U of Waterloo vs. Ryerson

[Therion]

I have a (non-Planning) degree from Waterloo. The social aspect is made much easier by having Laurier right around the corner, which is quite-female dominated. So I wouldn't worry about that. Waterloo has a fantastic campus and I enjoyed every minute I spent on it. It's like a little self-contained community, but with ties to the surrounding city.

 

[BMO]

thank you so much everyone for your input, it has reall yhelped me out with my decision, I guess most of you who replied will be happy to hear, that I recently accepted my entrance into Waterloo's planning co-op, the real deciding factor was the co-op experience which was pointed out to me frequently reading some f your responses, and I think that will help me out alot, Although, the decision was hard, because i took a tour of Ryerson's campus and got to see their planning studio, which was pretty much nicer than Waterloo's and the professor I talked to seemed really enthusiastic and all, but I think that Waterloo's course is a nice enough blend between theory, more of the "not how you do it, but why you do it." approach, i think the theory aspect will help me alot in the future. btw for those of you who went to Waterloo what residence did you pick?

 

[afransen]

I lived in Beck Hall at UW Place. It is suit-style housing with a small kitchen. There wasn't a cafeteria nearby if that is a concern for you.

 

[marcus_a_j]

I lived in CLT (Columbia Lake Townhouses). It was good in the sense you have your own room, there's kitchen and living area and more storage space in each unit. But in hindsight I wish I was in V2 or the new Mack King Village (opened my first year). CLT was a far walk and I found most people just stayed in their own unit (including myself) as opposed to meeting and hanging out with everyone on your floor.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

I lived at Mackenzie King for my 1st year and during my study terms after co-op started after 2nd year. It's a good place to live as long as you have a good don on your floor. A bit more privacy and with the added bonus of sharing your bathroom with only one suitemate and air conditioning. It's also nice if you don't want to eat res food all the time and like the option of cooking for yourself. You can still get a discounted food plan though for the days you're lazy or to grab food from the outlets on campus for lunch.

Ron Eydt is probably the best for shared living. A lot of my friends were from there and I hung out there just as much as I did in my own residence, definitely a lot of fun.

 

[Hipster Duck]

I lived in REV my first year, but it's probably no longer a good place to live. Since then, they've made the 2 person rooms into 3 person rooms, the hallways are claustrophobic and the bathrooms could use a reno.

 

[adrianaliu]

yeah yo sorry for bringing this back but I got into both programs last week and I'm wondering if things have changed. leaning towards uw for the coop and I'm also applying to eng there, I like all aspects of planning but most interested in transportation, any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I doubt it was homophobia. I think it's more a matter of having a lot of women to choose from.

Absolutely. Back in my day, plenty of my mates chose UWO over Waterloo due to the perception that UWO was more aplenty with females. IIRC, the thinking was Waterloo's focus on engineering and compsci would reduce the female student pop. Western on the other hand was known for females and blondes http://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/that-typical-western-girl/ And yes, university isn't just for learning, lots of people go also for the shagging.

I think I'd die in today's university campus with its trigger warnings, safe spaces, dismissal/resistance to non-conforming or opposing POVs. Laurier's made up campaign to smear a TA for daring to use examples of non-conformance as a teaching aid is telling http://www.macleans.ca/lindsay-shepherd-wilfrid-laurier/. A prof contrives a false trial of a TA, embarrassing his employer and humiliating a direct report, and yet still keeps his job?

As an undergrad and grad student from 1991-96 I saw the beginnings of the social justice movement. I remember telling my activist classmates when asked to attend this or that rally against this or that injustice, that for me university is for acquiring and honing the skills and knowledge I need to succeed in my career. not for promoting social engineering and activism. As a white, hetero, England-born, able-bodied male I expect my perspective was polar opposite to many of those seeking to use university as a catharsis.

EDIT. This was on CBC Radio One tonight, a timely discussion, though US focused http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/the-p...oriat-political-diversity-on-campus-1.4280778

 

[BMO]

yeah yo sorry for bringing this back but I got into both programs last week and I'm wondering if things have changed. leaning towards uw for the coop and I'm also applying to eng there, I like all aspects of planning but most interested in transportation, any advice would be appreciated.

So reading back through my initial post I'm deeply embarrassed by how juvenile I sounded (maybe I need to add a few more LOLs to my sentences ). I'm pleased to say I did end up going to UW for planning and completed co-op during my time there. It opened up a bunch of doors and opportunities for me in urban planning and transportation planning. I'd say my experience in co-op was probably the main thing that helped me get a job after university. I currently work as a transportation planner and enjoy what I do.

