UBC: The Good, The Bad, and the Expensive

UBC is diverse and contains a student and staff population of open-minded, multi-cultured, and mature beings. I have grown up in schools that nurture such an environment, and so I value these characteristics in people and in education. Being smart isn’t just about numbers and grades, it’s about how you think, view others, your drive in life, your ability to solve problems and critically think about things outside of x + y, because real life is so much more than just that. My overall experience at UBC is that it is international, tolerant, diverse, aspirational, and challenging enough. It gives you a variety of clubs, friends, and courses to choose from to suit your best interests, has great career and mental health counseling, decent-paying jobs at the university, great academic/research/work facilities and social activities, and much more. It may big enormous, but it prepares you for the world which is much, much bigger.

The syllabus and curriculum is updated and well-reflective of the mindset and needs of a 21st-century student’s: open-mindedness, problem-solving, critical thinking, strategic, etc. UBC and its professors challenge you to challenge them- dig deep and debate (unless specified otherwise). Not to mention, UBC has amazing programs and opportunities for research/work experience. The university itself has jobs that pay and give you valuable academic experience and leadership qualities, such as the newsletter club, as well CO-OP programs, which I highly recommend as they can secure you a full-time position at a decent company even before you graduate, which happened to my older brother when he did a great job at his CO-OP position for a start-up in Vancouver, in computer science.

SAT: 1210/1600. I did not send my SAT score to UBC as IB exams are enough for them. University of British Columbia BA Sociology 3.8 GPA IB - 37/45 (12th) MYP - 55/56 (10th) Documents required for a UBC application include the college application, several short essays, and 11th-12th grade transcripts, although the application requirements may differ based on the high school curriculum, as I did IB. Interview Round: I did not have any interview with UBC. I took the SAT, however, I did not send this to UBC, as it was not needed for me, possibly because the IB is enough for them and/or because of Canadian universities requirements.

UBC has a great reputation for getting their students into decent to large companies: my brother, who works in computer science, has been making over C$120,000 a year since the age of 24/25. They have great career counseling to help you clarify what you want to become, too. 81% of graduate students from UBC get employed, and 72% of the students have partnerships with employers. About 50% of UBC’s engineering students who participate in CO-OP work for big-name companies like Tesla and Intel, and many are known to create innovative start-ups that tend to work out. I don’t know much about the placement process yet, as I’m a second-year student right now, but I will be doing CO-OP for HR which will help me get placed in a good company.

I plan on doing a CO-OP in HR in my third year, I have not done any yet.

For 5 courses, plus other university fees, it comes to about almost C$23,000 (Canadian dollars) per semester. The fees for dorms, cafeteria use, gym membership (optional), etc. are not included here.

Yes, I received the OIS (Outstanding International Student) scholarship for C$10,000 for my first year. The application process for the scholarship, if I remember correctly, is the normal college application but with an earlier deadline, and with added questions pertaining to your family’s financial status/capabilities.

The faculty to student ratio is good, with enough professors to offer students a variety of perspectives on different topics (UBC’s population is huge). In my experience, my professors have been humorous, very intelligent and mature, and understanding and diplomatic (unless you are truly a hard student and person to work with). They always encourage questions, even “dumb” ones and do not judge you, and always make themselves available for students during their office hours. They feel like friends to you, actually. Of course, every college has professors that are not like this, but all mine have been lovely, so far. Dr. Glanville of ASTU 100 is especially a sweetheart who understood my shyness and anxiety to speak in class, and with that, I gradually opened up and spoke more confidently, impressing her with my thoughts.

UBC is known for its campus: the facilities, events, clubs, location, etc. The campus is a town itself, and is absolutely beautiful. It has a beach (Wreck Beach) just 400 steps below which sounds like a lot, but isn’t when you descend, but maybe, when you ascend. It has various indoor and outdoor gym facilities, although the membership fee may not be attractive for some students, it has rose gardens, core buildings for student collaboration and social activity, the CALENDAR (an organization or UBC club that hosts parties and events for all sorts of celebrations), it celebrates diverse festivals from unique cultures, including Diwali and Holi (and everyone is eager to join in), as well as cafes and restaurants in and around the campus buildings, including UBC’s own club and pub inside one of the buildings (known as the NEST).

UBC has a variety of dorms, some with great community but lesser-quality facilities, and others with the reverse. They have dorms that you can share with others, I believe up to 4 or even 6 people, but each person in one room (the cheapest, which also tend to have a living room and a kitchen area so you don’t have to use the cafeteria if you would rather save up and cook), and double and single rooms (most expensive). The price also depends on the dorm you get into. If you get into dorms, you can expect to pay C$900-1400 per month, depending on your dorm’s qualities/closeness to facilities and newness, as well as type (shared or single). You also have to pay a separate fee for the dorm’s cafeteria, which is about C$3000-4000 per semester.