i plan on applying to mac but i was wondering if anyone could give me a non-biased comparison between the mcmaster civil engineering and the program at carleton?

Originally Posted by chenier

i plan on applying to mac but i was wondering if anyone could give me a non-biased comparison between the mcmaster civil engineering and the program at carleton?

Someone could only give you a non-biased comparison between the two if they attended both universities for both programs, and got two degrees in Civil Engineering.

Well that is hard... since we have only experienced Mac engineering... so it will be biased. I say Mac is better though

Carleton has an eng program? That's my response.

Originally Posted by Leeoku

Carleton has an eng program? That's my response.

I wouldn't have known either until two of my friends decided to go there for Software and Aerospace respectively..

I don't know what kind of advantages you can get in civil engineering. I mean I guess Mac is better rated and it is closer to the manufacturing center of the country. But other than that, I can't tell the difference.

Mac is a higher rated school for engineering between the two, aside from that, youre going to get the same basic education from either one you choose. It all comes down to where your friend wants to go.

Both programs are accredited by "The Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB)", so when you graduate you will get a degree in engineering from both schools.

I am not sure about Carleton, but McMaster offers unique 5 year programs along with engineering. Those include engineering and management, engineering and society & engineering and international studies.

You will get the same education from either school. Most likely the courses at the undergraduate level are the same (strength of materials, soil mechanics, structural analysis, hydrology, geology, concrete design, etc.)

Unfortunately, its competitive to get into some 2nd year programs at McMaster, and civil is one of those competitive programs. You need a good gpa in first year to get into civil; by good i don't mean 80ss. Management is even more competitive to get into. I don't know about Carleton, but they might let you into 2nd year civil even if you just pass first year eng. Now, there's that free choice thing here at mac. Basically, you get to pick anything you want in 2nd year eng (excluding management, biomedical and maybe chem&bio), provided you don't fail any courses (you can drop courses, but if you fail anything you lose the free choice!).
To get the free choice you need a good average in grade 12, i think you need above 90%.

You should base your decision on things that matter the most to you. Maybe if you live in Ottawa, it is easier for you to commute to uni (no need for residence and all the extra expenses).
It is really up to you where you want to spend the next 4-5 years. One last thing, if you can, try and take some computer related courses in high school, like AutoCAD and programming (it will benefit you because you take both in first year eng )

Actually one thing I did think of, go visit the 2 schools. I visted Mac and thats what originally convinced me to come here, while the other school I visited I didn't get the same feeling from. There are engineering tours here as well that are run by engineers that I enjoyed

I am in Civil at Mac, and as VP of External Relations for our Engineering student society, I often deal/converse with engineers from Carleton (and the other Eng schools across Canada). I have been active in talking with them for more than 2 years now, so I've got a pretty fair answer for you on this.

As jim1 said in his first paragraph, you will graduate with the same Civil Engineering background, as both programs are accredited by the same governing body, so on that level it's all pretty well even.

Then you can look at extra-curriculars and the student community. Both Carleton and Mac are up there as the biggest engineering student societies in Ontario. We both help fund, organize, and lead different extra-curricular groups like an engineering drama performance and band, like Solar and Formula race cars, like a Baja race car, and much more. The student societies run similar social events, and offer academic services to help students survive. We're fairly equal here, with some differences in the background and how it operates (if you're interested in student politics, I can tell you more about that... But I'm going to forego that here)

Then as Snowman said, you have the campus and local community. I have not been to Carleton, but I know for a fact that Mac's campus is often cited as so beautiful and that people instantly fall in love and HAVE to come here because of that. I know of people personally who have done that. And then how far is Mac from home? How far is Carleton from home? How far do you want to travel when you want to go home? I know people at Lakehead in Thunder Bay who simply wanted to get as far away from home, in Ontario, as possible. And then, for myself, I wanted an easy commute home if need be.

Lots of factors involved. The undergraduate program itself, because you're comparing two accredited schools with good reputations, is the least of your worries. In terms of research opportunities and whatnot though, Mac was recently ranked at the top of the list in Canada for that, by MacLeans Magazine. I feel like the majority of that comes from engineering. Heck, many of my profs take on consulting work and research for different groups (like the City of Hamilton)... So if Grad studies, or summer research work is your eventual interest, take that into consideration perhaps.

Good luck!