Undergrad At York - A Waste Of Time?

[rawrmanda]

Because of a recent series of events, my choices for university have been limited, with York being my most viable choice at this point.

Simply, what's everyone's take on the roles of prestige/status in a university?

Will a York graduate with a high GPA be treated fairly in grad school applications, in comparison to, say, UTSG?

Also, is science at York useless? Does it, in any way, compare to UTSG's?

[bestknightmare]

purely based on IMO, York is not comparable to any school, especially for science

[alex_d10]

purely based on IMO, York is not comparable to any school, especially for science
LOL

And what exactly is your justification for this?

[alex_d10]

Will a York graduate with a high GPA be treated fairly in grad school applications, in comparison to, say, UTSG?



Yes. Especially in science. That's all you need to know :D

[needinformation]

Because of a recent series of events, my choices for university have been limited, with York being my most viable choice at this point.

Simply, what's everyone's take on the roles of prestige/status in a university?

Will a York graduate with a high GPA be treated fairly in grad school applications, in comparison to, say, UTSG?

Also, is science at York useless? Does it, in any way, compare to UTSG's?

I am outspoken with regards to this issue, I don't like u of t that much but for sciences not only are they tough but they are a very solid solid school. If you are serious about science, go there. York is actually good too, from what I have read, I would not be too worried unless it is a high specialized program.
Chemistry, Bio, Bio-Chem and the regular engineering programs are pretty good at both schools, the difference is that U of T puts a lot more effort, research and is more careful about picking more smart students for highly specialized programs that they have and they have quite a few. So I am not sure which program you are refering to. You probably want to find out what you want to do, what your goals are (realistically) and if the programs fits that view. However, if you are like really serious about science go to U of T AND if you have the brains too. U of T is really good for science.

[rawrmanda]

I was thinking preparation for either Med School, or, if that fails, Nursing. I've been calling some post-grad departments, and they say it's irrelevant, but that may be just to save face, etc. They also mentioned that students from all around the world (and, therefore, tons of different universities apply) so how could one rank a school against hundreds of others?

I'm thinking they can't, and I'm planning on not dying. At least for my undergrad.

[rawrmanda]

Sorry guys, another question too. This advice helps.

Should I bother transferring to U of T second year? To save myself first year trauma, and rack up some great marks at York?

Just, I've seen and heard all the warnings against St. George Life Sci, and I think I should heed them...

[jahme]

It's only undergrad! Why stress so much? If your target is grad school, go to a school where you can pull your marks up.

[HSK]

If your plan is to go on to graduate school then go anywhere - even if it's science at York. Medical schools could care less where you went for your undergraduate as long as you have a great GPA and MCAT. And references. And extracirriculars.

And because 99% of kids that say they want to be doctors... dont end up being doctors... you should look into York's nursing program. It's really good.

[Aznsilvrboy]

Sorry guys, another question too. This advice helps.

Should I bother transferring to U of T second year? To save myself first year trauma, and rack up some great marks at York?

Just, I've seen and heard all the warnings against St. George Life Sci, and I think I should heed them...

No, don't heed them, just avoid it all together.

[bestknightmare]

Yes, I would say at least 80% of all life sci students in first year want to go to med sch. But less than 5% makes it to that stage. Explore your options early in other health care professionals. RN/NP/OT/PT/SW/SLP/OD/PhamB/DO just to name a few.


edit: yea don't transfer to UT, upper years arent better than first

[Ryougo]

As a York Alumni I can say that GPA by far is the most important thing for grad school. In addition to GPA

If you're going to do research, it'll be much more about who your recommendations are and if you did any research in undergrad.

If you're going to do med school/Professional school the deal breakers will be recs, interviews and ec.

A friend of a friend went to John Hopkin Medical School from York, and as far as nursing goes it's only about GPA.

