OT: Calling All SFU/UBC Students

[shortshorts]

I figured all I would do as a pharmacist is put pills in a bottle, lol. It's just frustrating since all my friends and family know what they want to be (for now).

You think pharmacists get paid boatloads of money to put pills in a bottle?

I can almost guarantee you that at least 75% of your friends, in the next 3 years, will either be "lost what they want to do in the future" or say "I hate this faculty".

Highschool does a poor job of explaining what University is about.

 

[Pip]

You think pharmacists get paid boatloads of money to put pills in a bottle?

I can almost guarantee you that at least 75% of your friends, in the next 3 years, will either be "lost what they want to do in the future" or say "I hate this faculty".

Highschool does a poor job of explaining what University is about.

Last year because of the teacher strike (or job action or whatever), there was very little help by my school anyways. No showing us how to apply, no telling us what to expect and such. We had a 15 minute presentation by each university and that was basically it. I set up multiple meetings with my counceller and had to go around to each of my teachers to get marks to submit (which was later not really needed) and it just made the process even more difficult. This year, I'm seeing my sister get so much more instruction by her high school, but it still isnt enough if I wasnt there to provide help (both on the application/what you need to get in and on what to do/expect once you do get in)

I already know someone that wants out of UBC engineering because of a lack of interest which is hurting his grades, and mostly everyone else who just has a few ideas of what they want to do.

 

[Phrazer]

Also if you choose Accounting I would also consider UVIC. My two friends in the Accounting program here just landed big 4 jobs. I don't know a lot about it but I know accounting is the main focus for business faculty here at UVIC. And for the Unviersity in general I can't recommend it enough. I have done a tour of universities starting at UBC, then VIU now UVIC. And it is by far my favourite, you get the best of both worlds here with much smaller class sizes compared to UBC/SFU, and the prospect of living in Victoria draws in top of the line profs. Its fantastic.

 

[BoHorvat53]

Also if you choose Accounting I would also consider UVIC. My two friends in the Accounting program here just landed big 4 jobs. I don't know a lot about it but I know accounting is the main focus for business faculty here at UVIC. And for the Unviersity in general I can't recommend it enough. I have done a tour of universities starting at UBC, then VIU now UVIC. And it is by far my favourite, you get the best of both worlds here with much smaller class sizes compared to UBC/SFU, and the prospect of living in Victoria draws in top of the line profs. Its fantastic.

One of my siblings went to SFU for accounting then transferred to UBC. I'll ask for sure.

Last year because of the teacher strike (or job action or whatever), there was very little help by my school anyways. No showing us how to apply, no telling us what to expect and such. We had a 15 minute presentation by each university and that was basically it. I set up multiple meetings with my counceller and had to go around to each of my teachers to get marks to submit (which was later not really needed) and it just made the process even more difficult. This year, I'm seeing my sister get so much more instruction by her high school, but it still isnt enough if I wasnt there to provide help (both on the application/what you need to get in and on what to do/expect once you do get in)

I already know someone that wants out of UBC engineering because of a lack of interest which is hurting his grades, and mostly everyone else who just has a few ideas of what they want to do.

This, except it's the same this year. We weren't told how to apply or what class is like.

We had representatives come to my school for 20 minutes, and we only got to listen for 20 minutes from 2 schools.

Options were, SFU, BCIT, Langara, Kwatlen, VIU, Cap, Douglas, UVIC and some military school. UBC didn't even come. I choose BCIT/SFU and really, the presentations sucked. SFU didn't tell us anything about their school, they just asked if we were sfu and tried to find out your personality. The BCIT was decent. They just focused on construction stuff. Roofing/plumbing etc. Their way to persuade was to talk about all their co-op programs so we'll have jobs right after getting a diploma.

 

[Taelin]

This is not what I am talking about. I don't go out to parties and I don't drink. I am talking about a university experience and the atmosphere of a college campus. I really noticed this after my recent trip to Boston. Toured a couple colleges there this summer, SFU paled in comparison.

SFU is completely a commuter school, IMO. Once you get up there, you wonder when you can leave. I rarely willingly stayed after class, always tried to take the first bus down unless I had club activities or networking sessions to partake in. There is no sense of belonging or enjoyment being up there past your class time.

I'm talking about waking up in the morning and not wanting to go to that campus. This was not the feeling I wanted when i envisioned my Bachelors there.

I went to SFU for the Accounting program which is good, but still isn't held by the big 4 or national 6 in the same regard to UBC. Still every CA recruit, UBC and DAP hires continue to outnumber SFU, to put that in perspective. So don't think I chose schools based on frat parties. I couldnt care less.

