UofL External for Canadian Graduate School admissions

Well, I already have a Canadian BSc degree (traditional campus based). But my GPA was quite poor (I was on academic probation several times). I just managed to pass somehow with an overall average of C-. Also, my degree is a "3 year" degree (I did not do honours). At that time, I had no plans of studying further.

I've been working as a Software Engineer for past 4 years now in Canada. Now, I wish to go back to school and get a graduate degree in Computer Science. My choice of universities are:
-University of British Columbia
-University of Waterloo
-Queens University
-McGill University
-University of Toronto
(in no particular order)

Well, all of them require a decent GPA and a 4 year degree. So, I have to do two things:
1. upgrade my degree to a 4 year degree
2. improve my GPA

Both of these can be accomplished by taking a DL degree. I narrowed down to few universities:
a. University of South Africa (UNISA)
b. University of London (External) since it's well known and affordable
But it turns out UofLondon degrees are also 3 year degrees. So, my questions are:
1. Most undergrad degrees in UK are 3 year. So, are none of those 3 year degrees acceptable for graduate school admissions in Canada?
2. What if I did a second bachelors degree in related but different suject (such as Math). Would the second bachelor degree (technically also a 3 year degree) satisfy 4 year undergrad requirement for graduate admissions?
3. What about a graduate diploma from University of London (External) such as this one in Math: http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/prospective_students/undergraduate/lse/dip_grad/math/structure.shtml - will this satisfy graduate school admission requirement?
4. I could also go for UNISA "honours" degree. But I am not sure if UNISA would be as reputed (or as well recived) by admissions of UToronto/UWaterloo/McGill/et al as University of London's.
5. U of London (External): is there a catch or are there degrees really for under $10,000 for the whole 3 years? (In my case, I'd probably have to do less than 3 years as I'd get some transfer credits too)

U of London has some postgraduate degrees too, but none of them are in "math" or "computer science". There is one in Information Security but it's quite a bit more expensive than UG degrees and is not really a topic of interest for me.

I'd appreciate some advise from you DL experts on this forum!!

 

Your dilema

I was concerned about entry to Université Laval for my MA in history based on my 3-year history degree from King's-Dalhousie in Halifax. But I found that because I had also later completed a one-year BEd from Memorial University of Newfoundland, it made for a 4-year degree overall and was immediately accepted for the MA.

Check the Canadian universities, esp where you live, to see if you can do the major concentration for another degree. There if often a way that the first degree can cover all the supplimental courses needed and simply work on the new major concentration for a new degree, like the Honours programmes. I saw at one time that there was a possibility at Dalhousie to gain a BSc in Economics by completing the course requirements for the new concentration building on a previous BA or BSc. Or complete the one-year honours degree from a local university or Unisa.

My DEd degree from Unisa has been accepted everywhere I wanted to apply as well. The Nova Scotia Depart of Education accepted the degree from Unisa since it is a chartered Commonwealth University (original charter 1873 and renewed charter in 2006). McGill University accepted the Unisa doctorate with no questions when I applied to the Faculty of Education for the postdoctoral programme there (see my posting further down).

In Canada I would go with either Unisa or London since the latter is well known and both are acceptable. Most all Canadian universities find it easier to deal with university degrees from within the Francaphonie or the Commonwealth than from elsewhere.

Brad

 

Why are you only looking at Canadian or UK schools? There are plenty of excellent choices from the US which offer a wider variety of specialization for less money than .ca Universities...

Here is JoAnn Peeler's list of CS (a great start, but there are lots of other universties as well): http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~jpeeler/topschools.html

 

I'd bet that you don't have to earn an entire new degree. If you take some relevant courses and submit those transcripts along with your other admissions material you can make a solid case that your most recent coursework is more representative of your academic capacity. Of course, this is based on the idea that you are no longer a slacker and you can actually produce solid academic work. That whole slacker thing is over, right?

 

Thanks. Well, I want to improve my GPA in some core CS courses I took (such as data structures, algorithms, compiler design and so on..about 5 CS courses) because these core CS courses are what CS grad-school admission committee will take deep interest in + I need to do an extra 1 year at senior level (I can either convert 3 year CS degree to 4 year honors CS degree, or as you suggested, do another concentration in 1 year. I could go with Math or Stats for a second degree, I think, but I'd prefer to do it online because I've a full-time job that I don't want to leave) + I want to do it ASAP (semester systems are too long/slow, I prefer self-paced programs) + I want to do it cheaply (more than $400 per 3 credit course is too much). LoL! I am in BC now. Langara College here offers some of these CS courses and they are not very expensive (about $85 per credit..so $250 per 3 credit course. Unfortunately, Lanagra is not online, and they don't offer senior level courses. I could do some of my core CS courses from there but I'd prefer doing everything at one place).

At one time, I took some courses from LSU (Louisiana State University Independent Study). The courses there are quite cheap ($250 per 3 credit course) and are self-paced. I did 3 courses and finished them all in about 7 weeks. I wish LSU offered some senior level courses as well. Most of their courses are first and second year level and they don't offer a complete degree online.

