University of Toronto VS UCL - help a guy from the states

I got an offer for UCL for an MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development...and now am waiting on an acceptance for an MSc in Sustainable Management from the U of T.

There's a lot of outside variables that are swaying me to choose Toronto.
But before I do...I want to know...how does the reputation between Toronto and UCL hold up?

I'm coming from the States...from a large state school that isn't in the global top 200 (University at Buffalo)...and I have a girlfriend studying for her masters in buffalo as well (a city 1.5 hours from Toronto)....I'm really confused here.

How is U of T's reputation compared with UCL?

Reply 1

poohat

18

Very similar in terms of reputation.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 2

buffalofan4255

OP

if that's the case, would it be crazy for an american to decline an offer from UCL and opportunity to live in London for toronto?

Reply 3

Okorange

17

I would reputation matters more in the UK than it does in Canada. The reason is all universities in Canada are like state schools in the US, most are somewhat obligated to accept a huge number of students, making acceptance rates and competition really nothing like what it is in the US.

Getting into uni in Canada requires only your top 6 Gr. 12 courses, no extracurriculars and your gr. 12 courses are not standardized either, meaning your teacher's grading is 100% of your mark, making the grades very variable from school to school and teacher to teacher. Acceptance rates for all schools and most programs is around the 60-70% mark and a few select programs at specific schools are highly competitive (Health Sciences at McMaster, Business Administration at Western (Ivey), Queens Commerce, Toronto Engineering Sciences etc) and some may look at extracurriculars or require essays.

So all in all, in Canada, no one cares about reputation, from a research standpoint, Toronto has more research funding than UCL, but it is also a much larger university and spread out. I personally would consider UCL more prestigious, but I believe in the states both schools will probably be similar in terms of prestige. Good luck with your decision.

Reply 4

pt000996

1

Hi from 8 years later... I am now in the exact same position lol if op is still here would you mind sharing what you chose at the end

Reply 5

Karlu

5

Original post by pt000996

Hi from 8 years later... I am now in the exact same position lol if op is still here would you mind sharing what you chose at the end

In terms of reputation I’d place UCL a cut above

Reply 6

nushnush338

9

Original post by buffalofan4255

I got an offer for UCL for an MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development...and now am waiting on an acceptance for an MSc in Sustainable Management from the U of T.

There's a lot of outside variables that are swaying me to choose Toronto.
But before I do...I want to know...how does the reputation between Toronto and UCL hold up?

I'm coming from the States...from a large state school that isn't in the global top 200 (University at Buffalo)...and I have a girlfriend studying for her masters in buffalo as well (a city 1.5 hours from Toronto)....I'm really confused here.

How is U of T's reputation compared with UCL?

I don’t know too much about league tables for specific subjects but they’re both very close in rankings generally most year. I think UCL is a bit bigger globally in comparison to university of Toronto, I don’t really hear people speak about Toronto, but maybe that’s just because I live in Europe.

i think it’s more important for you to consider which place you’d prefer to live in. There’s a massive cost of living crisis in london right now (which I can confirm because I live here right now). It’s really expensive. So if you’re not financially comfortable, idk if London is ur best bet right now. Finding a place to live is nearly impossible, especially for under £1000 a month between zone 1-2 unless if you look super early. Unless if ur rich or if you apply for student halls wirh UCL asap, you’re not going to live anywhere near campus. However london is super fun and diverse, and living further away from the centre is sometimes better because most of the fun things and good food are further out anyway. The main lgbtq scene and music scene are dispersed around south east and east london. But average commutes in london are 30+ minutes, and travelling in London isn’t cheap. If you don’t know people in london and don’t live in an area with a lot of other young people or students or live in student halls, it’s really hard to make friends. Everyone lives in different areas of london. It’s rare to be able to walk to a friend’s house under 30 mins if you don’t live in central (the rare exception is imperial - all the students live in hammersmith bc they’re the only big uni based in that area). London is a really big city so for a lot of people, commutes to see friends can take forever and some parts of london aren’t well connected. I do feel feel really safe in london though. As a woman, I’ve experienced less harassment in london than I have in any of major city. Unless if I’m in soho I’ve never been catcalled or harassed. London has one of the most thriving art, music and fashion scenes in the whole world. If you’re into fashion especially, london is the best, hands down. Nothing compares to the scenes and the parties and the fashions shows in london. All the really cool european music artists perform in london.

i have a few friends who go to uni in Toronto and although it’s still expensive, it’s much less expensive than london. Pretty much everyone lives in downtown, and they’re all walking distance to their friends, restaurants, bars, clubs and campus. They consider 20 mins subway rides to be long. And usually don’t have to commute at all. I’ve been told Ubers are cheap there, but my friends aren’t exactly poor so idk how fair of a statement that is. Renting is less stressful than london and even if the prices are only a little cheaper than london, you will most likely live somewhere more comfortable. I don’t know too much about Toronto’s student accommodation situation or whether they provide support for housing. Toronto also seems to have a lot more nightlife and cheaper nightlife. Things are open much later than they are in london. But the music scene is much more dead (but that’s just my opinion). I do think that nightlife is a lot better than it is in london unless if you are into niche genres of music like drum and bass or garage. Apparently people like drake and Justin bieber are constantly seen in clubs which is just funny to me but yeah like it’s different. And more accessible because you can pretty much walk to the club or to parties and back home, or get a short Uber ride. Idk if you drive but driving in Toronto seems to be less of a hassle than it is in london too.