Looking for feedback from Canadians re: University of Manitoba

[Luv2Scrap]

My son is off to college next fall, and really the only college he wants to attend is the University of Manitoba. He's never been there, only talked to a recruiter at a school for a few minutes and did a little research online, and we have made a couple phone calls to the school to ask some questions. We probably won't be able to do a school visit ahead of time because of time and logistic problems, so we are having to make decisions solely based on what we can find out online.

We live in Minnesota so we have tuition reciprocity, which is great (we pay your rates), but I can already see there are going to be a ton of expenses involved that we haven't even begun to think about... and getting third-party student loans for attending an international college is quite limited (the federal student loans don't even come close to covering expenses).

So, I am looking for information from anyone who maybe lives in the Winnipeg area, or even anywhere in Canada if you know something about this University.

Some things I am wondering about specifically:

**The local reputation of the school, and if we can get even more specific, their reputation for their Computer Science program.
**The campus climate - party school? Or more serious? Laid-back or uptight?
**Seems like budget cuts are a controversy for the school right now??
**Just how expensive is living up there compared to the states?
**What is the off-campus housing situation nearby? Seems like they don't have a lot of on-campus housing spots.
**What would the price of a cab ride from the University to the airport be?
**Anything else you think we would want to know that we won't easily find.

I really appreciate any help we can get with this. He has already submitted an application, but I am at the point where I am starting to wonder if this is a bad idea - there is going to be a whole lot of work and money involved!! If it is a great school and would be a great experience for him, it would be worth it, but at this point we don't know enough to make that determination!

 

[maryann4086]

I personally do not know about the U of M, but you might want to try grabbing the issue of Macleans ranking of Canadian universities. It will give you a little insight on how it compares to other schools in the country, plus its rankings in different categories.
http://www.macleans.ca/education/unirankings/measuring-excellence-2-2/

 

[ronandannette]

Google it a little. It is not a particularly well-renowned school. Depending on the source it is ranked between 18th and 20th for Canadian universities and between 285th and 400th worldwide. I guess that doesn't mean it's a terrible idea, just that you should investigate it a lot further to make sure it's a suitable investment of time and money.

Advantages: The Canadian dollar is trading at about $.85 against the US dollar right now - that's an automatic 15% financial advantage for you.

Disadvantages: As Canadian cities go, Winnipeg is about as rough as it gets. This may or may not be a big concern for you.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/07/23/winnipeg-still-violent-crime-capital-of-canada

 

[SirDuff]

I personally do not know about the U of M, but you might want to try grabbing the issue of Macleans ranking of Canadian universities. It will give you a little insight on how it compares to other schools in the country, plus its rankings in different categories.
http://www.macleans.ca/education/unirankings/measuring-excellence-2-2/

I tried to link that article for the OP, but Macleans has it behind their paywall now.

I'll ask around to see if anyone I know when there and get back to you. Unfortunately, I don't know much about it (or even its city).

 

[PlutoPony]

Do any of the guidance counselors at his high school have experience with their students attending Canadian universities? Or contacts with any Canadian high school counselors that could give them good info about the school?

 

[kimblebee]

Google it a little. It is not a particularly well-renowned school. Depending on the source it is ranked between 18th and 20th for Canadian universities and between 285th and 400th worldwide. I guess that doesn't mean it's a terrible idea, just that you should investigate it a lot further to make sure it's a suitable investment of time and money. Advantages: The Canadian dollar is trading at about $.85 against the US dollar right now - that's an automatic 15% financial advantage for you. Disadvantages: As Canadian cities go, Winnipeg is about as rough as it gets. This may or may not be a big concern for you. http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/07/23/winnipeg-still-violent-crime-capital-of-canada

As a Winnipegger, I have to strongly disagree. Winnipeg is not as rough as it gets. GEEZ. Yes, we have problems but you make it sound like downtown Detroit on free gun day.

As far as the U of M goes, it doesn't get a high ranking ever but it is a good school. It's not known as a party school and there is off campus living available.

I can't remember your other questions but you should not worry about your son coming up here for school, he will be fine. Besides, he's coming to Friendly Manitoba

Oh yeah, a cab to the airport will set you back about (not aboot) $20-30 roughly. Closer to $20 I'd guess.

Feel free to PM me if you like.

 

[HM]

OP, where else is your son applying?

 

[kuhltiffany]

Did you say he's looking to take Computer Science? If so he should definitely keep looking, there are many great programs in Canada for that...U of M isn't one of them...

