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School "Name-Branding"

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Bamski
Posts: 814 - Karma: 79
Hey NS. I've come to NSG today with a question for all of you students (old and new) who have probably spent this spring/summer trying to figure out what you wanted to do for school, and where you were heading in terms of a Career.

I am going in to my second year of university in BC. I decided not to acccept my offer at UBC last summer simply because I would rather not live in the city I've already spent my entire life in. I've never regretted my decision.

However, the one thing that really disappoints me about the school system of Canada is that so much importance is placed upon name recognition of your school. Some of my friends opted to go out east to Queen's or McGill simply because they got accepted in to the arts or music faculty when in truth they wanted to be engineers or business people. (Living arrangements asside).

I suppose there is some merrit to their ideas that they may get a better education from one university to the next, and this is definitely true to a certain degree. In Canada, the vast majority of schools are public. This means that you're getting roughly the same education regardless of where you go with a slight difference in specialized programs such as engineering or graduate studies such as Law or Medicine. I also realize that this is probably much different in the states since there are so many schools (private and public) that they have to be ranked.

I have always been one to say that if you're getting a high GPA and pretty involved with your schooling then you really have no limits to where you can go regardless of where you came from. Your undergraduate degree is pretty insignificant in the larger scheme of things, and yes it matters more where you get your Graduate studies done but what's the point of stressing out about this kind of thing way before you have the chance to continue with Grad studies.


I've been thinking about this lately because my cousin is a year younger than me, and after having a talk with him about his choices for school I realized that he was stressing the name of his school more than what he actually wanted to do with his degree.

Do you guys have any thoughts on this? Any concerns yourself?


Aug 19 2009 2:07PM
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OhMyBosh
Posts: 5056 - Karma: 170
Obviously it is a factor but its not something you really need to worry about.

In Canada its basically like this (in terms of what people from outside the country perceive at least):



1st tier: McGill

2nd tier: UofT, UBC, Dalhousie, Western, Queens

3rd tier: Everywhere else
Aug 19 2009 2:10PM
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mike91129
Posts: 777 - Karma: 43
Just curious where you go to school? And its sad but true that some names are much more recognized than other but thats they way it is anywhere for the most part. But sometimes it is for a good reason. Especially in engineering, some schools do put out more educated or qualified engineers than others. I think the University of Alberta has a very widely recognized engineering program, especially mining and civil.
Aug 19 2009 2:14PM
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steevner
Posts: 4502 - Karma: 47
It's kind of crazy when you go to a school just because of it's reputation and not because of the program you want.

I chose the program I wanted FIRST, then chose my school AFTER being accepted to them.

I'll make sure to beat up any arts student at queen's if they can't come up with a legitimate reason they're there.
Aug 19 2009 2:15PM
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Brenone
Posts: 4944 - Karma: 296

you are right in your thinking regarding having a good GPA vs. where you went to school. its also about how you present yourself.

i didnt decide to go to college until 2 years after high school. being that i was paying for it myself i went to a cheap state school for accounting / business. i thought i would have a tough time competing against other graduates from better schools but i figured out that as long as i kept a decent GPA and joined a few accounting/business clubs i wold be just fine. and that is exactly what happened. i got an internship in my junior year and ended getting offered a full time job. (wow that was 8 years ago. damn im getting old) it doesnt matter where you go. just try and set yourself up to be in a position to succeed after your done.  

looking back im glad im not a hundred grand in debt and think i made out alright. how many accountants do you know of that get 40+ days on the hill!!

good luck

Aug 19 2009 2:35PM
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k-rob
Posts: 14217 - Karma: 2,891
my education only stretches far enough to have taught me to never pay more than $75 for a book.

a bunch of my acquaintances applied for UBC and McGill, but now they're all going to school in the states, at schools i've never heard of, but apparently they are pretty decent places for what they want to learn.
Aug 19 2009 2:40PM
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Bamski
Posts: 814 - Karma: 79
I'm enrolled in the BCom program at the University of Victoria.

Originally I applied to UBC, UWO, Queen's and UVic. I got accepted in to business at UBC and UVic, however I couldn't get used to the idea of living from home while attending UBC (The commute would be terrible). I have family on Vancouver Island and I've always loved the weather and atmosphere of the place.

Eventually I want to become a CA after I finish my BCom degree. Law also interests me. Ultimately all that matters is that my grades are high and I complete undergrad, because then I'll be moving to either the CASB in Vancouver or a law school in a crazy place (I want to live in the states possibly).


Aug 19 2009 2:42PM
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Jibbidy
Posts: 787 - Karma: 19
I spent a year at Queens and the town is a shithole, and I failed to see what all the hype is about.  Students at any school rep their own school like its the best anyways.  As far as the professional field goes, I have spoken to many post-graduates and they ALL tell me the name is not important, as long as you are going to a reasonably large and recognizable school, rather than a small college.  It's really what you do with your degree and job placement depends heavily on your general personality, personal stuff, etc.
Aug 19 2009 4:23PM
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Bamski
Posts: 814 - Karma: 79
I have heard the same thing about Kingston from a few people now. Ontario in general just does not attract me what so ever, I'm used to the mountains, the ocean, relatively mild (-10 to -15) winters and that kind of thing. Ultimately the school itself was beautiful, but when I only got in to my fallback program at Queen's I really did not care all that much. I just couldn't stand Kingston.

A family friend is in charge of recruitment for a large firm here in Vancouver, and he says that when he or pretty much anyone else in that area of business considers an applicant all he looks for is that they've completed school with good grades. The rest of the application depends upon the person and their personality. I always thought that was a great thing to hear from someone who knew what he was talking about.
Aug 19 2009 6:17PM
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BigJew
Posts: 6974 - Karma: 79
I'm going to the University of Waterloo for Engineering this fall (fuck, is that 2 weeks away!?!?) and the only reason I picked my school is because it's hands down the best for Engineering in Canada. Waterloo grads make more money and are more successful, on average, than any other school in Canada and the coop program is the best in North America.

For Engineering at least, it's the biggest name but it's the biggest name for a reason; hands down, nothing else in Canada even compares.

Aug 19 2009 6:54PM
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TimS
Posts: 236 - Karma: 33

in my oppinion, the "name branding" of schools is decreasing, especially for undergraduate programs.  I thought of UBC because I want to stay in BC, but Kamloops is the bomb so I'm off to TRU instead.

For Kingston, I spent 2 weeks there a few summers back and everything sucked except ripping up street spots on my p2.

Aug 19 2009 6:58PM
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ElbridgeGerry
Posts: 5902 - Karma: -27
The fact of the matter is, you will get a better job if you go to a more recognized school. That's the long and short of it. My sister did a masters in Environtmental sustainability and resource management at Western. If she did the same thing at lets say...Nippising. May not carry the weight.
Aug 19 2009 7:17PM
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paige.
Posts: 1930 - Karma: 907
From what I have heard, unless you are going into a specific program, most of the Canadian universities offer equivalent programs.
That said, my friend's mom, who is a professor at UBC, said that they do factor in school name for acceptance for grad programs. For example if two students had similar marks and extra-curriculars but one went to UBC and one went to UBC-O the UBC student would be chosen.
Interesting fact: from my class of 29 we have 15 students going to UBC, 4 to McGill, 2 to Western and 2 to UofT. Only 3 of us are going to less prestigious universities.
Aug 19 2009 7:30PM
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