[Yu_Qing]

if you need to go to york because of costs, location, or just solely based on choice, then do it. graduate schools in canada treat all applicants fairly. an A average is an A average. that's an objective measure of a candidate's strength.

if you have facebook (heh, who doesn't? :D ) look at those "groups". (ie, Pharmacy class of 2012 or whatever)... you'll notice that the students who were accepted to those programs all come from a variety of schools. i've seen a few cases where individuals who graduated from Brock go to U of T for grad school. like i said, an A is an A.



no education is a waste of time, regardless of which university you go to.

sure, there will be people who may not think york is a good school, and may poke fun here and there. i must admit, that i make fun of other schools too, but really, its just something fun to do cause we're stupid like that. but most people don't mean it. but you'll find people like that everywhere (i once came across a blog, of some guy in the US doing his MBA at Wharton, writing about how people from Harvard and Stanford looking down on him. but a lot of us would agree that Wharton is a wonderful school like many others.) you can't please everyone.

[pinkchair]

York has more representatives at UofT Med than any other school if I'm not mistaken.

[PHANTOMPHOENIX]

York has more representatives at UofT Med than any other school if I'm not mistaken.

Yes, a little known fact. But we can't let that get in the way of all the false rumors like York Undergrad is a waste of time. :lol:

[bestknightmare]

if you need to go to york because of costs, location, or just solely based on choice, then do it. graduate schools in canada treat all applicants fairly. an A average is an A average. that's an objective measure of a candidate's strength.

if you have facebook (heh, who doesn't? :D ) look at those "groups". (ie, Pharmacy class of 2012 or whatever)... you'll notice that the students who were accepted to those programs all come from a variety of schools. i've seen a few cases where individuals who graduated from Brock go to U of T for grad school. like i said, an A is an A.



no education is a waste of time, regardless of which university you go to.

sure, there will be people who may not think york is a good school, and may poke fun here and there. i must admit, that i make fun of other schools too, but really, its just something fun to do cause we're stupid like that. but most people don't mean it. but you'll find people like that everywhere (i once came across a blog, of some guy in the US doing his MBA at Wharton, writing about how people from Harvard and Stanford looking down on him. but a lot of us would agree that Wharton is a wonderful school like many others.) you can't please everyone.

not familiar with USA schools, never heard of Wharton lol

[Justice_Chris]

I finished my Science degree at UTSG and speaking from experience, personally would have enjoyed a smaller environment school much more.

If you are doing general sciences I don't think it's that important the school you go to, it doesn't make that much of a difference in the end if you are able to get good marks, like the place and your profs and make connections with them. This is VERY hard at UofT with classes of about 500 people even during the last year.

So don't fret too much about York vs UofT for general sciences just make sure that you will like the place and do well and don't pay too much attention to "prestige" ... unless you are planning to continue on to a specialized program for which UofT is known to be better than York, but the same logic would apply for example for Schulich vs UofT.

[Aznsilvrboy]

not familiar with USA schools, never heard of Wharton lol

Wharton is arguably the world's best business school.

[alex_d10]

Sorry guys, another question too. This advice helps.

Should I bother transferring to U of T second year? To save myself first year trauma, and rack up some great marks at York?

Just, I've seen and heard all the warnings against St. George Life Sci, and I think I should heed them...
Ok read this...

"Rack up some great marks at York" - If you think York is somehow easier, you're in for a surprise. Keep in mind that averages for every science course are kept at 60% or lower. My 2nd year Organic chem had a 48% average.

You're considering nursing too, which means you've made the right choice to go to York. A couple of my friends here couldn't handle 1st year Biomedical Sciences and transferred over to the Nursing program - it's a joint program with Seneca at York if I remember correctly and it's pretty easy to get in from York's faculty of Sci & Eng.

And for all the York bashers - I wrote a standardized test this past winter for a professional school and did considerably better than all of my U of T friends who have approximately the same GPA as mine. Bottom line is that the content you're going to learn is practically identical.

[alex_d10]

So don't fret too much about York vs UofT for general sciences just make sure that you will like the place and do well and don't pay too much attention to "prestige" ...


True


unless you are planning to continue on to a specialized program for which UofT is known to be better than York, but the same logic would apply for example for Schulich vs UofT.

Not true

[shannn]

Oh Noez! I just wasted my last 3 years at York to get a useless degree >:(

:lol: The only waste of time you'll ever have is if you don't put your best effort into school regardless of where you go.

[danman227460]

They do not only look at your GPA, they look at what else you have like experience, references etc. You could have gone to Yale, Princeton or Harvard but without a lick of experience or referrals, most places wouldn't look at you. A degree can only get you so far, you need to be more rounded to go that extra step.

