University of Sunderland vs University of British Columbia vs McMaster University vs Le Cordon Bleu Paris vs Athabasca University

Side-by-side comparison from 390 verified student reviews. Scan one row at a time — winners are highlighted

Quick verdict
Higher overall rating: Le Cordon Bleu Paris (4.60)
University of Sunderland: wins 1/7 categories
University of British Columbia: wins 1/7 categories
McMaster University: wins 0/7 categories
Le Cordon Bleu Paris: wins 3/7 categories
Athabasca University: wins 0/7 categories
Université du Québec à Rimouski - UQAR: wins 0/7 categories
RUBIKA: wins 2/7 categories
Comparing
Sunderland, The United Kingdom
4.20
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64 reviews
×
Best programme: Business and Management
Best programme: Arts
Hamilton, Canada
4.40
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86 reviews
×
Best programme: Life Science
4.60
Top
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10 reviews
×
Best programme: Culinary Arts
Athabasca, Canada
4.30
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26 reviews
×
Best programme: Microbiology
Valenciennes, France
4.40
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15 reviews
×
Best programme: 2D Animation
Category ratings
Facilities
4.51
Win
4.22
4.23
4.40
3.52
Not rated
4.47
Location
4.15
4.45
4.14
4.70
Win
3.84
Not rated
3.13
Professors
4.43
4.10
4.22
4.60
Win
4.38
Not rated
4.27
Internationality
4.24
4.35
4.49
4.60
Win
4.35
Not rated
3.87
Student life
4.07
4.31
Win
4.15
3.90
3.16
Not rated
4.20
Value
4.16
4.08
4.37
3.90
4.31
Not rated
4.67
Win
Accommodation
3.75
3.86
4.08
3.00
3.12
Not rated
4.33
Win
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • +Practical, real-world focused curriculum and skills
  • +Supportive and dedicated instructors and learning environment
  • +International exposure and English-taught programs
  • +Excellent professors and engaging courses
  • +Valuable career preparation and practical learning opportunities
  • +Abundant resources, study spaces, and campus support services
  • +Supportive and passionate professors
  • +Welcoming and diverse student community
  • +Engaging and versatile academic programs
  • +Exceptional teaching quality from passionate, experienced instructors
  • +Unmatched precision, emphasis on quality, and professional skill development
  • +Welcoming environment, strong support, and valuable alumni network
  • +Flexible self-paced learning
  • +Supportive and passionate faculty
  • +Accessible and motivating admission process

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  • +Industry-active instructors and professional preparation
  • +Supportive and welcoming atmosphere
  • +Emphasis on practical, project-based learning
Cons
  • -Insufficient lecturers and feeling left behind in the course.
  • -Administrative & course selection issues are frustrating.
  • -Social life can feel superficial and exclusive.
  • -Inconsistent teaching quality, with some professors subpar.
  • -Administrative and management issues are a constant source of frustration.
  • -Outdated facilities and a lack of necessary resources hinder the learning experience.
  • -Communication and transparency from the institution are frequently lacking.
  • -Administrative and management issues cause frustration.
  • -Outdated facilities and lack of modern resources are disappointing.
  • -The curriculum feels irrelevant and disconnected from real-world needs.
  • -Administrative and management issues disrupt student experience.
  • -Outdated facilities and poor maintenance are prevalent concerns.
  • -Lack of essential resources and support negatively impacts learning.

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  • -Administrative and management issues cause frequent problems.
  • -Facilities are frequently described as outdated and in poor condition.
  • -Teaching quality and curriculum relevance are inconsistent and often disappointing.
Rating summary
What students say

Facilities and professors stand out as the university's strongest assets, receiving the highest marks. Student life and location also scored well, indicating positive experiences in these areas. Accommodation, however, received the lowest rating, suggesting room for improvement. Internationality and value were rated moderately, reflecting a generally positive but not exceptional standing.

This institution's surveyed areas reveal a mixed performance. The strongest aspects are Location, scoring 4.45, closely followed by Internationality at 4.35 and Student Life at 4.31. Facilities also received a commendable 4.22 rating. Conversely, Accomodation stands out as the weakest area, with a score of 3.86, while Professors and Value fall within the mid-range.

This university garners high marks in nearly all surveyed areas. Internationality stands out as its strongest category with a rating of 4.49, followed closely by Value at 4.37. While Facilities and Professors also score well (4.23 and 4.22 respectively), Accomodation represents the weakest area, receiving the lowest rating of 4.08. Overall, student life, location, and value contribute to a positive impression.

