University of Toronto Vs. Rice University Vs. Imperial College London

International Students
1

I’m having difficulties deciding between the above schools. If I were to pick according to rank Imperial would be my choice but Rice gave me a lot of money but is also the lowest ranked among the 3. I want to study biomedical engineering but Rice also only offers bioengineering. U of T offers biomedical engineering under the title of engineering science but I heard you have to have a certain GPA to get into the specific engineering discipline you choose to go to. You study the general engineering science in the first two years and specialize in the last two.

Also, I heard that U of T is run like a business more so than a school and that they accept a lot of students but most students (like 30%) drop out without finishing/ getting their degree. I also heard that they purposefully make it hard for you to get good grades. Rice is a good school, but from my intuition and research about the U.S. schooling system it’s almost like you take so many classes that do not necessarily align with your major and at the end of the day, when you’re done, you aren’t really that well equipped with knowledge in your specific academic field to be competitive for the job market with just undergrad unless you get a masters or a PhD. Imperial is good, and the U.K. system sticks strictly to your field, they also have the course I want but it’s not as widely known internationally (just in europe) despite being so highly ranked.

2

Where are you getting your information from?!

Imperial is indeed well known and respected by the people who will matter. It does not matter if your Uncle or the taxi driver have heard of it, but 100%, grad schools and the people who hire BMEs have, and know the calibre of the place- and that is what matters.

US universities do, indeed, typically have general education requirements, but that does NOT mean that “you aren’t really equipped” (especially when the undergrad is as well respected as Rice is). Whether your undergraduate degree is from Canada, the US or the UK, if a Master’s degree is required for a job, you will have to have a Master’s degree. At Imperial that will take you 4 years, at Rice and UofT that will take you 5-6 years (the BS and the Masters are separate programs; at Imperial the Masters is integrated into the degree).

As for UofT, their retention rate is actually 90%+, and is the highest in Canada. There are ‘weed out’ classes in some sciences (as there are in the US, usually the first year of bio / chem / physics), which are designed to separate out the students who are able and willing to work to the required level. It is not ‘purposefully’ designed to keep you from getting good grades, it is that these subjects are objectively difficult, and get more so as you go on. Imperial does that ‘weeding’ in the admissions process, b/c the students go straight into the program; in the US and Canada students start with broader options and then narrow.

Fwiw, the Shanghai rankings do not agree with you: they currently rank Rice #6, UofT #17 and Imperial #25 in the world for BME… As will all rankings that says more about graduate than undergraduate, but the key thing is that all 3 have really strong programs- you won’t go wrong at any of them.

So, imo, if you can afford all of the choices, the first decision factor should be: are you 100% sure that you want to do BME, and only BME? if so, then Imperial will get you anywhere you want to go in that field. If you are not 100% sure that you want to do BME, then UofT or Rice are better options, b/c both will give you the opportunity to explore other aspects of the relevant fields and then focus on what suits you best. And between UofT and Rice I would pick Rice, b/c it is a great undergraduate experience and you will have lots of opportunities for doing interesting research- but I’m not the one going!

3

Thank you! Your post was very informative. I just find that different rankings say different things, I have been looking at the Times Higher Education world university rankings while making my decision. I’m not exactly sure of which is the most reliable but I do know that each ranking for each website has a different criteria.

From posts/ discussions I have read from students who attend Imperial, it seems to me that they take their undergraduates a lot more seriously than their graduate students. However, I believe the U.S. does create a lot of opportunities. The alumni are more involved and student’s opinions about issues in the school are taken into consideration more. Rice specifically would provide me with a lot of research opportunities. According to some surveys from UCAS, Imperial students rated their school quite low on these things. I still plan on getting a PhD so I’m not exactly sure on if it would be better to go to the U.S. for that instead.

Any other opinions from anyone else is also welcome.

4

I don’t know about the US or Canada, but British undergraduates really don’t approach an undergraduate degree with the expectation they will be doing research. They may towards the end of their course think a career in research is for them but I am pretty sure they don’t approach a school with what research opportunities are available. I maybe wrong but they will concentrate on doing the best they can in their A levels to get into the best most rigorous course/university they can and then its about doing well in their undergraduate studies. Many moons ago my room mate studied EE Engineering, I wouldn’t see him days at a time he was so busy and it wasn’t doing research it was your common or garden course work/labs. As far as your choices go you really cant go wrong with any one of them, its really a Goldilocks question of which climate you prefer. I would say Imperial and Toronto may have the edge in global renown but Rice is fantastic school and should by no means be considered as anything other than a peer school.

5

@Sweetiepie67867 Only color I can add is that the son of one of my UK friends just finished his four year electrical engineering program at Imperial. An extremely challenging course that required a lot of work. Upon graduation he had all kinds of options but decided to go to a tech start up.

6

Rice would give you the best college experience, IMO. Imperial is very well respected but the experience of English undergrad (especially at the London schools) is like grad-school-lite. Lots of self-study expected. Marks coming down almost completely to big tests. Toronto gives you a typical giant North American public experience: giant classes, sink or swim, not much spending on undergraduate support.

What nationality are you?

If you are American, there is no contest IMO. I would pick Rice (which is an Ivy-equivalent by alumni achievements).

Why are you relying on (only) the Times ranking?