 

[KiKi Mouse]

I would definitely check the Mcleans magazine university rankings.
The UofM is one of the lower ranked schools.
I have a degree from there. Depending on what he wants to do it may not matter...a degree is a degree.

Not sure about campus housing. The University can provide that info. Off campus housing...there are quite a few apartments that are close. He would probably need a roommate or two. I am not sure how a student could afford $800-$1000 a month rent plus other expenses.

Bus service is okay. The cost for a student bus pass is approx. $70/month. If he drives he will need to pay for parking on campus and maybe at his apartment. A lot of students car pool and split the cost.

The American dollar is higher than ours right now so that is an advantage for you. Groceries, gas, and other things are more expensive here.

A cab ride from the airport to the campus would be more than $20. I would guestimate it at about $40. Depends on the time of day. You might be able to call ahead and get a flat rate.

The UofM is not known as a party school.

Winnipeg can be dangerous. Stay out of the downtown and the core area. The University is on the south side of the city and there aren't any dangers there walking around.

This is going to be a large expense so you want to make sure he knows what he is getting himself into as well as you since I assume you are paying for it.

 

[ronandannette]

As a Winnipegger, I have to strongly disagree. Winnipeg is not as rough as it gets. GEEZ. Yes, we have problems but you make it sound like downtown Detroit on free gun day.

As far as the U of M goes, it doesn't get a high ranking ever but it is a good school. It's not known as a party school and there is off campus living available.

I can't remember your other questions but you should not worry about your son coming up here for school, he will be fine. Besides, he's coming to Friendly Manitoba

Oh yeah, a cab to the airport will set you back about (not aboot) $20-30 roughly. Closer to $20 I'd guess.

Feel free to PM me if you like.

Sorry kimblebee, you live in the most violent city in Canada - denying it doesn't change the statistics. Now of course that doesn't mean it's the same as Detroit (or downtown Beirut for that matter) - but it is "as rough as it gets" in this country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Canada

And as for your assertion that it's a "good" poorly rated school - I guess YMMV. I've never actually attended there - have you?

 

[Luv2Scrap]

As a Winnipegger, I have to strongly disagree. Winnipeg is not as rough as it gets. GEEZ. Yes, we have problems but you make it sound like downtown Detroit on free gun day.

As far as the U of M goes, it doesn't get a high ranking ever but it is a good school. It's not known as a party school and there is off campus living available.

I can't remember your other questions but you should not worry about your son coming up here for school, he will be fine. Besides, he's coming to Friendly Manitoba

Oh yeah, a cab to the airport will set you back about (not aboot) $20-30 roughly. Closer to $20 I'd guess.

Feel free to PM me if you like.

Thank you,I just might PM you! I followed the link provided and I see that the crime rate is actually much, much lower than what we are used to! LOL

OP, where else is your son applying?

His backup plan at this point is 2 years at a nearby community college for a network security degree (one that has a great reputation for this degree) and then finish off a BA somewhere after that.

Did you say he's looking to take Computer Science? If so he should definitely keep looking, there are many great programs in Canada for that...U of M isn't one of them...

Can you go into a little more detail about this? He wouldn't be looking at any other colleges in Canada, this one happened to be somewhat close (still a 7 hour drive away though), and has tuition reciprocity with Minnesota, so that is why he chose this one.

I would definitely check the Mcleans magazine university rankings.
The UofM is one of the lower ranked schools.
I have a degree from there. Depending on what he wants to do it may not matter...a degree is a degree.

Not sure about campus housing. The University can provide that info. Off campus housing...there are quite a few apartments that are close. He would probably need a roommate or two. I am not sure how a student could afford $800-$1000 a month rent plus other expenses.

Bus service is okay. The cost for a student bus pass is approx. $70/month. If he drives he will need to pay for parking on campus and maybe at his apartment. A lot of students car pool and split the cost.

The American dollar is higher than ours right now so that is an advantage for you. Groceries, gas, and other things are more expensive here.

A cab ride from the airport to the campus would be more than $20. I would guestimate it at about $40. Depends on the time of day. You might be able to call ahead and get a flat rate.

The UofM is not known as a party school.

Winnipeg can be dangerous. Stay out of the downtown and the core area. The University is on the south side of the city and there aren't any dangers there walking around.

This is going to be a large expense so you want to make sure he knows what he is getting himself into as well as you since I assume you are paying for it.