SFU pub? You go there for bad and terribly slow service and mediocre food. Never had a good meal there and I've been there at least a dozen times.

Really? I heard that Beedie is more well known, at least back home in Asia.

 

[SpecialK139]

This is not what I am talking about. I don't go out to parties and I don't drink. I am talking about a university experience and the atmosphere of a college campus. I really noticed this after my recent trip to Boston. Toured a couple colleges there this summer, SFU paled in comparison.

SFU is completely a commuter school, IMO. Once you get up there, you wonder when you can leave. I rarely willingly stayed after class, always tried to take the first bus down unless I had club activities or networking sessions to partake in. There is no sense of belonging or enjoyment being up there past your class time.

I wouldn't completely disagree, but at the same time I'm personally not as worried about the 'atmosphere' of the school as I am about the degree I'm getting. SFU's Kinesiology program is top notch (which is why I stayed there) and for me the main concern is getting a degree and a good GPA in that while working a lot during the week. For me the fact that it's a 'commuter campus' doesn't really matter under these circumstances, it's really all about what you want out of your time in school I suppose...

I'm talking about waking up in the morning and not wanting to go to that campus. This was not the feeling I wanted when i envisioned my Bachelors there.

I lived up there for a year and I don't really have that feeling. It's damned cold sometimes but it doesn't really inspire a feeling of dread... I haven't really met anyone there who feels that way either but to each their own

I went to SFU for the Accounting program which is good, but still isn't held by the big 4 or national 6 in the same regard to UBC. Still every CA recruit, UBC and DAP hires continue to outnumber SFU, to put that in perspective. So don't think I chose schools based on frat parties. I couldnt care less.

I can't really argue this because I simply don't know the statistics behind it. Definitely worth researching for the OP if you intend to do accounting. I know lots of people in business though and they don't seem to worried about finding jobs... our co-op is pretty damned good

SFU pub? You go there for bad and terribly slow service and mediocre food. Never had a good meal there and I've been there at least a dozen times.

No argument here but for everybody coming in from different areas it's a convenient place to meet up. Wednesday nights are basically the only time I go up there ($11-12 pitchers of beer and cheap wings). It's a great place to hang out with SFU students but as far as pubs go yeah it's pretty mediocre. I'm trying to wean my friends off of them and onto the marginally better Mountain Shadow pub but it's an uphill battle :

 

[shortshorts]

Last year because of the teacher strike (or job action or whatever), there was very little help by my school anyways. No showing us how to apply, no telling us what to expect and such. We had a 15 minute presentation by each university and that was basically it. I set up multiple meetings with my counceller and had to go around to each of my teachers to get marks to submit (which was later not really needed) and it just made the process even more difficult. This year, I'm seeing my sister get so much more instruction by her high school, but it still isnt enough if I wasnt there to provide help (both on the application/what you need to get in and on what to do/expect once you do get in)

I already know someone that wants out of UBC engineering because of a lack of interest which is hurting his grades, and mostly everyone else who just has a few ideas of what they want to do.

This, except it's the same this year. We weren't told how to apply or what class is like.

We had representatives come to my school for 20 minutes, and we only got to listen for 20 minutes from 2 schools.

Options were, SFU, BCIT, Langara, Kwatlen, VIU, Cap, Douglas, UVIC and some military school. UBC didn't even come. I choose BCIT/SFU and really, the presentations sucked. SFU didn't tell us anything about their school, they just asked if we were sfu and tried to find out your personality. The BCIT was decent. They just focused on construction stuff. Roofing/plumbing etc. Their way to persuade was to talk about all their co-op programs so we'll have jobs right after getting a diploma.

This is the same for everybody. The highschool system does a very poor job of informing about the university system, strike or not. They essentially get you the grades you need, and shove you out of their school. You'll also have to realize once you get to university, you'll need to be resourceful and teach things to yourself.

Really? I heard that Beedie is more well known, at least back home in Asia.

Beedie has an extremely strong Asian connection (dual degree program). However, Sauder is still more renowned and respected in NA.

 

[Taelin]

This is the same for everybody. The highschool system does a very poor job of informing about the university system, strike or not. They essentially get you the grades you need, and shove you out of their school. You'll also have to realize once you get to university, you'll need to be resourceful and teach things to yourself.

That's what I found in my first year of university; it's a completely different ball game! No longer were the days I could do nothing and still end up with a decent grade...

Beedie has an extremely strong Asian connection (dual degree program). However, Sauder is still more renowned and respected in NA.

Make sense then! Still don't like Sauder people though

 

[Auger]

It's all dependent. For example, UBC puts a lot of weight into your English grade and your supplemental submission.

