For Canadians in Statistics: Which is better, UBC or UofT?

[Fantim]

Hi everyone!

 

I completed my undergraduate degree in statistics at McGill, and was accepted to both the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto for a masters in statistics. My goal is to later complete a PhD in a top US school. 

 

I was wondering which offer I should accept. I know both programs are well ranked, but I wanted to get your insight before making a decision. 

 

Both offers come with TA/RA ships and good funding, and the UBC program lasts 2 years while the UofT master's is only 1 year. 

 

I'm sure many future grad students are hesitating between the two schools as well, so any info regarding these two unis is more than welcome. 

 

Thank you for all your help!

[ParanoidAndroid]

Congrats on the acceptances!

 

It appears that UBC has a thesis requirement and U of T doesn't? That could potentially help for PhD applications. 

 

Two years also gives you more time to develop stronger relationships with POI's. 

[Barely_Awake]

Fantim, for what it's worth, I'm also in the same boat as you. I've been accepted to both of those schools, as well as a couple others, and I'm trying to pick a path that will provide the most opportunity for PhD studies afterwards.

 

ParanoidAndroid is right, UBC has a thesis option, which offers you the opportunity to do some research and perhaps even publish. On the other hand, UofT only has the 8 month course-based program, but boasts a large stats department with some really reputable faculty. Also, you can do a project course at UofT, but to me this just isn't the same as having a whole extra summer and school year to do RA work and write a thesis. As for funding, after subtracting tuition fees from UBC's offer, I found that my offer from UofT was slightly better.

 

Even with this information, I'm still terribly undecided. Hopefully someone else will have some new insight!