i was told at my university night by a mac rep that a spot in civil engineering (or any engineering program) is not guaranteed when you get accepted into first year, i was wondering what are the chances of not getting into civil engineering if im accepted into first year, and what determines acceptance into those programs? thanks

If you weren't guaranteed a spot, then it depends on your average. I think in my year it was a 6.5 for civil (so a high 60) but I don't know what it was last year.

Basically the higher you GPA the higher chance you will get into the program you want, and anything above an 8 will get you a spot in nearly anything (like civ mgmt, civ society or any of the other others like mech)

95% of students get to their program of choice. The 5% who don't probably have their marks fallen way below the average. So as long as your marks are fine, you are good.

If you come to mac with a 90+ then you get your first choice. Else it is competition. Civil is like around a 5 (65 i think) and the mark requirement goes up if more people want it.

Not necessarily-- if you took fewer courses (eg. if you did Headstart or dropped your electives), you still could have ended up with a higher average and not gotten into your program of choice, so don't forget that the number of units you take is also an important factor.

If you want to get into:

Chemical
Computer (maybe)
Eng Phys
Materials
Software
X and Society (if X isn't anything on the proceeding list)

You're in luck because those programs accept anybody.

If you want to get into:

Chembio
Civil
Electrical
Elec and Biomed
Mechanical
Mechatronics
X and Management

You'll probably need anywhere from a 5.5-6.5 and upwards depending on how popular that discipline is in any given year.

For what it's worth, I didn't get into my first, second, or third choices, but looking back I'm really glad I ended up where I am. So don't despair even if you don't get in, because it may even work out in your favour.

If I pick a non-popular stream, does that mean I would get more $$$ and easier job when I finished? Rule of supply and demand? In this case, less people entering the stream means less supply.

If you work hard and get good marks, even with degree from popular eng field you will be able to find a job with no problem.

No work - No $$$.

Also, words Easy and Engineering should never be in one sentence. If Eng is easy, you are doing it wrong.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If I pick a non-popular stream, does that mean I would get more $$$ and easier job when I finished? Rule of supply and demand? In this case, less people entering the stream means less supply.

McMaster isn't the only engineering school in the world. Supply comes from elsewhere. Also, many people tend to pick their streams based on a combination of their interests and where the jobs are. On top of that, things can change relatively quickly.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If I pick a non-popular stream, does that mean I would get more $$$ and easier job when I finished? Rule of supply and demand? In this case, less people entering the stream means less supply.

Not always since some streams may have less jobs available than others but the reason they are unpopular is because people don't have an interest in them.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If I pick a non-popular stream, does that mean I would get more $$$ and easier job when I finished? Rule of supply and demand? In this case, less people entering the stream means less supply.

Don't let the fact that you're getting a university degree lure you into a false sense of jobyness. Graduating from engineering doesn't mean you have the skills to actually work somewhere -- its the skills you acquire throughout that determines if you'll get a job.

You could graduate elec or civil engineering and get a nice cushy job with a financial institution purely based on the fact that you have such awesome understanding of math through various side-things you happen to do to learn your discipline... or you could graduate with 30k$ debt without really understanding anything useful.

So... do what you find is interesting and good things will probably follow.

Admissions to some second year engineering programs depend on how many courses you take and what kind of gpa you get. That's why its not a good idea to fail/drop anything in first year engineering. Even the 2 electives count and make a big difference in your admissions, to lets say civil.
In first year engineering you will have 37 units (12 courses in total, 6 each semester). Let's take an example:
Person A:
drops a course(3 units), and gets 6.5 in first year, so in that case,
34 units x 6.5 = 221 points
Person B:
Takes a full course load and does not drop/fail anything,so..
37 units x 6.5 = 240.5 points

What i am trying to say is, even if the cut off for civil this year is 6.5, if you don't have a full course (along with the 6.5), then you wont get into civil. So in that case, you have to work extra hard to get more points.

You are in grade 12, the best advise i can give you is to get as high as you can this year and get the golden ticket..i mean the free choice
Free choice is given to people who have a high average in grade 12, this is just to encourage students to work hard in gr 12. A free choice will get you into almost any 2nd year engineering program, so you don't have to worry about getting a high average in first year eng. You can also drop courses and still make it into the program of your choice. Unfortunately, failing anything, even if it's one course will take away that free choice.
Free choice does not include, management, biomedical and something else(i think chem&bio). As for what average you should have to get the free choice, i am not exactly sure, but its for sure above 90%.

In conclusion, work as hard as you can this year, get the free choice & live happily ever after!
Good luck

Hell, a large chunk of people who graduate engineering don't ever make the effort to do anything but study, and hence, don't have a good chance at a decent paying job... The job you get is not a factor of which stream you go into, so much as how you do your 4-7 years of engineering.

I just want the highest paying job (6 figures) while having it easy during university. What should I do then if eng is not that??

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I just want the highest paying job (6 figures) while having it easy during university. What should I do then if eng is not that??

There's not 1 specific eng field/stream that will get you the highest salary. They are all good. It's really how you use your skills and how good you are in your field that determines your salary. If i tell you that chem eng people make a lot of money but you don't like heat transfer/mass transfer/etc, will you still go into it?

What i am m trying to say is, if you go into a stream because it pays the most but you are not interested in the field you will most likely do bad in school, let alone the job itself! Also, regardless of the engineering stream that you pick to study, you have to work really hard. Engineering is no walk in the park; if you are here just for the money then sorry to say, but you are making a terrible decision. You have to like what you are studying in order to succeed in it and hopefully become successful in your chosen field.

We can't really decide for you, you have to see what you like and go for it!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I just want the highest paying job (6 figures) while having it easy during university. What should I do then if eng is not that??

You should reevaluate your priorities in life and consider what kind of person you are.