I got into UBC Engineering with an 88, however I didn't get accepted until they reviewed my supplemental and got clarification on my English mark. At the point of application my English mark was 72 (my English teacher had something against me, I swear ). However, I got an 94 on the English provincial. I also had my supplemental edited multiple times by various sources (teachers, advisors, etc). My friends didn't get accepted into UBC despite having 95%+ averages. His English was only at an 84, though, UofT accepted him.

When did you apply for UBC? I completed my undergrad a few years ago and engineering didn't have a supplemental application as far as I can recall.

 

[Taelin]

When did you apply for UBC? I completed my undergrad a few years ago and engineering didn't have a supplemental application as far as I can recall.

It's a recent addition; started I think...3 years ago.

 

[Auger]

Last month, I decided to be a pharmacist because it involved Chemistry (science I'm most interested in) and because I can earn big money.

To be honest, I don't know what I want to be yet. Being a pharmacist is no walk in the park, but I don't really want to burn a year not knowing what to do and paying for classes that I won't need to take (since I don't even know what profession I want to be)..

If you want to get into Pharmacy after 1st year, you're gonna need an 83% at UBC. You should temper your expectations because Science is by far the most competitive faculty at UBC. You're competing against pretty much everyone for a spot in medical school and to a lesser extent pharmacy. Not to mention that half the available spots go to students who already have degrees.

 

[shortshorts]

When did you apply for UBC? I completed my undergrad a few years ago and engineering didn't have a supplemental application as far as I can recall.

2011.

Supplemental applications are being phased in for all faculties at UBC.

 

[Duodenum]

I figured all I would do as a pharmacist is put pills in a bottle, lol. It's just frustrating since all my friends and family know what they want to be (for now).

If you don't even know what a pharmacist does, I'd advise against applying. Pharmacists are the medication management specialists. They are there to ensure that the medication you are taking is safely and properly used. Furthermore, they crosscheck all your meds to make sure none of them interact with each other, along with checking to see if the doctor even prescribed the correct drug + amount (doctors have quite limited knowledge of drugs). They diagnose in a limited sense when patients come in looking for non-prescription medication (ie. allergies, bug bites, cold/flus, etc.). They are also able to give out Schedule 2 drugs without a prescription (sleep aids, products containing codeine, Plan B, etc).
Furthermore, the profession is changing. UBC should be moving to a Doctor of Pharmacy program (PharmD) within 4-5 years. Changes are being actively pursued to get pharmacists further away from checking prescriptions (they have regulated pharm techs coming out to do that now) and more towards prescribing, diagnosing, and counselling.

 

[Hank4Hart]

4th year science student at UBC weighing in here.

One thing no one has brought up is that SFU allows retakes, but UBC does not. This is quite crucial in the long run if you end up flunking your first year (many people do). I knew this heading into UBC and boy do I wish I had the opportunity to retake a few of my courses from 3 years ago.

Do both of these schools offer these programs?
-Chemistry (Bachelor's of Science or PHD) - I'm pretty sure this is a yes.
-Pharmacy
-Accounting (I need an opinion here. My family members went into this field, but took Accounting 11 and 12. Will I be totally lost if I get admitted since I didn't?)

UBC has all of these programs, but none are easy to get into. Its gotten very competitive so you better be have at least an 80 to 85 average in UBC undergrad if you want to get into these programs. Its going to be a tough and treacherous journey for sure.

University transfer is not the way to go.

Grass is always greener on the other side... I personally think its better to do the first year or two at another college before transferring to UBC. First year at UBC can be very overwhelming coming from HS. Not many people can adjust to the university life that fast. At the end of the day, their grades suffer because 1. they don't know how to study for university exams, 2. they don't manage their time well. I know many students/friends who basically dug themselves a massive hole in first year and some of them never recovered, despite being very smart and hardworking students. If you go into a place like Douglas or Langara for the first year or two, you have a more gradual transition period and you will less likely dig yourself that same hole. Everyone is at a different stage in terms of maturity and readiness for university, so both routes can be good or bad depending on the type of student you are.

UBC does offer all the programs you mentioned. For clarification, Pharmacy only starts in your second year which means you theoretically could get in as an Arts student, take the pre-requisite courses then apply for the program.

http://www.pharmacy.ubc.ca/programs/degree-programs/BscP/academic-admission-requirements

Yes, but I do not recommend the route of going in as an Arts student. You'd be putting in a lot of extra tuition money and time just to cover the 7 or 8 prerequisite courses with labs. We are talking about a full year of first year science as the prerequisites, its not exactly easy to fit it all into your elective schedule if you take another program.

Also, all UBC pharm looks at for your admission averages are your marks from first year science courses, so basically none of those arts grades will help whatsoever in your application.

