply 8

devil09

flugestuge

To be honest, almost any Canadian university is better than Penn State.

Er...not so. Penn State is actually pretty darned strong. Not at the level of Michigan or UCLA, but definitely right below.

It's maybe at or slightly below the level of UBC.

Reply 9

BigBadSaint

I don't really know much bout canadian unis, other than McGill being good, but PennState I believe is pretty good, wasn't it like mid-20s in US World and News rankings (admittedly a poor way to judge)

Anyway, I've heard of PennState but not Toronto, but thats just me

Reply 10

aniltr

@BigBadSaint

the top unis in canada are(in my op)

mcgill, toronto, ubc, mcmaster, queens, alberta-edmonton-, waterloo

Reply 11

JustFraise

flugestuge

Waterloo is decent too.
To be honest, almost any Canadian university is better than Penn State. ( University of Moncton is probably the only one that is on par with Penn State )

lol, is there a punch line to this?

to the OP, Canadian Universities in general aren't very good. Toronto and McGill are fairly strong though.

Penn State is a solid university, but nothing special. If you are going to go to a public university in the USA, try to make it a "public ivy" (PSU isn't)

I would take U Toronto b/c it has more name cachet and is located in Toronto, which has a large job market and cultural amenities.

Reply 12

aniltr

@JustFraise
check this list out The original eight Public Ivies

The original eight Public Ivies list by Moll (1985):[2]

* College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia)
* Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)
* University of California (campuses as of 1985)[6]
* University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
* University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
* University of Texas at Austin
* University of Vermont (Burlington)
* University of Virginia (Charlottesville)

Moll also offered in the same book "a list of worthy runners-up" and brief summaries of them[7]:

* Georgia Institute of Technology
* University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
* New College of the University of South Florida (Now New College of Florida)
* Pennsylvania State University at University Park
* University of Pittsburgh
* Binghamton University
* University of Washington at Seattle
* University of Wisconsin–Madison
and the most recent list for public-ivy unis are http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Ivy

there are 30 public unis in it, but the ones mentioned above were the firstly published ones, the top 8 as mentioned were the original public ivys, and def top 8 public unis in the states

Reply 13

JustFraise

aniltr

In my opinion, the list of the 8 original public ivies is no longer relevant, as some of those schools, like Vermont and Miami Ohio, have been far surpassed.

The top public unis in the USA today are:

Undergrad

excellent:
California, UCLA, Michigan, Virginia, UNC

very good:
William and Mary, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas

good:
Washington, Florida, Penn State

Graduate

excellent:
California, Michigan, Wisconsin

very good:
Texas, UC San Diego, Minnesota, Washington

good:
Ohio State, Penn State, UC Davis

Toronto.

Easily toronto.

The top public unis in the USA today are:

Undergrad

excellent:
California, UCLA, Michigan, Virginia, UNC

very good:
William and Mary, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas

good:
Washington, Florida, Penn State

Graduate

excellent:
California, Michigan, Wisconsin

very good:
Texas, UC San Diego, Minnesota, Washington

good:
Ohio State, Penn State, UC Davis

This is a reasonable ranking with some room for dissent. I would be tempted to put UNC one tier down. I do note that UCLA disappears entirely from the grad school tiers, which isn't right. Of course at the grad school level it is the strength of individual departments that really matter to prospective students, not the overall strength.

Reply 17

Descartesz

I can't speak for the rest of the world, but insofar as U.S. employers of engineers are influenced by the school from which you obtained your degree, and this won't be a dominant factor, they are at least as likely to respect a PSU degree as one from UT. I know UT and McGill are reputed to be the two best Canadian U's, but neither will be as well known as PSU in the U.S.

I think you are on the wrong track trying to compare reputations. Neither school will get you in trouble in that area. PSU is a big school in a small city which, like many U.S. schools, will have a more integrated campus spirit centered on its sports teams. UT is a huge school in a large vibrant city where the sense of "spirit" will be more tenuous. Those would be what I consider more distinguishing characteristics.

Reply 18

BDoubleG

Ya, I'd go with Toronto, though I don't think that neither UofT nor UBC is THE best university in Canada. Unlike in the UK, where there is a handful of schools that are head and shoulders above others (Oxbridge), that simply does not exist in Canada. Pretty much every school in the "group of 13" is of equal calibre to be completely honest. When it comes to those 13 schools, any student will claim it's the best, but they are all so close, and generally have such different strengths, that it all comes out in the wash.

I do agree with the above poster though. I hate to say it, but while I honestly think your education will be better at UofT, the reputation at UPenn will be better. That said, I'd still go to UofT personally.

Reply 19

aniltr

UPDATE:
You have accepted an offer of admission to University of Toronto for the following program:

Program Code TEO
Program Title 1st Year General Engineering
Co-op No
Year Code First Year
Date of Enrolment Fall 2010

GUYS! wish me good look with my a levels, i will be able to get an A in maths, however achieving that B final grade in chem will not be easy!(i have a B grade in my AS, however i hardly made that) my practical chem and physics were pretty good expecting As or Bs(most probably a B)