Thank you. I wish I could check that McLeans University rankings but it appears to be subscription only. I have seen that the rankings for Canada schools put it around 21, which looks really good to us, but it sounds like maybe not so much! If he goes to school here, he would not be going to a high-end school, so would you say it compares well to the fair-to-middle range of schools?

How about this question:
When looking at a resume, how do employers look at a degree from that school, and particularly the computer science degree (if anyone knows)? I know there are colleges here in the states that employers will scoff at... that must be the case for Canada too, right? Is this one of them?

I appreciate all the input I am getting. When time allows, my son and I will be having a discussion about this and I will be letting him read this thread if he wants to.

OH, ONE MORE THING!!! Can anyone please give me Manitoba's high school grading breakdown? There is a conversion of the grades from here to there, and I can't seem to find any information about it.

 

[SirDuff]

Thank you. I wish I could check that McLeans University rankings but it appears to be subscription only. I have seen that the rankings for Canada schools put it around 21, which looks really good to us, but it sounds like maybe not so much! If he goes to school here, he would not be going to a high-end school, so would you say it compares well to the fair-to-middle range of schools?

They don't rank that many schools! We have much, much fewer schools here (and not all of them are in the ranking).

There is a summary here (I know, wikipedia, but they should be accurate). University of Manitoba is 14th of the 15 universities in its category (Medical/Doctoral - basically those with large research centres).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankings_of_universities_in_Canada

Not everyone agrees with how the rankings are done (actually, many people don't agree with it).
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/toronto/story.html?id=d08032ee-e658-4164-aee4-8ae1752aaa65

An article from the University about the rankings.
http://www.mofa-fapum.mb.ca/docs/maclean.pdf

 

[kimblebee]

Sorry kimblebee, you live in the most violent city in Canada - denying it doesn't change the statistics. Now of course that doesn't mean it's the same as Detroit (or downtown Beirut for that matter) - but it is "as rough as it gets" in this country. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Canada And as for your assertion that it's a "good" poorly rated school - I guess YMMV. I've never actually attended there - have you?

Ok, yes, I live in the most violent city in Canada. Do you? No, so you don't know what it's like. No one in my family, none of my friends, and no one that anyone in my family knows (as far as I know) has been the victim of a crime. It is mostly done by and to a specific demographic in the city.

It's January 16 and as far as I know, we still haven't had our first homicide of the year. Our worst year saw 47(?) murders. You are making it sound like we have hundreds a year and that's just not the case.

 

[CdnCarrie]

First of all everyone knows that Maclean's ratings are a bunch of hooey.

http://blog.oneclass.com/macleans-university-rankings-useless/

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/toronto/story.html?id=d08032ee-e658-4164-aee4-8ae1752aaa65

I graduated from U of M as did my spouse and majority of my family and friends.S Several even hold computer science degrees. Actually I use to work there part time as well.

It's a decent school.

And Winnipeg is no Detroit. Thanks ronanannette for making it sound like we live in some kind of crime ridden project.

Winnipeg is a beautiful, vibrant city. I've lived here for most of my life and love it.

Edmonton actually is currently more dangerous than Winnipeg.

http://o.canada.com/news/regina-is-canadas-least-safe-city-according-to-crime-severity-index-data

And of course there are some bad parts of Winnipeg as there is in Calgary and Minneapolis. Don't walk around with a case of beer in the core area by yourself after midnight and you'll be fine.
Sorry ronannette but you really owe Winnipeggers an apology. Have you even been in the Peg?

To the OP - Winnipeg is really just a big prairie town. It's not too large too navigate and yet is big enough to have plenty to do. We have world class beaches less than an hour a way. Tons of festivals and a great arts scene.

 

[LisaR]

First of all everyone knows that Maclean's ratings are a bunch of hooey.

http://blog.oneclass.com/macleans-university-rankings-useless/

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/toronto/story.html?id=d08032ee-e658-4164-aee4-8ae1752aaa65

I graduated from U of M as did my spouse and majority of my family and friends.S Several even hold computer science degrees. Actually I use to work there part time as well.

It's a decent school.

And Winnipeg is no Detroit. Thanks ronanannette for making it sound like we live in some kind of crime ridden project.

Winnipeg is a beautiful, vibrant city. I've lived here for most of my life and love it.