Now unless your parents have a huge trust fund and donate regularly to a university, then you might get in based on degree alone :P.

[maniacshopper]

They do not only look at your GPA, they look at what else you have like experience, references etc. You could have gone to Yale, Princeton or Harvard but without a lick of experience or referrals, most places wouldn't look at you. A degree can only get you so far, you need to be more rounded to go that extra step.

Now unless your parents have a huge trust fund and donate regularly to a university, then you might get in based on degree alone :P.

not unless you got daddy Bush sr. pushing the CEO to give you a mid mgmt job. The pt is with large corporations that have blue blood (blue balls LOL) where your father and grandfather went to harvard, they'll have influence on the hiring mgr provided he went to the same school. Bottom line is you don't know what happens in closed doors. gotta have connections, good networking skills are key. It depends on the position you're applying for. There's a reason why Princeton, Harvard, have good reputation, often it's the connection to jobs for their students. True, cannot only rely on school alone. But it's a big advantage. You really have to outshine that ivy league guy in order to get that job.

[wikka]

Just some input. The school's academic standards are 100% lower with the exception of Schulich/Fine Arts and a few other faculties than "top tier" schools like UofT or Queen's.

Low class averages at York doesn't mean the material is equally hard, it just shows the students who barely scraped into university are barely scrapping by their undergrad.

Needless to say if you're confident in your academic abilities it doesn't matter what school you go to. But if you think you need a program that'll make a workhorse out of you so you can do grad school then go somewhere else.

A few things I have noticed about York after transferring:
1. Poor student support (faculty, financially, academically, especially career)
2. Sub-par facilities
3. Apathetic studentbody (unless you're one of the radical political groups)

I can't really think of anything positive to say about York really haha. Even the gems at York suffer from the overall weak institution.

[UWO Engineer]

Why would it be a waste of time?

[B0000rt]

Because of a recent series of events, my choices for university have been limited, with York being my most viable choice at this point.

Simply, what's everyone's take on the roles of prestige/status in a university?

Will a York graduate with a high GPA be treated fairly in grad school applications, in comparison to, say, UTSG?

Also, is science at York useless? Does it, in any way, compare to UTSG's?
I'm working in the states, making loads of cash, and was a York graduate.

The Americans say "UofT, what's that?"

[B0000rt]

not familiar with USA schools, never heard of Wharton lol

Wharton, Stern, Kellog, Sloan, heard of these also? Ha.

[RussiaRulez]

I'm working in the states, making loads of cash, and was a York graduate.

The Americans say "UofT, what's that?"

Why am I not surprised? Are these the Americans that can't find Ontario on a map?

[B0000rt]

Why am I not surprised? Are these the Americans that can't find Ontario on a map?
Nah, these are the Americans that have immigrated from all over the world and care less about quasi top Canadian schools. McGill is fairly well known though, Waterloo, UofT, say what?

I'm not knocking UofT's programme, just compared to other Universities on the world stage, its lesser known, vs MIT, IIT, CMU etc.

Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is that an Undergrad is an undergrad is an undergrad.

[UWO Engineer]

Nah, these are the Americans that have immigrated from all over the world and care less about quasi top Canadian schools. McGill is fairly well known though, Waterloo, UofT, say what?

I'm not knocking UofT's programme, just compared to other Universities on the world stage, its lesser known, vs MIT, IIT, CMU etc.

Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is that an Undergrad is an undergrad is an undergrad.

Waterloo is known in America....

"Waterloo is a special relationship for us," Gates told CTV News. "Most years, we hire more students out of Waterloo than any university in the world, typically 50 or even more."

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051013/billgates_waterloo_20051013/20051013?hub=Canada

I agree with your opinion -- an undergrad is an undergrad is an undergrad -- but you didnt make your point very well.

[B0000rt]

Waterloo is known in America....

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051013/billgates_waterloo_20051013/20051013?hub=Canada

I agree with your opinion -- an undergrad is an undergrad is an undergrad -- but you didnt make your point very well.
There are other industries other than Tech that hire CS/CE grads ;)

Yeah, I guess I didn't make my point well, chalk it up to my York Degree ;)