I am trying to decide which school to attend between RPI, McMaster University, and U of British Columbia (UBC). I plan to major in chemistry and I really like the idea of studying in Canada.
However, since I’m in the US and not able to visit campuses besides walking around RPI, it’s been hard to get the vibe on each campus. RPI and McMaster’s online admissions has offered chances to talk to the professors and students in chemistry and both seem great; although RPI’s faculty seemed to really care about the students.
Luckily, my family can cover the cost of McMaster and UBC. RPI has offered me some scholarships in the amount of $25k/year, but it’s still the most expensive and I’d likely have to take out $10 - $15K total in loans.
I’m a fairly quiet, introverted type and I hope to work in a chemistry research when I graduate. I might also like to get a master’s degree.
I’m slightly worried RPI might be really hard and would be a lot of work; but I also love chemistry so if I’m learning a lot then I could see it being really hard but also worthwhile and rewarding.
Thank you in advance for any advice!
Chemistry at McMaster or UBC would be hard and a lot of work too.
UBC is in a very different part of the continent than McMaster or RPI. Do you have a geographic preference? Are there extracurriculars that you want to take part in?
Good to know about studying chemistry at McMaster and UBC. I have visiting the Pacific Northwest and in particular Seattle – and I thought it was beautiful. I have seen McMaster through a virtual tour, but that’s all, so it’s unknown. For extracurriculars, I play sousaphone and euphonium in wind ensembles and marching band. It looks like McMaster and UBC have concert bands I could join, and RPI might too.
Thanks!
UBC’s campus and Vancouver are downright gorgeous. It’s on the ocean, but the mountains are close. It’s a very expensive city to live in - not as expensive as NYC though. The climate is milder than NY or ON. They rarely get snow, but there’s great skiing 2 hours away.
McMaster is located in Hamilton which is a smaller city close to Toronto, 4th largest city in North America (after Mexico City, NYC and LA). There will be snow and cold in winter, but not as much as RPI.
About 27% of UBCs undergraduate students are international compared to about 10% of McMaster’s.
UBC’s chemistry faculty is about twice the size of McMaster’s. McMaster is well know for their life science programs. UBC has strength in all areas. Of the two, UBC s a bigger, better known large research university.
Keep in mind that vaccine rollouts have been slower in Canada than the US. It is less likely that Canadian schools will be in person than US schools for the coming year.