Edmonton actually is currently more dangerous than Winnipeg.

http://o.canada.com/news/regina-is-canadas-least-safe-city-according-to-crime-severity-index-data

And of course there are some bad parts of Winnipeg as there is in Calgary and Minneapolis. Don't walk around with a case of beer in the core area by yourself after midnight and you'll be fine.
Sorry ronannette but you really owe Winnipeggers an apology. Have you even been in the Peg?

And you owe Detroiters an apology. Not all of Detroit is filled with crime ridden projects.

 

[CdnCarrie]

And you owe Detroiters an apology. Not all of Detroit is filled with crime ridden projects.

True. I do seem to hear so much negativity about Detroit. I have never been there. Sorry I shouldn't have used it as an example.

 

[Starwind]

Can you go into a little more detail about this? He wouldn't be looking at any other colleges in Canada, this one happened to be somewhat close (still a 7 hour drive away though), and has tuition reciprocity with Minnesota, so that is why he chose this one.

OH, ONE MORE THING!!! Can anyone please give me Manitoba's high school grading breakdown? There is a conversion of the grades from here to there, and I can't seem to find any information about it.

For comp sci programs in Canada, the University of Waterloo has one of the best. There are other schools with excellent programs with strong reputations.

Univ of Manitoba's international admissions requirements info:
http://umanitoba.ca/student/admissions/international/international-program-requirements.html

And their US requirements:
http://umanitoba.ca/student/admissions/media/US_requirements.pdf

And their international students page:
http://umanitoba.ca/student/admissions/international/index.html


Some notes:

Co-op programs (UofM has one for comp sci) are often very useful for students, as they get paid real work experience while completing the degree.

Many US universities will NOT recognize a Canadian "general" Bachelor's degree - the ones that are only 3 year degrees. They want the 4 year degrees, which in Canada are often "Honours" degrees.

"Honours" degrees means something different in Canada than the US.

Most Canadian university degrees do not have the year to year and a half of general "liberal arts" courses that many US universities have -- a student goes right into their major and its supporting courses in first year. Those general "liberal arts education" courses, quite frankly, were done in Canadian high school.

Most Canadian university programs would be considered very selective on a US scale: the entering required average for many programs is an A, sometimes even a high A.

An example: while this is now a couple decades ago, when my friends went to UofWaterloo's computer engineering program, the LOWEST entering average of a student was 96% (high A; the A range in Ontario high schools is 80-100%; pass is 50%). That is: nobody with an entering average below 96% was admitted to the program. the program I went into (not at Waterloo) had an minimum entering average around 85-90%. The entering average for us was composed of our best 6 final level courses, but certain specified courses had to be included in that (so. e.g., I had to count English, Chemistry, Biology, Calculus, and Algebra, plus one other course that was my best of what remained; I had 10 courses total at the final level, so my 6th courses was the best of the remaining 5). How the entering averages are calculated, what courses are included, what grades are needed are determined by a combination of the province, the university, and the specific program.

 

[LisaR]

True. I do seem to hear so much negativity about Detroit. I have never been there. Sorry I shouldn't have used it as an example.

Detroit certainly has some major issues, but there are actually worse cities in MI and much worse places around the US.

 

[pkondz]

Disadvantages: As Canadian cities go, Winnipeg is about as rough as it gets. This may or may not be a big concern for you.

Sorry kimblebee, you live in the most violent city in Canada - denying it doesn't change the statistics. Now of course that doesn't mean it's the same as Detroit (or downtown Beirut for that matter) - but it is "as rough as it gets" in this country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Canada

And as for your assertion that it's a "good" poorly rated school - I guess YMMV. I've never actually attended there - have you?

I'm pretty sure, that almost any fair sized city in North America (possibly the world) has its areas that are a bit sketchy.

I saw an article (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/10/us-usa-newyork-crime-idUSKBN0EL27520140610) from last year stating how NYC had only 333 murders in 2013. A low not seen since 1963! Woot!

Then again, Winnipeg is a hot bed of murder and mayhem!
The same year NYC had 333 murders, we had 26!
Run for the hills!!!


Seriously, though. It's a safe city. There's a couple of areas I might want to avoid at night, that's about it.
The area the UofM is in is very safe as is all the surrounding area.

I live there. And yes, I've gone to the UofM, but won't comment on how it is now since it's been too many years since I got my degree.

 

[kuhltiffany]

http://www.topuniversities.com/univ...ct-rankings/top-computer-science-schools-2014

Lots of good programs here in Canada, U of M nowhere near the top of the list...