As for the social components of UW (sexual preferences aside). I certainly felt the male/female ratio wasn't too weighted to one side or the other in the environment faculty (the faculty urban planning is in), however it's a small faculty and when you go out after class, or go to a house party you quickly begin to see how skewed the ratio is toward males when you start interacting more with people from other faculties. It wasn't all bad though, Laurier university up the street seemed to have an even ratio that helped when you would go out to the bar, or nightclubs, or other events around town. Keep in mind I went to school before all these dating apps were a thing so maybe that has changed things (either for better or worse). Ultimately your experience will depend on who you choose to spend your time with and whether you try to go out and meet a crowd of people that coincide with your interests. People at UW were always fairly down-to-earth and easily to get along with.

Study hard, and make the best of your time there and I'm sure you won't regret it. You may even start to enjoy the city. Goodluck!

 

[Addaaammmm]

So reading back through my initial post I'm deeply embarrassed by how juvenile I sounded (maybe I need to add a few more LOLs to my sentences ). I'm pleased to say I did end up going to UW for planning and completed co-op during my time there. It opened up a bunch of doors and opportunities for me in urban planning and transportation planning. I'd say my experience in co-op was probably the main thing that helped me get a job after university. I currently work as a transportation planner and enjoy what I do.

As for the social components of UW (sexual preferences aside). I certainly felt the male/female ratio wasn't too weighted to one side or the other in the environment faculty (the faculty urban planning is in), however it's a small faculty and when you go out after class, or go to a house party you quickly begin to see how skewed the ratio is toward males when you start interacting more with people from other faculties. It wasn't all bad though, Laurier university up the street seemed to have an even ratio that helped when you would go out to the bar, or nightclubs, or other events around town. Keep in mind I went to school before all these dating apps were a thing so maybe that has changed things (either for better or worse). Ultimately your experience will depend on who you choose to spend your time with and whether you try to go out and meet a crowd of people that coincide with your interests. People at UW were always fairly down-to-earth and easily to get along with.

Study hard, and make the best of your time there and I'm sure you won't regret it. You may even start to enjoy the city. Goodluck!

I know at Ryerson, they had the opportunity to do real-life projects with major partners, for example, one of the courses was to literally pair your group with another city and plan a part of their land that needs help with. Do you think that Waterloo has given you guys the same hands-on experience to go out into the field and actually have a say in making proposals for parts of cities or anything like this in the real world? And, btw I am talking about the actual classroom experience, not co-op.

 

[BMO]

I know at Ryerson, they had the opportunity to do real-life projects with major partners, for example, one of the courses was to literally pair your group with another city and plan a part of their land that needs help with. Do you think that Waterloo has given you guys the same hands-on experience to go out into the field and actually have a say in making proposals for parts of cities or anything like this in the real world? And, btw I am talking about the actual classroom experience, not co-op.

At Waterloo, we often partnered with local municipalities to develop plans for specific neighbourhoods or urban city blocks. These involved presenting to relevant municipal staff to get feedback on our proposals. All of these were conceptual and nothing was ever taken and used as a plan, but I certainly found there was an extensive amount of the theoretical concept we learned in the classroom being applied to real-world scenarios. You tend to do more of this if you stick more toward urban design, and less-so if you go into policy, or land-use, however you do get to do simulations for land-use planning where you have to design the type of development you can build on a plot of land based on the zoning by-laws and market to determine what theoretical profits your client would be making. I do have to stress, though, your reality when you do co-op or leave university is considerably different than the free-roaming nature that your courses provide. Having said that I found I was adequately prepared for most things that were tossed my way.

 

[chinesehorse]

yeah yo sorry for bringing this back but I got into both programs last week and I'm wondering if things have changed. leaning towards uw for the coop and I'm also applying to eng there, I like all aspects of planning but most interested in transportation, any advice would be appreciated.

What was your average if you don't mind me asking? Yconic has people with 97's waiting for acceptances. Still waiting for acceptance for Waterloo, got into Ryerson's program

 

[stanko]

I'm waiting for an acceptance from Ryerson, but if I get accepted I'll go straight into third year since I'm taking urban planning at Mohawk College right now (two year program). Apparently Ryerson will only accept 4 people from both Mohawk and Fanshawe while 5 of us at Mohawk alone applied so I'm a bit anxious mainly because my average isn't the most competitive