I did work experience at a pharmacy once, and one of the pharmacists was a graduate of UBC pharmacy. She said you could technically get in during your second year, but most people don't get accepted until after they get their first degree (usually a BSc).

Not true anymore, I know many many people who went straight into pharmacy in 2nd or 3rd year. Its all a matter of preferences, you are not at a disadvantage if you applied early

I don't know much about pharmacy or accounting at either school but if you are interested in Chemistry UBC is definitely the way to go, especially if you plan on doing graduate school eventually.

UBC chemistry is a killer program that has some of the lowest averages in the school. If you go into UBC chemistry you better be damn sure that this is what you want to do in the future, because your grades will pulled down so much that you might not have a chance to switch into any other post-undergrad programs afterwards (ie. Dental/Med/Grad School).

If you are deciding to go into sciences, realize that an undergraduate in science is almost useless. So whether or not you get a BSc at UBC or SFU is irrelevant. What's relevant is you have an extremely high GPA in university to apply to a graduate program somewhere.

Absolutely agree 100%. I learnt from my application process this year that no one cares if you were in a harder major (ie. Biochem/Microbi/Chem) as opposed to an easier major (ie. Gen Sci/Bio). All that matters is your grades, particularly in the prerequisite courses. Theres zero reason for you to take a harder major, which will require you to take harder courses, taking away time that you can spend on your prerequisite courses.

People say pick courses based on your interest and not marks, I disagree with that because if your ultimate goal was aimed at a specific program, it makes no sense to take undergrad courses that interest you if they end up hurting your chances at the ultimate goal.

Go to UBC then. SFU has a crazy hard marking scheme. 90% would net you an A+ at UBC, but only an A at SFU.

SFU uses a 4.33 GPA system, UBC uses a 4.0 GPA system, when you convert them they end up the same. A 90 is a 90.

All transcript reflect the average of the class to your grade. I don't think it makes a huge difference.

Not for some programs where you are applying via the internet and you dont have to enter course averages

If you're going to apply to Pharmacy school, be sure to brush up on your extracurriculars; Pharmacy admission is highly competitive. Be ready to take the PCATs, and several prerequisites and to go through an interview process (if your grades and non-academics are good enough).

Absolutely, start volunteering at a pharmacy location, most places are pretty good with letting students shadow a bit.

An 83% average should make you a decent candidate for the sciences. I didn't read the thread but I hope your English 12 and 11 marks are up to par. I'm not sure if they look at the school or the strength of your courses but I had an 84% average coming out of high school but my courseload was mainly AP courses (accepted to both UBC and SFU).

UBC admission average overall last year was 89.1, I doubt 83 or 74 will do for any faculty.

I was hoping to be a pharmacist. That's why I chose to dive into Chemistry.

Woah, is it $75 just to submit the Supplemental? Then the $60 application?

Lol, wait till you are done your undergrad, I spent a grand on my med school app's altogether this year

1) SFU (actually most university) info pages are usually a bunch of crap. Theoretically, with the degree that I have, I could work in a variety of fields, but the chances of me actually being hired are fairly nil compared to the number of more suited candidates. Similarly, being a chemist may "prepare" you for Pharmacy (in that you'll be more strongly suited for the medicinal chemistry that everyone seems to dread in Pharmacy) but your chances of getting are fairly slim due to the lower average in Chemistry.

For prerequisite and stuff though make sure you check the website, there are some info that are better found by asking people, but some that are black and white its best to check website.

From past experience I would not recommend going straight to UBC unless you are absolutely positive in the field you want to be in. A lot of people think you need to go to the same University from start to finish but this isn't the case at all. If you make a choice for a direction and you falter, it can really hurt your chances of reaching your eventual goals. Personally I did really well in high school and I chose UBC Engineering through external pressures I was getting, but I really had no idea what I wanted to do. After a month or so I began to slide in my classes for multiple reasons, but the primary one being I had very little interest in the subject material, and it is much more difficult to motivate yourself though the workload with all of the other University distractions that are out there if you don't love what you are studying.

Very true, I switched majors twice before I ended up in what I wanted. In hindsight I would have taken a year off before entering UBC.

Make sense then! Still don't like Sauder people though

Sauderites have this arrogance to them. They think they are better than the rest of UBC, lol

 

[Pip]

This is the same for everybody. The highschool system does a very poor job of informing about the university system, strike or not. They essentially get you the grades you need, and shove you out of their school. You'll also have to realize once you get to university, you'll need to be resourceful and teach things to yourself.



