Hey Vancouver-ites!

Furious George · Post by **Furious George** » 8/2/2005, 10:56 pm

Hey there, I'm interesting in attending UBC.... Vancouver seems like a nice place to be spending 4 years in, So I know I've seen a couple of you from the BC area.... care to comment on whether I should consider going?

closeyoureyes · Post by **closeyoureyes** » 8/2/2005, 11:49 pm

Well.
Vancouver is a GREAT City. Don't get me wrong. UBC just doesn't have the greatest reputation.... There have been things about grading scandals in the past. I guess it just depends on what you want to do, I think Canada Wide its rated O-K. However the city is brilliant, a great place to live. The weather is mild, lots of community events, etc etc.

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 8/3/2005, 12:10 am

why ubc if you live all the way over theeeere on the east coast? any particular reasons?
its true about what sinead said, vancouver is great. i dont know about any grading scandals but i dont think its a FANTASTIC uni either, i guess it depends what you want to do, why you want to come to ubc in particular, etc.

Furious George · Post by **Furious George** » 8/3/2005, 12:16 am

Right, I myself am originally a Torontonian, so I know a thing or two about what could be a good place to go to. I mean I suppose I could go to UofT or something.

So yeah, the main reason I'm checking out UBC is as you said cause it seems to be a great city to live in. I really could use a really nice atmosphere, the nature, the nice city, as an antidote to boring dreary suburban Chicago and just my own wish to go somewhere fresh and exciting.

What I'm concerned with is whether it'd be good decision to go based on me being a student.

Also, if I'm painting Vancouver as too much of a utopia please do tell.. I hear it rains a lot?

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 8/3/2005, 12:23 am

theres not a day that doesnt rain from november - february. practically. you have to get used to the rain. but the warm rainy weather is 100 times better than the freezing conditions in toronto in my opinion... the occasional -4 degrees celsius is considered cold here. during the spring/summer/early fall its sunny but not boiling hot.

other than that, i think vancouver's a great city... but it's not like i have been everywhere either. it has a great downtown, a huge park and a lot of beaches and there's a lot of different cultures all packed in tightly.

have you ever been to vancouver?

Furious George · Post by **Furious George** » 8/3/2005, 12:58 am

Nope, but I'm visiting my cousins there for a week in like 5 days actually so I'm rather pumped...

Not too spectacular of a school you say? hmm... I wonder if my want of a total lifestlye upheaval is worth it.

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 8/3/2005, 1:32 am

well i dont know about its rankings compared to other canadian universities... but i'd imagine there are 3-4 better ones. but then i dont really know much about unis...

Furious George · Post by **Furious George** » 8/3/2005, 1:40 am

Ok then as long as no one has any further comments on education - screw that.

So, living there - definately recommended?

Like what sets it apart from other places?

closeyoureyes · Post by **closeyoureyes** » 8/3/2005, 11:57 am

I think the people and the nature. Vancouver is on the mountains, and the ocean, and its all green, and very clean. I remember the first time I visited Toronto. I was SHOCKED. It was all grey and oceanless and mountainless and there was garbage :lol:

Also here we have no polluted lakes :lol:

Furious George · Post by **Furious George** » 8/3/2005, 4:52 pm

Lake Ontario... what a shame.

afealicious · Post by **afealicious** » 8/3/2005, 4:58 pm

oh my goodness i agree :no:

my bio teacher took water from lake ontario with a high quantity of mercury...and was able to develop a photo in it. it's terrible.

closeyoureyes · Post by **closeyoureyes** » 8/3/2005, 5:32 pm

Yeah theres none of that here. Up until recently we've had very strict environmental laws. Our provincial Liberals took alot away but its being restored now that we have a more balanced government.

Furious George · Post by **Furious George** » 8/3/2005, 9:23 pm

Ahh I love nature. Too bad I never really grew up anywhere particularly near it.

Oh, back to education, just so I'm sure is UBC the best uni in the region?

Gimme_Shelter · Post by **Gimme_Shelter** » 8/3/2005, 10:50 pm

no, its actually the worst

Furious George · Post by **Furious George** » 8/4/2005, 12:23 am

I already know all about the schools on the east coast and etc.

The only other school I know around there is simon fraser... so please do brief me on the other schools. I was under the impression that UBC ranked up there with like UofT or McGill. I think maybe the UBC propaganda got to me?

closeyoureyes · Post by **closeyoureyes** » 8/4/2005, 12:42 pm

UBC, from what almost everyone who has been there + teachers who i've asked say, its a shithole school. My mum says the Nursing school has a terrible rep., and others say there have been alot of issues with grading ie: people not getting A's though they deserve them.

SFU is a far better University, however I believe its smaller therefore might not have your courses. Its also much more difficult to get into, but i've never heard a bad word about it.

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 8/4/2005, 2:52 pm

:freak:WHAT! i dont know where you heard that its a shithole school cuz from what i've heard it IS ranked up there with u of t and mcgill....

simon fraser is NOT a far better university........

tres odd

Sonya · Post by **Sonya** » 8/4/2005, 5:17 pm

i still find it cute that there's a hyphen in the title. :love:

i have to agree with Jen. I've rarely ever heard of UBC being crappy. SFU usually gets that rep. :freak:

Apart from the grading scandals, i've always had the impression that it's a school that's pretty high up there. *shrugs*

ajk · Post by **ajk** » 8/4/2005, 7:18 pm

Furious George wrote:So yeah, the main reason I'm checking out UBC is as you said cause it seems to be a great city to live in. I really could use a really nice atmosphere, the nature, the nice city, as an antidote to boring dreary suburban Chicago and just my own wish to go somewhere fresh and exciting.

What I'm concerned with is whether it'd be good decision to go based on me being a student.

Also, if I'm painting Vancouver as too much of a utopia please do tell.. I hear it rains a lot?

The city itself is great. I'm from Calgary, but I'm goin' to school at UBC and I love it out there. Vancouver's awesome in that sense, always something to do.

As for UBC itself, well it's a mixed bag. The campus is great. As for academics, depends on what you're taking. Just like every other university some of the programs are more reputable and just flat out better than other programs.

SFU is a completely different type of university when you compare it to UBC. It's just a different feel. Its more isolated and smaller university (in terms of location and the education itself.) It's not my thing, but I can see how people would like it I guess. I hear the University in Victoria is nice, but I havent made it out there yet...

And I truly didn't believe all that stuff about how much it rains in Vancouver when I got here. I believe it now. It's all true!!

If you want more specific stuff about UBC and Vancouver just PM me and I'll see what I can do..... hopefully that helps a bit.

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 8/4/2005, 9:13 pm

by the way, SFU is not even IN vancouver... its in like, burnaby. its tiiiiiny. you'd have to bus for a while to get from vancouver to burnaby, or drive for a while. (30-50 minutes, i'm guessing). i don't recommend simon fraser at all if you are coming all the way from the east coast.

and yeah i just asked some people and i am positive that ubc is one of the top universities in canada, ranking high. just not as high as some other unis in the east coast.

i think i agree with ajk (sorry i dont know your name) that it depends on what you take. also, someone told me today that by learning at ubc, you will learn more 'practical' stuff, compared to learning at a school like harvard, which is a university more for research and the like.