Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post Reply
username1
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:46 pm

Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by username1 » Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:56 pm

Anyone creeping around this forum go there/went there/is from the area? I'd like to know a bit about living Vancouver and about the school before I decide to apply. I'd be applying as an international student (I'm from the U.S.) so if anyone knows about admissions there I'd appreciate that too.

So I don't seem like a complete leech... If anyone is interested in living/going to school in Southern California I'd be glad to share some info, plus I will post my stats once I have taken the PGRE and all that business.

Have a good one!

User avatar
grae313
Posts: 2296
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 8:46 pm

Re: Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by grae313 » Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:16 pm

username1 wrote:Anyone creeping around this forum go there/went there/is from the area? I'd like to know a bit about living Vancouver and about the school before I decide to apply. I'd be applying as an international student (I'm from the U.S.) so if anyone knows about admissions there I'd appreciate that too.

So I don't seem like a complete leech... If anyone is interested in living/going to school in Southern California I'd be glad to share some info, plus I will post my stats once I have taken the PGRE and all that business.

Have a good one!
This thread is likely to remain empty unless you ask more specific questions. Vancouver is a great city, what do you want to know about? UBC is a good University, what do you want to know about it?

username1
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:46 pm

Re: Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by username1 » Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:19 pm

Yeah I see what you mean... I was hoping someone out there (here?) had a strong enough opinion about the city to just go off about it without much prompting. I suppose what I am really interested in are any comments people have about the cities social life/culture and info about the different neighborhoods (which ones are good to live in, or cost of living or whatever else). I should have given this thread a different name now that I think about it.

As for the school, I am not too interested with its academic reputation but I am curious to know how difficult it is to get into as an international... and to make it more quantitative any comments about the kinds of PGRE/GPAs needed for admittance. I scanned the profiles from the past two years and I didn't see too many people apply there. I'm not asking for anyone to assess my chances, just to give a rough idea of those figures (they are the two parts of my app. that aren't already set).

If nobody responds then that's cool :D ... I will still post my info for everyone to mull over later in the fall.

surjective
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:16 am

Re: Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by surjective » Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:50 am

In general, I think that canadian schools care less about GRE/PGRE and more about GPA / reference letters / research proposal that US ones.

So, depending on your background, it might be easier or harder to get in.

Mataka
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:05 am

Re: Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by Mataka » Tue Aug 04, 2009 12:30 pm

Also, it is crucial that you contact a potential supervisor before applying. The hard part in getting into a Canadian school is not really getting into the school, but more being accepted and funded by a prof. So you need to get some sort of agreement beforehand with a prof you like.

User avatar
grae313
Posts: 2296
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 8:46 pm

Re: Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by grae313 » Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:28 pm

I think Vancouver is pretty well-known as being one of the most awesome and beautiful cities out there, but I could be wrong :)

A tip, if you just scanned through the profile threads you may not have seen much, but press control+f to do a "find" search, and first search the threads for "UBC" and then search for "British" since people may use one or the other. Click "Find Next" when you search to cycle through the entries on each page. There are two profile threads, about three pages each, and there are about 10 or 15 applicants to UBC including internationals with profiles you can look at and compare to your own.

username1
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:46 pm

Re: Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by username1 » Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:13 pm

Beautiful. Thanks for the insights everyone (and to anyone who is still to post too)

AstronomyGirl
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:16 am

Re: Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by AstronomyGirl » Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:33 am

Hey there... I'm from Vancouver and I couldn't resist telling you about it... :D

Pros:
-transit system is decent and as a student at UBC, you'll get a UPass (good in all zones, all times, for bus, skytrain, etc)
-Olympics are going to be here next year! 8)
-doesn't get too cold in the winter (usually only 1-3 snowfalls a year)
-WHISTLER/BLACKCOMB SKIING!!! :D (as a student at UBC, you can get a wicked deal on a season pass)
-tonnes of outdoorsy-type stuff to do
-some fun clubs downtown (although I admit I haven't gone to any. The Roxy is pretty popular)
-great airport
-every summer there is a fireworks competition (usually four different countries compete), down at the water.

Cons:
-in the winter, it RAINS. A LOT. Think Seattle. An umbrella becomes a necessity.
-the buses to UBC and SFU (other major uni here) can get super crowded. Transit is working on it...
-it's expensive to live here (e.g. my tiny basement suite is ~600/month, and it's in Burnaby--- about 45min on transit from UBC)

Other notes:
I don't go to UBC, but it's a very good school with lots of great professors. I have lots of friends who went/go there and like it. It's a very expansive, beautiful campus. It also has TRIUMF, which I'm sure you've heard of already. :wink:

Hope this helps! :)

I am actually thinking of going down to Cali for grad school. I'm interested in Planetary Science, Astronomy, and Astrophysics. If I come up with a specific question I'll ask you :)

username1
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:46 pm

Re: Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by username1 » Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:52 pm

That is exactly the kind of insider thoughts I was hoping for, thanks a ton AstroGirl! If you do decide on cali for gradschool let me know and I'll fill you in on whatever you are curious about... I'm from the part in between L.A and Mexico (with a clue like that I'm pretty much being vague for no good reason)

pqortic
Posts: 398
Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2008 9:24 am

Re: Thoughts on University of British Columbia

Post by pqortic » Fri Aug 07, 2009 10:49 am

just bear in mind that the weather in Vancouver is rainy and cloudy most of the time and there is not much sun like it is in Cali. it has a sort of mental effects for some people.



Post Reply