Computer science schools in Canada?

[sebisworld]

G'day mates,
I just started going to a small university in a suburb of Hamburg, Germany. I'm studying computer science and am also taking some film/design classes (it is actually a combined degree called "Medieninformatik"). The school is one of only a few private universities in Deutschland and I have to pay €900 per semester (excluding room/board), which is probably ridiculously low for most of you guys. But since German universities are generally free, my school can afford better equipment and smaller classes, thus it compares very nicely to the horror stories that I hear from public universities.
But I don't really like this Germany. There is like no snow here and winter is only some random word. If you have ever taken a dog out for a walk, and then after a while you are like "Where is the dog?" because it is totally covered up by snow then you should know what I mean. So, I'm thinking of going to some Canadian school, but I don't really know what I should be looking for. Most of the college sites on the net are very United States centric and they recommend all these great schools in California or Utah or whatever.
I would be extremely pleased if you guys could suggest some schools... I would like harsh winters, smallish (Cocoa *g*) classes, good reputation, closeness to the coast (preferably west) or far north and no French-Canada please I've only come across the very expensive Simon Fraser university, which has a small computer science campus that seems perfect - they even have that film thing.
So, if a name of another university pops up in your mind, feel free to use the attached "Reply" button.

And then I also need to figure out whether I should go into a huge debt for this.

Cheers,
Sebastian

 

[lem0n]

Carleton university in Ottawa - Ottawa is the capital, small city, peaceful place a really good place to study if you want to concentrate on studying. They also have this cool tunnel underground that link building to building if you're to lazy to walk outside to get to your other classes. [esp around the end of April when it's -40... cold... cold]
Ottawa university... also in Ottawa, but in downtown area, unlike Carleton. It has prettier architecture but there are also more French speaking students so that's not your thing... I like Ottawa University much better because of the location, it has much easier public transportation access. [There are only several buses going to Carleton and the O-train but it takes longer to wait for them] and half of the buses go to the downtown area, where Ottawa U is]

 

[neocell]

There is no winter at SFU, just more or less rain. Sure there's the North Shore mountains but depending what you want to do, it might not be enough. UNBC would be the only west coast north enough school to have decent winters, but it's a new school and I have no idea about computer science there, plus it's basically BFN. Try U of A or Calgary, maybe they have good programs

 

[Abstract]

Yeah, Carleton may be a good fit for you. I would have suggested Waterloo Uni as well, as they're one of the absolute best at computer related degrees (science or engineering), and was one of Gates' favourite universities at some point (don't know if that's true anymore, but that still says a lot). Ever heard of a Blackberry? Yeah, they were invented by students who were attending that Uni.

I guess you can try University of Alberta (U of A). I don't know if it snows there heaps, though. The universities on the very west coast like University of British Columbia (UBC) and such won't snow as much as you'd hope, so I really don't think you want to go any further west than U of A.

 

[skubish]

University of Waterloo in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Decent amount of snow, close to Toronto (largest city in Canada). You won't find much snow in western Canada (on the coast).

 

[Sathos]

In the winter, the U of A will have snow. The University of Calgary will too, but recently the school has been going downhill and its students have given it a failing grade. Another good school in the area is the University of Lethbridge, which apparently has a good Computer Sciences program. The U of L will also have snow.

 

[adroit]

I actually don't really like SFU much because the campus is just really GREY and full of ugly buildings. If you want to live in Vancouver, UBC (University of British Columbia - www.ubc.ca) is a much better choice. As for the west coast, there's also UVic (Univeristy of Victoria - www.uvic.ca) a ferry ride away from Vancouver. Climate are about the same on all of them - mostly rain and rarely snow. But it does snow a lot on the mountain if you like winter sports.

In Alberta there are U of A (University of Alberta, Edmonton - www.ualberta.ca) and U of C (University of Calgary - www.ucalgary.ca) mainly flat land and lots of snow. No where close to the ocean though.

There are also, U of Ottawa, U of Toronto, Queen's, McGill, Waterloo - famous in math and CSC, Carleton - famous for Arts and Industrial design etc on the east. Lots of snows, not close to ocean but usually close to rivers and/or lakes.

also check out http://www.macleans.ca/universities/for more info and rankings.

 

[sebisworld]

Wow, thank you guys so much. I will definitely pursue this idea. It seems like Canada is a good place after all, minus the West Coast.
I guess I probably just have to deal with the fact to be just one out of 30,000 college kids in any of these schools (unless I pick UNBC). I never quite liked the thought of such a big campus, but I know so many people that do, so maybe I will too after a couple of days. No all I need to do is marry Avril Lavigne, so that I don't have to pay the international tuition anymore.

 

[JonHimself]

I go to Wilfrid Laurier University (also in Waterloo - right down the street from University of Waterloo) and have to admit that all we hear is how good UW is for Computers and Math... I'm sure others know more than I about which school is actually the best, but another consideration is the actual town. I've been here for 3 years and I must say I love Waterloo! I grew up just north of Toronto and spend much of my time in the downtown of Toronto and love the fact there is always something going on. While Waterloo is a ways away from Toronto I do feel that it combines the best aspects of Toronto with some of the small town life. Because of the fact that there are two Uni's and College in Waterloo there are a ton of students! There are many places to go for all kinds of entertainment, we actually get many large concerts in Kitchener. There is a great night life "scene" and a ton of places to go hang out during the day to kill time. My friends that go to UW say that aside from the huge campus (at least in comparison to my campus at WLU) they love their school... So I'm sure my opinion is biased, but I love Waterloo and would (and have) recommend it to everyone!

 

[Abstract]

^^Yeah, Wilfred Laurier University is also a good university, and it happens to be beside Waterloo University. While Waterloo is great for computer students, but 2/3rds of Laurier is made up of female students.

I grew up just north of Toronto and spend much of my time in the downtown of Toronto and love the fact there is always something going on.

Where exactly? I'm from Thornhill.