Canadian colleges: Lethbridge vs. Manitoba for Computer Science?
Hi everyone,
I recently got accepted into University and Lethbridge and University of Manitoba for Computer Science second degree.
Both of them have co-op programs, but I don't know which would be better for me. Ideally, I want to go the uni with a better job market for CS, so Lethbridge seems to be the winner since it is close to Calgary. But I am also looking to immigrate to Canada in the future, and I know that Manitoba has easier requirements for Permanent Residence nominations.
I am in a bit of a bind, and I am trying to gather as much information as I can before I make a decision. Anything you have to share would be much appreciated. Thanks!
P.S. I know Toronto and Vancouver are much better places for jobs, but sadly I missed the deadline to apply to most of the colleges there. I do plan on applying for jobs in those cities though.
This is probably something actually better asked on Reddit due to its much larger population, and the fact that both Universities have subreddits too:
https://old.reddit.com/r/uleth/
https://old.reddit.com/r/umanitoba/
Plus other related subreddits:
https://old.reddit.com/r/Alberta
https://old.reddit.com/r/Calgary/
https://old.reddit.com/r/Edmonton
https://old.reddit.com/r/Lethbridge/
https://old.reddit.com/r/Manitoba/
https://old.reddit.com/r/Winnipeg/
p.s. Wish I could help more, but I'm from Ontario and not familiar with either University, or the job markets in either province. I do know several people in Calgary who are CS grads and doing well for themselves there though.
Off topic, but what American city would you compare Calgary to? The “thirty minutes to the Rockies” line made me think of Denver, maybe mixed a bit with Houston or another Texas city.
Hey, I didn't really know this about Calgary building it's technical center. Do you have any more information on this?
I know Lethbridge and Manitoba are both small but sadly these are my choices.
I saw your post on Reddit the other day. I think the advice you got there was pretty good, but it’s not clear what your goals are. Are you planning on working while attending university, or just the co-op terms? If you’re just talking about co-op terms, there is no requirement that you do them in the same city. It’s kind of a hassle, but you can always sublet your place and sleep on a mattress for four months to do a co-op elsewhere. Which, if you’re just talking about maximizing your degree potential, Manitoba will be better than Lethbridge even if the jobs in Calgary are probably more numerous than Winnipeg.
When it comes to CS in Canada it’s Waterloo > most 'big' universities (UofT; UBC; McGill; UofA; SFU; Queen’s; UVic; UofC; OttawaU; Dalhousie; etc ) >>> smaller universities. I’m not super familiar with U of Lethbridge so I could be wrong in this case but many of the smaller university programs, unless you’re in a bridge program that transfers out to a bigger school after year 1 or 2, are kind of crap in terms of quality of instruction and degree marketability. I’m from BC so my experience is in based on the schools here but for instance between my friends that went to UBC/UVic/SFU vs the ones who went to TRU/UBCO/VIU I was kind of astounded at the differences in what they were taught. So U of Manitoba is probably going to be a better experience for you, if that's your goal.
In terms of places, Lethbridge isn't Calgary so keep that in mind. The Albertans here can probably weigh in better than I but everything south of Calgary is going to be somewhat of a bible belt. Not sure if that's still true in a town with a university or no, but something to consider. If you are a big skier/hiker you'd probably much rather be in Lethbridge than Winnipeg. Winnipeg is going to offer you a standard biggish city experience with seriously cold winters thrown in the mix, but Lethbridge isn't going to be much better in that regard.
You mention you're past the cutoff of applying to bigger universities. I would seriously look into a transfer program from a smaller university. They typically accept anyone and are much more lax in timing for entry into their programs. Once into the smaller program, you are usually required to maintain X GPA and complete all courses in 8 months and you are guaranteed a spot in a bigger university. E.g. here's an 8 month engineering program at VIU that will put you into 2nd year engineering at either SFU/UBC/UVic. I know at UVic there is a SW engineering program that's basically CS with some bolted on extras. There may be programs for straight CS as well at other universities, just have to have a look around.
I am mostly worried about co-op and internships, and trying to get a job after graduation so I can get PR through work sponsor.
I will try to transfer but both Lethbridge and Manitoba have implied that I can get my degree done in 2 years. I don't really wanna jeopardize that if credits don't transfer but I will explore that option once I get to Canada and have a better understanding of everything.
Reading most of these comments, it seems like Manitoba might be a better bet than Lethbridge. There was one comment on Reddit about Manitoba's co-op program that really made made me reconsider. Your comment here too is helping, especially the transfer option at UVic.
I really fucked up not applying to schools earlier in the year. I had a 97% gpa and a solid shot at one of the bigger schools. Thanks for all your info btw.
You definitely want to make the effort to do co-op. It's by far the best thing you can do to increase your chances of landing a job after graduation. Also, do as much co-op as you can, if that's an option. Even if it 'delays' your graduation, companies are very willing to take on co-op students because they're cheap and risk free vs a new hire, so rack up that experience while you can. I'm a biased UVic alum, but imo they have one of the best engineering co-op programs in the country because everyone graduates with 5 mandatory 4-month terms of co-op experience, so when you're applying for your first job you do so with over a year of work experience.
Yeah I am definitely gonna do co-op. It will add a year to my graduation but it what it is. I would rather land a great job than graduate early. I can just bust and do extra courses per year to make up for the time spent in co-op. Will also look into getting internships during summers and try to build some projects now so I have something on my github. Do you think I should try for co-op my first semester or should I wait for second?
It will depend on your school's semester structure but at UVic IIRC they broke it down so you were 'supposed' to do a co-op term at specified points; something like 1A 1B Co-op 1 2A Co-op 2B 3A Co-op 3 etc. but it is a school with year round semesters so sometimes you would be at school in the summer and sometimes co-op during the school year. So if your school has a recommended outline for the co-op terms try and follow that or you can get off track in terms of what classes are offered when.
As for finding one after your first semester, it will depend on your experience and knowledge level prior to university. I think many students struggle with co-ops earlier because they hardly have any relevant skills after semester 1 and 2 but if you can get one definitely go for it.
Yeah I will try to get one as early as I can but I don't have any relevant skills. That's why I was thinking working on some personal projects so I can boost my resume during the first semester.
Not sure I've ever met anyone from either of those schools (I'm an East coast elitist, so everyone I know is UofT or Waterloo). Seems like Manitoba has better university rankings and a much bigger student body than Lethbridge. Not sure if the Manitoba co-op program requires you to be local or if you can do remote, but it seems like their CS department is invested in their co-op program. Might be good to ask someone there directly what the opportunities are like.
It sounds like you're going to be a foreign student so I'm not sure how transferring works, is it possible to spend a year at either of these schools then try to transfer somewhere? Wouldn't be the end of the world to spend a year at the less-optimal one then transfer elsewhere.
Either way I doubt it will be a lifelong regret, getting any co-op experience is already a leg up, and getting real world experience after that is another big leg up.
Yeah I don't think either option will be too bad but I'm just trying to maximize my chances of getting a good job and moving to Canada, especially after a lifetime of bad decisions.