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North American Universities

smwatson

smwatson

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 30, 2005
961
6
London, England
So basically I have the chance to complete my 3rd year of a 4 year masters (Maths) abroad - North America is where the majority of options are. Opinions and views and experiences from any of the following would be greatly appreciated... (The first three are my candidates, the rest I'm not really fussed about)


Simon Fraser University, Canada
The Pennsylvania State University, USA
University of Virginia, USA

State University of New York at Binghamton, USA
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Dalhousie University, Canada
Purdue University, USA

Then there's also the National University of Singapore but I don't know if there's many people from Singapore on here...

And also the University of Wollongong, Australia; but again I don't know how many Aussies are around.


Everything's helpful guys - fire away.
 
The ones listed would require me to pay no more fees than I am now, my University has an exchange program with them.

I could go anywhere but then it would cost £10k+ and I can't afford that.
 
I went to UVA and majored in math. It was decent. What math are you interested in? It's strong "enough" in algebra, analysis, and topology, but it doesn't really have an applied department to speak of. However, it's almost certainly better than the other places you listed.
 
All things Pure really. My tutor reckons I should pick the modules I would pick if I stayed here for 3rd year, then match them as close as possible to modules from the courses offered wherever. I'm really tempted by Singapore to be honest, but Virginia is definitely my favourite of the North American Unis.
 
Capt Crunch said:
I went to UVA and majored in math. It was decent. What math are you interested in? It's strong "enough" in algebra, analysis, and topology, but it doesn't really have an applied department to speak of. However, it's almost certainly better than the other places you listed.
Click to expand...

True. I never went to UVA but it's the highest ranked and probably the best school on your list.
 
Some insight.

I started out at Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha. I mention Omaha, because when you're a student at any of the Univ. of Nebraska campuses, you're a student at all of them (Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney, and the Medical Center in Omaha), so you'll have access to any of them.

Lincoln is a good solid campus (majored in Comp. Sci. there and Omaha, which obviously included a lot of math). Fairly easy to get around, and has a very strong math department. The only downside I had to Lincoln is that it is downtown (read: CBD), and is a pure college town. The university carries a lot for the income for the town. the city (basically the state) stops for the gridiron game every Saturday. It (the city) is a lot smaller than Omaha, but only an hour's drive away, has decent public transportation, and in all, is a nice midwest town.

I only visited SFU when I visited Vancouver and the Uni. of Wollongong when I lived in Australia (I went to UTS there), so I can't say much on those. Hopefully some Cadians and Aussies pop up with something.

BL.
 
smwatson said:
So basically I have the chance to complete my 3rd year of a 4 year masters (Maths) abroad - North America is where the majority of options are. Opinions and views and experiences from any of the following would be greatly appreciated... (The first three are my candidates, the rest I'm not really fussed about)


Simon Fraser University, Canada
The Pennsylvania State University, USA
University of Virginia, USA

State University of New York at Binghamton, USA
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Dalhousie University, Canada
Purdue University, USA

Then there's also the National University of Singapore but I don't know if there's many people from Singapore on here...

And also the University of Wollongong, Australia; but again I don't know how many Aussies are around.


Everything's helpful guys - fire away.
Click to expand...

SFU is located in Vancouver. It's one of the prettiest places on earth. The main campus is on top of a mountain, so it's not the most convenient place if you don't have your own transport.

Weatherwise, summer in Vancouver is gorgeous. In the winter, it's EXACTLY the same as in UK. Rainy, chilly (not cold compared to other parts of Canada), windy. In other words, you will feel right back home.:)
 
SFU is a good, but not exceptional, school. It ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of Canadian schools. It's campus is also nothing to write home about. However, Vancouver is. Of the places you've listed, Vancouver would be my top choice of where I would want to go on exchange.

I think the decision comes down to, what do you want on exchange? If you simply want to complete your degree, then take the best-ranked university. If you want the experience of living somewhere new, then take the one that offers the best experience. Of your three, Vancouver is it (imo), and Singapore would be even better.
 