Beedie has an extremely strong Asian connection (dual degree program). However, Sauder is still more renowned and respected in NA.

honestly, if I didn't consistently set up appointments with the councillor at my school and I would strongly recommend to any high school seniors going and seeing your councillor (even if you're confident) because without help from my councillor I would of struggled through the entire process

 

[thefeebster]

honestly, if I didn't consistently set up appointments with the councillor at my school and I would strongly recommend to any high school seniors going and seeing your councillor (even if you're confident) because without help from my councillor I would of struggled through the entire process

Nice to see things never change. Not!

This is an utter disappointment in the Highschool system. You move your students along in school, some do really well and then you provide half-assed guidance to them when they are making possibly their most important decision in the next decade of their lives. Its a shame.

My "councillor" was also our gym teacher who had a spare block so he would take over our "career development class". And this was who I was to take advice from! He gave me a questionnaire helping you decide what you wanted to do when you grow up and told me I could apply to whatever school I wanted. That was the end of it. Didn't advise me on which programs were better, didn't tell me to take campus tours, excluded everything nationally in our discussions. It was as if they were pushing us to Malaspina (or now called VIU) or they generally had no interest in helping us get the best post secondary education.

Had I known what my options really were, I'd have chosen differently. In the Spring (well after i graduated of course), I visited UofT, Ryerson, McGill, Boston College, Harvard, and MIT. Even though i wouldn't have gotten in to half of those places, I think i realized i really missed out on something in my 4 years. All I can suggest is try to study your options as much as you can, get as many opinions as you can, tour the ones you are really interested in and make a decision based on what you liked.

 

[dittohead]

UBC chemistry is a killer program that has some of the lowest averages in the school. If you go into UBC chemistry you better be damn sure that this is what you want to do in the future, because your grades will pulled down so much that you might not have a chance to switch into any other post-undergrad programs afterwards (ie. Dental/Med/Grad School).

I would agree that UBC chemistry should only be for those wanting to go into chemistry or specifically want to use the chemistry degree to get into something else like business or law (intellectual property etc). As a platform for medical school for instance, its one of the hardest ways to go.

But if chemistry is what you like and see yourself going into then UBC is the way to go.

 

[BoHorvat53]

Thanks for the reply guys, I joined a few clubs and such. I'll probably try some experimenting before I decide.

 

[dittohead]

Best of luck.

 

[Respect Your Edler]

For the record, I like the Burnaby mountain campus. IMO it has improved a lot in the last few years.

 

[BoHorvat53]

Just a question, is the supplemental required for everyone? I filled out a personal profile section. List jobs/volunteer/sports/clubs/essay answers about myself, but once I went to the SSC, it turns out that wasn't the supplemental.

I applied for Science and Arts. Thanks!

Edit: It doesn't give me an option to write one, either.

 

[Pip]

Today was my first day taking public transit to Sfu burnaby (from Langley)

I hope it gets easier

 

[Slot 3]

For the record, I like the Burnaby mountain campus. IMO it has improved a lot in the last few years.

Nope. Recent graduate here. Aside from Blusson and Saywell (finally, some glass!), the entirety of SFU is made of drab and depressing concrete. Brutalism, while in theory outstanding, does not make a good university setting.

Honestly, the best SFU campus has to be the Surrey branch. Lots of glass. Less of a commuter school feeling. And, to top it all off, there's a mall underneath the school for food - the food vendors at Burnaby are all either very boring, or very over-priced.

 

[Pip]

Nope. Recent graduate here. Aside from Blusson and Saywell (finally, some glass!), the entirety of SFU is made of drab and depressing concrete. Brutalism, while in theory outstanding, does not make a good university setting.

Honestly, the best SFU campus has to be the Surrey branch. Lots of glass. Less of a commuter school feeling. And, to top it all off, there's a mall underneath the school for food - the food vendors at Burnaby are all either very boring, or very over-priced.

I wholeheartedly agree with this, Surrey is a much more pleasent campus to be at imo

 

[luongo321]

Also if you choose Accounting I would also consider UVIC. My two friends in the Accounting program here just landed big 4 jobs. I don't know a lot about it but I know accounting is the main focus for business faculty here at UVIC. And for the Unviersity in general I can't recommend it enough. I have done a tour of universities starting at UBC, then VIU now UVIC. And it is by far my favourite, you get the best of both worlds here with much smaller class sizes compared to UBC/SFU, and the prospect of living in Victoria draws in top of the line profs. Its fantastic.

I don't know why small class sizes are always brought up as a positive. I ****ing hate them. How am I supposed to nap/skip class to watch canucks games or play basketball?

For any basic first year science stuff, I recommend the khanacademy.org videos. He is so much better than pretty much any professor I've ever had.