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Compare universities

Drop in up to four Ontario universities, pick what you want to study, and see them side by side.

University College, University of Toronto
Toronto
University of Toronto
Dana Porter Library, University of Waterloo
Waterloo
University of Waterloo
University Hall, McMaster University
McMaster
McMaster University
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Ontario universitiesUp to 4
Pick what you care about and we rank your schools on it.

What do you want to study?

Thinking about becoming a software developer?See the careerOr look at data scientist or cybersecurity analyst

Head to head

Computer science. Admission average: median of offers reported by students, not official.

97%TorontoHIGHEST98%Waterloo94.7%McMaster

Towers start at 80% so the gaps are easy to see. Read the numbers, not just the heights.

Pay after graduating in computer science

Typical yearly pay two years after a bachelor's degree, for all Ontario graduates in this field. No one publishes pay by university, so this is the same for every school above.

Statistics Canada, Ontario bachelor's graduates, 2024 dollars
$79,700
2 years after (class of 2022)
$106,600
5 years after (class of 2019)

Admission average

Median of offers reported by students, not official

  • Toronto97%
  • WaterlooHighest98%
  • McMaster94.7%

Graduates working

Two years after graduating, graduates of 2021

  • Toronto92.2%
  • Waterloo96.9%
  • McMasterHighest100%

Tuition, first year

Students from the province, tuition only

  • TorontoLowest$6,100
  • Waterloo$13,126
  • McMaster$9,108

Back for second year

Share of first-year students who return, started in 2021

  • Toronto91.4%
  • WaterlooHighest92.5%
  • McMaster91.5%

Finish their degree

Within seven years of starting, started in 2015

  • Toronto80.5%
  • WaterlooHighest86.4%
  • McMaster85.2%

Undergraduate students

Headcount, as each university reports it

  • TorontoHighest81,412
  • Waterloo58,172
  • McMaster31,547

The programs

Pick the exact program you would apply to at each school. Every fact comes from the school's own pages.

Toronto

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Waterloo

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McMaster

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Tuition over the years

First-year arts tuition for students from Ontario. The province sets the yearly change for every program, so other programs moved the same way from their own starting point.

$0K$2K$4K$6K$8K2016201820202022202420262019: Ontario cut tuition 10%, then froze itWaterlooTorontoMcMaster

Where they are

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Lake OntarioLake ErieLake HuronBrock UniversityBrockCarleton University, University of OttawaCarleton, OttawaUniversity of GuelphGuelphNipissing UniversityNipissingOCAD University, Toronto Metropolitan University, Université de l'Ontario françaisToronto (3)Ontario Tech UniversityOntario TechQueen's UniversityQueen'sTrent UniversityTrentWestern UniversityWesternWilfrid Laurier UniversityUniversity of WindsorWindsorYork UniversityYorkRemove University of TorontoRemove University of WaterlooRemove McMaster University
  • TorontoToronto
  • WaterlooWaterloo
  • McMasterHamilton
Further north

About these numbers

Graduation, employment and retention come from the Common University Data Ontario tables published by the Council of Ontario Universities, the same year for every school so they can be compared: graduates of 2021 two years later, students who started in 2015 finishing by 2022, and students who started in 2021 coming back for second year. Where a school is missing from those tables, its own figure is used and its year is shown.

Tuition and the official admission ranges come from each university's own fee schedules and program pages. Tuition is first year, tuition only, for students from Ontario.

Admission averages "reported by students" are the median of offers shared by Ontario applicants in the r/OntarioGrade12s admissions spreadsheet (2025-26), posted by u/Regular-Database9310 on r/OntarioGrade12s. Shown only where at least 10 students reported. They are not official and they move every year.

Pay is Statistics Canada's median for all Ontario graduates in the field, because no one publishes pay by university.

Everything is grouped by broad field of study, because that is how the government and the universities report outcomes. A specific program can differ from its field. Check the university's own page before you apply.