UVA or Purdue would be my recommendation, but once again the specificity of the classes and what you are looking to get out of it is definitely something to consider.
 
Demosthenes X said:
SFU is a good, but not exceptional, school. It ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of Canadian schools. It's campus is also nothing to write home about. However, Vancouver is. Of the places you've listed, Vancouver would be my top choice of where I would want to go on exchange.

I think the decision comes down to, what do you want on exchange? If you simply want to complete your degree, then take the best-ranked university. If you want the experience of living somewhere new, then take the one that offers the best experience. Of your three, Vancouver is it (imo), and Singapore would be even better.
Click to expand...

Yeah I've visited Vancouver before and I love the city. But I adore Asia and would kill for the chance to live there for a year...
 
smwatson said:
Yeah I've visited Vancouver before and I love the city. But I adore Asia and would kill for the chance to live there for a year...
Click to expand...

Then this whole question is rather silly. Go to Singapore. It's great city and as a crossroads melting pot, it's a unique cultural experience.

If it's your intention to go work in Asia after graduating, then a year in the states is adds diversity to your experience. If you're probably not going to do that, then hit Singapore.
 
I go to Purdue and am double majoring in computer science and math and despite the fact that you'll be in graduate classes, I can tell you that Purdue has an excellent reputation in mathematics (ranked 28th in the US as of 2008) and applied mathematics (ranked 19th).

I definitely think Purdue is worth heavy consideration. It is a strong science university thus we have a large graduate population. What have you heard?

Boiler up! :)
 
Slightly biased opinion

SFU


the math dept is REALLY STRONG here.
some awesome profs and visiting scholars.
the top of mountain thing does suck in the winter, it may be light jacket weather in the city but up there is foot of snow on ground.
get snowed in and stuck on campus at least twice a year.
BTW there are three campuses Downtown Van, Burnaby Mountain and Surrey.

Cost of Living is ridiculous here.
 
Mmm. Well I'm currently in Bath so cost of living is pretty damn high here so that probably won't be a problem. I paid £5 for a pint last friday. Good times.

So basically I've narrowed it down a bit more...

Best Cities:
Vancouver, Singapore
Best Universities:
Virginia, Purdue, Vancouver

I don't really know anything about how good Singapore is as a University, though it's supposedly the 30th best in the world (http://www.topuniversities.com/top-universities-guide) so it can't be all bad...

Singapore would be an incredible place to live, but also the biggest culture shock and ridiculously hot and humid and expensive. Then Vancouver has the opposite climate issue (when it's snowing anyway) but it's an incredible place and less of a culture shock. Then Virginia would be an amazing University to go to but Charlottesville doesn't really appeal all that much... Though I'd love to drive across America after the year's finished and see the country properly.

Hmmm.
 
smwatson said:
Though I'd love to drive across America after the year's finished and see the country properly.

Hmmm.
Click to expand...

Couldn't you still do that if you went to Vancouver? Or do a drive across Canada and check out Toronto and Montréal?

I don't know anything about any of these universities, but I do know that if I was given the opportunity to spend a year studying elsewhere, I wouldn't want to spend that year in Virginia. Vancouver or Singapore would both be great.
 
it5five said:
Couldn't you still do that if you went to Vancouver? Or do a drive across Canada and check out Toronto and Montréal?

I don't know anything about any of these universities, but I do know that if I was given the opportunity to spend a year studying elsewhere, I wouldn't want to spend that year in Virginia. Vancouver or Singapore would both be great.
Click to expand...

Yeah I could.

I've decided that I'm gonna put Singapore as my first choice, Vancouver second and Virginia third.
 
smwatson said:
Yeah I could.

I've decided that I'm gonna put Singapore as my first choice, Vancouver second and Virginia third.
Click to expand...

This is what I would do. Exchange is more about the experience than the academics, so go where the experience will be maximized. I think you've got the right idea. :)
 
Cost of University at SFU is cheap, cost of living is pretty expensive. But schools in the US are very expensive, so it's probably cheaper overall.

SFU is highly regarded here. I'm hoping to finish my BBA there.
 
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