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Chances of admission into U Toronto and UBC

Ajjun

Newbie
Dec 3, 2015
4
0
Hello
I'm a student from India looking to pusure my MS in chemical engineering from UBC or U Toronto.
I have a 8.9 GPA, 116 on my TOEFL and have more than 90% in my high school and secondary school.
I also have a research paper published in a national conference. What are my chances of getting into U Toronto and UBC?
 

nope

Hero Member
Oct 3, 2015
302
52
It's hard to say. I went to UofT almost 30 years ago as an international student from the States -- they didn't look at my GPA at all, only my SAT scores, since American high schools are known to be highly variable (Canadian high schools are considered to be much more comparable to each other). This might have changed in the years since, who knows -- I suspect though, that the Admissions office will look at standardized test scores more than high school averages, since the former are considered more impartial.

If you're competitive for the upper tier of universities in India, you will be competitive for UofT and UBC. UofT is not, actually, the Harvard of the North -- it is the University of California of the North, which in my opinion is better. It admits large numbers of people, and many of them are nothing special.

Personally, I consider the top rank of Canadian schools the best educational value in the world. Top-class, welcoming, amazing places to study, amazingly cheap. I came from one of the crummy US states, and going to UofT was actually cheaper than going to a public university in America (out of my state). However, you should also include McGill, University of Alberta, Queens, other good schools. If you're interested in health, look at McMaster. If you're interested in engineering or IT, look at Waterloo. In Canada, if you go to a decent university, the status of the school matters far less than in many other countries. It's just as important to look at the strength of its programs.
 

Ajjun

Newbie
Dec 3, 2015
4
0
Hello! Thanks for taking timd out to respond to me.
Well, the reason why I'm finding it difficult to gauge my chances of admission is because of the fact that the graduate engineering programs at both universities does not require the GRE. So, the only standardized test they asked for is the TOEFL. I've cleared their minimum requirement with my score of 116 so that's not an issue.
I am from one good universities in India and so that shouldn't be a problem either. And my research base is pretty good

I shortlisted U of T and UBC because of their strong chemical engineering programs. So, I just wanted to know how good my chances actually are. Because, as you said Canada offers me a much cheaper education than most of the US universities.
 

nope

Hero Member
Oct 3, 2015
302
52
I don't know about engineering, but in other less-applied subjects, it's often a matter of having appropriate faculty members to supervise your interests. I don't know if that would be relevant, here; and again, for a masters, not as important as for a PhD. Have you looked at the faculty roster? Does the application ask you to indicate who you'd like to work with?

Sorry, I didn't see that you were applying for graduate school.
 

Ajjun

Newbie
Dec 3, 2015
4
0
Well, UofT deems it compulsory for me to correspond with a faculty member ans get him/her to back my candidacy. But UBC does not.
I'm just currently taking my time to go through the faculty roster of both universities and trying to identify ones whose research interest ls are similar to mine.

Do you have any other advice that can boost my acceptance chance?
 

Ajjun

Newbie
Dec 3, 2015
4
0
Also, could you tell me the order of preference for engineering among these four?
1) University of Toronto
2) University of Alberta
3) McGill University
4) University of British Columbia