UNISA, Open University of UK, and University of London -- they all are lacking in:
a. self-paced study (have to go with their semester system sorts, can't fast track. Specially the CS courses I already took/passed, and am just repeating to improve score in them)
b. UK's degree are 3 years as well, so I am still not 100% sure, if I did another degree there (let's say in Math), it'd be acceptable for grad-school admissions by McGill, UToronto etc.

Thanks for the link. Yeah, I am open to US/UK/South Afirca/Canada. But I am looking for an inexpensive option. Preferably something that allows me to fast track and is cheap.

If I did a second degree, I'd actually be only doing 1 year (as Brad Sweet pointed out) because other supplement/elective courses can usually be taken care of by previous Bachelor degree). and yes, I am no longer a slacker

 

I think for me, one more option (but expensive) is to take 1 year worth of courses (approx 30 to 36 credits) and transfer them all to one of the "big three" (such as Charter Oak, Thomas Edison, Excelsior) and get a 4 year degree from there. Since they have no residency requirements, all credits will transfer.

But this turns out to be quite expensive because I'd have to pay:
1. Course fee/per-credit fee from whichever university I take these courses from.
2. Enrollment, graduation, and other kind of fee at Charter Oak, Thomas Edison, or Excelsior - whichever I decide to transfer everything to. Approx $2000 in all of them.

So, overall, I will get upgraded to a 4-year degree by doing additional 30-36 (since I already have 90 credit bachelor degree). They will transfer all accredited transfer credits, and everything I do will count for my degree as long as I follow their degree requirements. This is not a preferred option as this is quite expensive (because of multiple fee). But it's last resort of sorts.

Note to admin: My 2nd post is still moderated. It should have appeared before this post.Could you please approve it? Thanks.

 

You have a history of three posts, all in this thread. You have no posts in the queue. All have been Moderated. It will appear in time. While we wait, here is my quick and dirty fix of the problem.

From Today, 3:36pm




AlphaSaint
Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 3

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad Sweet
In Canada I would go with either Unisa or London since the latter is well known and both are acceptable. Most all Canadian universities find it easier to deal with university degrees from within the Francaphonie or the Commonwealth than from elsewhere.
Brad

Thanks. Well, I want to improve my GPA in some core CS courses I took (such as data structures, algorithms, compiler design and so on..about 5 CS courses) because these core CS courses are what CS grad-school admission committee will take deep interest in + I need to do an extra 1 year at senior level (I can either convert 3 year CS degree to 4 year honors CS degree, or as you suggested, do another concentration in 1 year. I could go with Math or Stats for a second degree, I think, but I'd prefer to do it online because I've a full-time job that I don't want to leave) + I want to do it ASAP (semester systems are too long/slow, I prefer self-paced programs) + I want to do it cheaply (more than $400 per 3 credit course is too much). LoL! I am in BC now. Langara College here offers some of these CS courses and they are not very expensive (about $85 per credit..so $250 per 3 credit course. Unfortunately, Lanagra is not online, and they don't offer senior level courses. I could do some of my core CS courses from there but I'd prefer doing everything at one place).

At one time, I took some courses from LSU (Louisiana State University Independent Study). The courses there are quite cheap ($250 per 3 credit course) and are self-paced. I did 3 courses and finished them all in about 7 weeks. I wish LSU offered some senior level courses as well. Most of their courses are first and second year level and they don't offer a complete degree online.

UNISA, Open University of UK, and University of London -- they all are lacking in:
a. self-paced study (have to go with their semester system sorts, can't fast track. Specially the CS courses I already took/passed, and am just repeating to improve score in them)
b. UK's degree are 3 years as well, so I am still not 100% sure, if I did another degree there (let's say in Math), it'd be acceptable for grad-school admissions by McGill, UToronto etc.



Quote:
Originally Posted by HwyRogue
Why are you only looking at Canadian or UK schools? There are plenty of excellent choices from the US which offer a wider variety of specialization for less money than .ca Universities...

Here is JoAnn Peeler's list of CS (a great start, but there are lots of other universties as well): http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~jpeeler/topschools.html

Thanks for the link. Yeah, I am open to US/UK/South Afirca/Canada. But I am looking for an inexpensive option. Preferably something that allows me to fast track and is cheap.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Kizmet
I'd bet that you don't have to earn an entire new degree. If you take some relevant courses and submit those transcripts along with your other admissions material you can make a solid case that your most recent coursework is more representative of your academic capacity. Of course, this is based on the idea that you are no longer a slacker and you can actually produce solid academic work. That whole slacker thing is over, right?

If I did a second degree, I'd actually be only doing 1 year (as Brad Sweet pointed out) because other supplement/elective courses can usually be taken care of by previous Bachelor degree). and yes, I am no longer a slacker

 

Would Athabasca U be an option. I'm not sure if they offer the program you are seeking, but I do know they also offer three year degrees.

Also, Bellevue University is one of the few U.S. colleges which offer a three-year degree, and they have many DL programs from which to choose.