This university demonstrates exceptional strength in its **location** (4.7), **professors** (4.6), and **internationality** (4.6). Students are particularly impressed with the quality of instruction and the global environment. Conversely, **accommodation** stands out as the lowest-rated area at 3.0, suggesting room for improvement in this aspect. Student life and value for money also received moderate scores.

Across several key aspects, this institution demonstrates a solid performance. The strongest areas are clearly Professors and Internationality, both scoring exceptionally high. Student Life and Accommodations represent the weakest points, receiving the lowest ratings among the surveyed categories. Facilities, Location, and Value fall within the moderate to good range.

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This institution demonstrates exceptional strengths in its **Value** (4.67) and **Facilities** (4.47), indicating high satisfaction in these key areas. **Accomodation** (4.33) and **Student Life** (4.20) also received positive scores. However, the university's **Location** (3.13) stands out as a comparatively weaker aspect, with **Internationality** (3.87) also receiving a moderate rating.

Reviews summary
Highlights

With an average rating of 4.23/5 from 64 reviews, ~84% are positive, praising practical, UK-standard curricula and supportive lecturers. A single negative review (~1.6%) mentioned insufficient lecturers and unmet course expectations.

With 4.23/5 stars from 191 reviews, approximately 74% of feedback is positive, highlighting strong academics, professors, and resources. Negative feedback, representing about 1.1%, mentions course selection difficulties and inconsistent professor quality.

Over 90% of feedback is positive, highlighting a strong academic foundation, supportive professors, and a vibrant, diverse community. A small percentage of feedback exists with no negative reviews.

Students highly praise the exceptional quality of teaching and knowledgeable instructors. Facilities are noted as impeccable and the learning environment welcoming, contributing to professional and personal growth for ~100% of reviewers.

All 26 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.35/5. Students praise the flexibility, self-paced learning, and supportive faculty. Admission was easy and resources are helpful.

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With a 4.4/5 average rating from 15 reviews, ~93% are positive. Students praise quality teaching from industry professionals and a supportive, welcoming atmosphere. The heavy workload and project-focused curriculum prepare them well for professional careers.

Rating distribution
5★
41%
38%
52%
60%
35%
0%
47%
4★
44%
50%
37%
40%
65%
0%
47%
3★
14%
12%
10%
0%
0%
0%
7%
2★
2%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1★
0%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Most useful review
Most liked

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Underwhelming

I was there as an exchange student from Europe, attending classes at Sauder Business School and the Mechanical Engineering Department. Studying at UBC is definitely a mixed bag in terms of the quality of education. I did have a few great professors who held wonderfully challenging and well-thought-out classes, making me feel that UBC punches above its weight in terms of educational quality. However, some other lectures were undoubtedly subpar. Grading seemed quite arbitrary at times (moving goalposts seems to be a recurring theme at UBC), and the lectures were not nearly as good as they should have been, in my opinion. It is quite fair to say that other exchange students and I were often shocked that UBC allows these courses to occur annually without making efforts to improve them. At UBC as a whole, less is expected from students than at my home university. I've seen people never show up to class and hold presentations that would never fly at my home uni. Professors seems to welcome all questions even if they are about things a fourth-year engineering student just months before graduation needs to know. I am not sure if UBC ensures that its graduates are adequately educated, and would definitely think twice if I was a recruiter and had to hire someone who attented there. From what I have seen, I would tentatively recommend Sauder Business School. For Mechanical Engineering (and probably also Electrical and Civil Engineering), UBC is simply too small, offering a lack of choices and not many lectures; usually, only introductory courses are offered for most topics. I recommend attending a more engineering/science-focused university, such as Waterloo or others in the US or Europe. It is quite astonishing how much money people pay to attend these subpar classes. Enjoyed having a beach on campus.

Combined Honors in Economics and Mathematics

Joining Mcmaster University is a wonderful experience. I personally have learned a lot. In addition, I really recommend and encourage students to join this school. University has a variety of courses.

Student in 2013

I really enjoyed my time at LCB! I've found that my skills when I entered the work force were much higher than others. I think though there was a big portion missing in recipe development and composition. True- we did learn it through memorizing the recipes, but we really were missing classes on how different ingredients affect the final textures.. how you can change them... etc. That I still am not an expert in .. and I create recipes! Ouf! Also, I don't know if you still do a month of sugar work... but that really wasn't necessary and should be either cut or minimized to just 2 lessons. It's such a niche skill to know that I would have really preferred more technical skills. I loved the old location. The "rumors" I'm getting about the new location are that it's not as good, unfortunately - that i's become more of a money focused/marketing machine. I really hope that this image can be fixed as I love LCB and enjoyed my time there! Oh also - there should be more help for students to get jobs and featuring old students accomplishments - from cookbook launches to new bakeries so that current and old students can support them.

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