I have a question to all upper-years.

Are you happy with how education at McMaster turned out?
Do you regret that you went to McMaster, or a certain program at McMaster?
How do you feel your education at Mac compares to other Universities?
Would you do things differently (university or degree choice-wise) if you knew what you know now?

This isn't a test or whatever. I just to know how people think.

I loved Mac, and I loved my program. It was quite a lot of work and sometimes I wonder what I did it for, but I gained a lot of really good experience that I otherwise wouldn't have. It won't really help me in the long run, but does give me a sense of accomplishment.

I went to UofT after Mac, and I definitely prefer Mac - I don't even need to think about it.

I don't think I'd do anything differently.

Shit program, shit school-- but every where else is the same, so it ends up with a big, resounding "meh."

Originally Posted by eullwm

Shit program, shit school-- but every where else is the same, so it ends up with a big, resounding "meh."

What is that smelly smell that smells?

I was pretty satisfied with the education that Mac had to offer. I got in to the program I wanted but ended up struggling through my program and ended up switching. But I think that's ok because for me it is quite a learning experience and somewhat an experiment.

I honestly don't regret going to Mac. It is the only school I applied for and I loved the years I spent there. Although I did wish I stayed in the program I got in the first place (Linguistics) but certain circumstances caused me to switch.

Compared to other universities, I feel like there was something lacking in my education. I think it's because there are courses I wanted to take but not offered in Mac.

Things I would do differently:
obviously I should have studied hard and focus more. It's because of me lacking in them that my grades went down to the point where I wasn't eligible to continue on with my Linguistics program and switch to my minor program Geography.

Get more involved in my program. I feel like I wasn't involved enough and therefore didn't know too much about what my program has to offer.

Despite my struggles on my university years, I graduated essentially on time and I feel good about it.

Originally Posted by starfish

I loved Mac, and I loved my program. It was quite a lot of work and sometimes I wonder what I did it for, but I gained a lot of really good experience that I otherwise wouldn't have. It won't really help me in the long run, but does give me a sense of accomplishment.

I went to UofT after Mac, and I definitely prefer Mac - I don't even need to think about it.

I don't think I'd do anything differently.

What program are you in?

Computer Science.

Profs are mostly bad. We mostly never learn cutting-edge stuff like uWaterloo. But overall my biggest complaint was that, when I was there, there was no "CS culture" as such at Mac. Now, with HackItMac's efforts, I can see that changing for the better.

Mac's CS/Software programs could also benefit from the entrepreneurship vibe that's been going around in the other universities. Students need to build more things, start more startups. But as I said, things are changing for the better now.. Hopefully it continues.

I regret not going to uWaterloo for CS. But I definitely don't regret not going to U of T, which, from what I've heard from my friends, is simply retarded when it comes to tests and exams because apparently profs make them super hard just for the sake of it.

Also, the CAS department needs to stop bumping up grades at the end of the term. I've heard a couple people walking around and saying how they don't care to put effort into learning things, as the grades eventually get bumped up anyway and they end up with an A.

Oh and CAS really needs to tighten the leash on plagiarism and add a lot more programming assignments in all the CS courses. It's only then that people will learn.

I did software engineering at McMaster and overall I was pretty underwhelmed by it. The program was the complete opposite of cutting edge. We learned how to use real time operating systems such as RTAI, which have been obsolete for nearly a decade. Two of my classes were taught by a professor who openly admitted that he knows nothing about the material and that we'd all get an A as long as we didn't tell on him. Most professors didn't care about software in general and were just math PhDs forced to teach it.

Most students in the program are unmotivated and disinterested. I've TA'd five classes over the years and it was just depressing. Everything is thrown together at the last second and just generally a mediocre attempt for at least a passing grade. Hardly anyone makes an attempt to do anything over the top.

Every group project I did was with apathetic partners who were always quick to just lay back and let me do all the work as soon as it looked like I cared. I did my 6-person capstone project almost entirely by myself. The professors are so spineless that they just literally try to avoid you if you bring things up like this to them.

That's not to say there are literally zero students who care. There are always a few outliers who genuinely show interest in computer science and software engineering, and spend time learning things on their own, rather than going on and on about how cool it will be to brandish their iron ring when they're done. I wish the best for them.