 

I don't know about the rest of the universities but McGill would consider you if you had good grades in your computer science classes even if your GPA was low. A friend of mine had a low GPA too, he just finished a graduate diploma at McGill University before enrolling into the M.Sc program, you can finish the diploma and the M.Sc later assuming that you do better in your diploma. I'm not sure if they would transfer credits from the diploma to the M.Sc as the latter one is more research oriented but you can ask.

 

Athabasca is great but very expensive. I already have a 3 year degree (traditional campus based from Canadian univ). I want to upgrade it to a 4 year degree or do a "post graduate diploma" (because, from what I know, 3 year undergrad + 1 year post grad is acceptable in lieu of a 4 year undergrad).

My CS grades aren't great either. So, that won't work. Besides, I don't live in Montreal so a graduate diploma from McGill is not feasible (it's not available online/distance ed).

I guess we are back to UNISA. Affordable + 1 year honours program. Only thing it lacks is a) not sure if courses can be self-paced/fast tracked. b) not sure if extra courses may be taken. I'd need to take extra courses simply to upgrade my GPA in core CS courses (4-5 courses).

 

Their courses ar NOT self-paced and can NOT be fast tracked. Exams happen on a rigid schedule at approved testing sites. Be sure you know where the closest one is located.
Extra courses are fine.

 

The reason I pointed out Athabasca's three year degrees was not to suggest you get another one, but that it wouldn't be a barrier to you getting a graduate degree from them, although extra courses or a post graduate diploma may be necessary.

 

Oh, no, my actual "goal" is to enroll full-time into a Master's CS program at McGill, UToronto, UBC, Queens, Waterloo. But since I don't satisfy admission requirements (I've 3 year degree instead of 4yr degree, and I have poor GPA). So, I am looking for options to upgrade my degree and improve my GPA in core CS/quantitative courses. I can either upgrade to a 4 year degree or do a 1 year PG Diploma.

I found another option:
http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/cs/pgcourses/comp.htm
It's more expensive than University of London external and Open University of UK though and is much more expensive than UNISA.

 

Oh, no, my actual "goal" is to enroll full-time into a Master's CS program at McGill, UToronto, UBC, Queens, Waterloo. But since I don't satisfy admission requirements (I've 3 year degree instead of 4yr degree, and I have poor GPA). So, I am looking for options to upgrade my degree and improve my GPA in core CS/quantitative courses. I can either upgrade to a 4 year degree or do a 1 year PG Diploma.

I found another option:
http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/cs/pgcourses/comp.htm
It's more expensive than University of London external and Open University of UK though and is much more expensive than UNISA.
I am not looking for Master's degree (just PG Diploma or a way to upgrade 3 year degree to 4) because some universities don't let you enroll if you already have a Master's degree in related field (for example, MIT Graduate Program in CS).

 

Mods/Admins

Hi Mods/Admins! My messages here are still moderated (and not posted). Can you please help?

 

You're not alone... lol

As far as the topic goes, UNISA is about the most respected of all from your list (after UofL, maybe) and highly regarded. Qualified South Africans are sought after in many fields around the world because of the high standard of education here.
UNISA programmes are a lot of hard work, don't expect any less.

 

Nice! I talked to CS Graduate school admission advisors of some universities (McGill, UBC, UToronto) and they said 1 year postgraduate diploma or Master's degree in addition to 3 year bachelor degree (that I already have) is acceptable for admission. They also said recent coursework (and it's GPA) will have more relevance (so my GPA in PG program can potentially compensate for low GPA in my bachelor's degree). So, I guess I am going to go ahead and enroll in some PG program soon now. Here is my shortlist for Mathematics / Statistics / Actuaries courses/programs:

1. MSc in Actuarial Sciences: http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/mathematics/postgraduate-study/msc/actuarial

2. MSc in Math: http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?Q01F04

3. http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/prospective_students/undergraduate/lse/dip_grad/math/index.shtml

As far as I know UoL-External gives a lot of weight to final examinations. Is UNISA like that too? Or does UNISAgive weight to assignments as well?

Actually, on this topic, does anyone know how it works once you've enrolled at UofL or UNISA? Will I just be sent a bunch of reading material and write final exam or would I have to submit regular assignments (I'd like to do assignments because it'd keep me regular)? Can I submit assignments online or am I suppose to mail them by snail mail/postal mail?

 

Note: I listed UK programs because they are relatively cheap (about $6000 for the whole Master's degree) and shorter (MS degrees are 1 year if done full-time). UNISA Master's might be cheaper and I am considering that too (but I might not have prerequisites for it as I have a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and it's a 3 year degree. I think UNISA requires an "honours" degree as pre-reqs but I am still checking about that). If you have any other suggestions for MS/PG Diploma program (of 1 year length), of comparable cost(tuition fee), please feel free to suggest. US/Canada/UK/South Africa - all are okay.

 

UNISA has lots of assignments. In SA snail mail is used, not sure about overseas programs.

 

Damn!!!!!! MSc Stats/Actuarial Sciences is expensive. London External and Open Univ of UK don't offer MSc Stats/Acturial Sciences. They only offer MSc Maths!

Damn, damn, damn!!!!!!!!!!