University of Waterloo Students Win Facebook's Hackathon

Post by acchow » Wed, Dec 05, 2012, 12:16 AM UTC

azundo wrote: post #46

10dpd wrote: post #13

For the last year I've been aware of the impact of Waterloo in tech and have conducted some research into why this might be so. Two things I've discovered: 1. Academic staff own any IP resulting from their research, making it very attractive and easy to recruit top academics. Almost all other universities assume ownership of IP. 2. An intern program that requires students to take an internship every other semester, e…

Culture is also a big reason. People at Waterloo talk about engineering/CS/whatever non-stop. A colleague of mine went back to do his PhD at Western and his biggest observation was that the kids in the hall weren't talking about what project they were working on, they were talking about parties and clothes and whatever. While selection certainly helps with this, the culture of a school also has a huge impact in this…

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Dec 05, 2012, 1:15 AM UTC

azundo wrote: post #46

10dpd wrote: post #13

For the last year I've been aware of the impact of Waterloo in tech and have conducted some research into why this might be so. Two things I've discovered: 1. Academic staff own any IP resulting from their research, making it very attractive and easy to recruit top academics. Almost all other universities assume ownership of IP. 2. An intern program that requires students to take an internship every other semester, e…

Culture is also a big reason. People at Waterloo talk about engineering/CS/whatever non-stop. A colleague of mine went back to do his PhD at Western and his biggest observation was that the kids in the hall weren't talking about what project they were working on, they were talking about parties and clothes and whatever. While selection certainly helps with this, the culture of a school also has a huge impact in this…

Post by sliverstorm » Wed, Dec 05, 2012, 1:57 AM UTC

paulgb wrote: post #18

AYBABTME wrote: post #12

Congrats on the win, and cool publicity... but how can I get in there at 12k$ a year, plus a rent and food and other expenses. How much will it pay off, versus my education at the University of Ottawa? Given that I learn much more by myself, reading reference books, taking online courses with coursera, doing projects by myself. Is there any return on investment that I could expect from an education there, instead of…

Waterloo has a co-op program where you switch off every four months between working and school. The co-ops can be very well compensated, so many students graduate with little or no student debt.

Post by canistr » Wed, Dec 05, 2012, 2:03 AM UTC

acchow wrote: post #96

akashVaswani wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"In terms of defraying tuition costs, I figured earned salary was about equal between the two options (4-5 Waterloo co-op terms == 1 UofT PEY term)." I can see why you would assume that, but that is not the case. With PEY, you get 16 months of work, with coop you get 24. That right that there is 1.5 times the pay. Now take into account that employers look at previous work experience and no. of years in uni to determi…

You forgot about Marginal Tax Rates. Take-home income with 4 Waterloo co-op terms far exceeds a 16-month PEY, even at the same hourly rate.

Post by acchow » Wed, Dec 05, 2012, 2:59 AM UTC

canistr wrote: post #107

acchow wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You forgot about Marginal Tax Rates. Take-home income with 4 Waterloo co-op terms far exceeds a 16-month PEY, even at the same hourly rate.

4 Waterloo co-op terms would spread out over a course of 2-3 years. So the tax rate you fall under would differ from that of a full 16-month PEY because you may be making less money over the course of the same year.