Do I regret coming to McMaster? Not really. If I went to Waterloo, I would have gotten a better education and met more people with the same interests as myself, but also at the expense of a meaningful social life. I was still successful for the most part, so there isn't any sense in regretting the past.

Overall the education quality in software engineering at McMaster is pretty poor. Like the other poster said, there is no community (other than a generic club of people who just happen to be in software), so there is no influence to stay motivated. I can't really speak much for other Canadian universities besides Waterloo and U of T, but compared to those, it's definitely on the lower end.

Had I known what I know now, I think I would have tried for a different school. I would have rather gone somewhere where my peers are more motivated so I could learn from and work with them to really build something cool.

Now, I work in San Francisco. I have done recruiting and interviewing at Stanford on behalf of the company I work at. Pretty much any student there can talk to you forever about whatever they're learning or w/e research they're doing with intense passion. My high school grades were no where near good enough to get in, nor could I ever afford the tuition, but something like that would have been nice.

Overall though, it's just 4 years of your life. If you're truly motivated and passionate about what you're studying, where you went to school doesn't have much influence on what you can achieve.

I don't think I'd change anything. I'm doing a post-grad diploma in college now so I can learn job-specific skills because (like most degrees at mac), my degree was too broad to be applied to much past entry-level research positions unless I went to grad school or professional school.

Sometimes I look back and think it would have just been faster to go to college right out of high school, but then I remember what an awesome four years I had at this school and all the cutting edge research I saw happening, all the world-class experts I got to learn from one-on-one in my program and how I was really able to expand my way of thinking and how I see the world with the knowledge I obtained. You spend those 4 years learning for the sake of learning (and from the best, no less), and to have that privilege is a hugeee blessing that I'm always thankful for.

Some people went into university trying to get a job out of a degree and ended up stuck in programs they didn't enjoy, learning things they weren't interested in. I didn't have that issue. I loved my program, my profs and my cohort and I loved learning about psychology the most.

The only thing I regret is that our PNB department doesn't extend any farther than the cognition, child development, neuroscience, animal behaviour and perception research. I wish we'd had a social psychology component in our program and I wish we'd had more exposure to careers outside of academia that are directly tied to what we were learning. For me, I was able to figure out for myself what I ultimately wanted to do because in fourth year I got to work on my own research project and I had the flexibility to go outside of the traditional psych related topics. Through that project I got to work with a professor who is extremely knowledgeable and respected for what he does. Just having these kind of connections is extremely valuable (going forward in one's career), and that happened because I was here.

I agree with Dillon about having unmotivated/unengaged peers. I couldn't say if that would be different at other schools or not, but so many econ majors are just ex-commerce kids who don't want to be there. Groupwork is a nightmare with those types because they're happy to sit back and let you do all the work.

I also did the Mohawk business certificate, which was a decent enough program. All I really learned was that the writing skills of the average soc sci student are nowhere near where they should be.

I've had wonderful and supportive profs, no issues there. I mostly liked the classes I took. I loved the campus and the vibe. I made wonderful friends. All in all, not much I regret. I'm happy with where Mac has brought me and I'm proud of my degree.

I and another alumni I met at coop both agree programming at Mac is taught poorly

I and another alumni I met at coop both agree programming at Mac is taught poorly

I think most people agree on that. I do wonder...

Would software department students who aren't happy about the quality of their education be willing to walk out on the streets? Like boycott classes until the Chair actually does something to improve it?

Originally Posted by GeorgeLucas

I think most people agree on that. I do wonder...

Would software department students who aren't happy about the quality of their education be willing to walk out on the streets? Like boycott classes until the Chair actually does something to improve it?

Linkedin recently announced software education ratings for universities in Canada based on jobs ppl at the university get. They places 18th in the country behind schools without compsci or software eng departments. As usual waterloo, uft and ubc were right at the top

Linkedin recently announced software education ratings for universities in Canada based on jobs ppl at the university get. They places 18th in the country behind schools without compsci or software eng departments. As usual waterloo, uft and ubc were right at the top

Oh wow. Just checked it out myself.

If that's not a wake up call for them, I don't know what will be.

Do you think it's a good idea to email associate dean and tell him how much ass mechatronics smokes?

I think I got about 5 pages of text so far, just the first draft. I can shrink it down to 2 if I cut all the suggestions out.