Ask HN: What do you think of the University of Waterloo?
I'm starting to look into universities in Ontario, and was wondering what everyone thought of UW's Computer Science program?
7 comments
Waterloo has a very strong CS program, albeit it can be a lot of work, and the campus life isn't great. If you want an intense undergrad CS experience, I think U of T and Waterloo are the best two choices.
That said, I think you should also consider the quality of campus life: I went to Queen's, and I learned much more outside the classroom than I did in classes -- I don't regret going to a less intense program for my undergrad.
That said, I think you should also consider the quality of campus life: I went to Queen's, and I learned much more outside the classroom than I did in classes -- I don't regret going to a less intense program for my undergrad.
I went to Waterloo - not for CS but for Systems Design Engineering. I very much enjoyed my time there in Engineering and now have a great job doing primarily web development in Django for a company involved in Green Buildings.
I agree with other posters that you learn a lot, potentially more, outside of classes than in them, but disagree that Waterloo has a poor quality of campus life. There are a ton of things going on if you look for them at Waterloo, and it's not a commuter school so there are a lot of people on campus.
The one thing I cannot stress enough is the value of the co-op program at Waterloo. I didn't realize until my fifth co-op job that this was going to be the only time in my life where I could switch jobs every four months without looking like a quack who couldn't hold a job. I got to see a bunch of different industries (Telecommunications, Power Generation, Green Building and term in Ghana, West Africa with Engineers Without Borders Canada) without making long term commitments to any of them. Not many other schools provide that kind of experience.
Good luck with your choices! Not an easy one to make.
I agree with other posters that you learn a lot, potentially more, outside of classes than in them, but disagree that Waterloo has a poor quality of campus life. There are a ton of things going on if you look for them at Waterloo, and it's not a commuter school so there are a lot of people on campus.
The one thing I cannot stress enough is the value of the co-op program at Waterloo. I didn't realize until my fifth co-op job that this was going to be the only time in my life where I could switch jobs every four months without looking like a quack who couldn't hold a job. I got to see a bunch of different industries (Telecommunications, Power Generation, Green Building and term in Ghana, West Africa with Engineers Without Borders Canada) without making long term commitments to any of them. Not many other schools provide that kind of experience.
Good luck with your choices! Not an easy one to make.
It is one of the best. I know people that went there and they are all amazingly smart. A lot of tech companies (RIM, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, etc.) will compete to hide for co-op as well as upon graduation. It is a good school to go to.
You ask me what I think of the University of Waterloo? WATFOR?
I've never worked with a Canadian programmer here in Austin who graduated from anywhere but Waterloo.
One of best programmers I know is a Waterloo grad. He says looking back they prepared him very well.
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