Youthink PS is Western Canada¹s post secondary resource guide for high school students planning on attending university, college or other Canadian post secondary institutions and is distributed to 400 high schools across BC and Alberta.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/521445
Spring 2015 > youthink pS > 5 youthink.ca Picking Your School Which local university is right for you? University of British Columbia If you're currently in the middle of choosing between universities, Andrew Arida, associate registrar, student recruitment & undergradu- ate admissions for the University of British Columbia, has some advice: "What you do is more important than where you go." That being said, he continues, "where you go determines your opportunities to do things. University is about bettering yourself, so elements such as location, size and reputa- tion must be considered as well as academic programs." In this regard, UBC has it all in abundance. With 55,000 students it's the biggest university in the province, and it consistently appears in the top 40 international rankings for academic excellence (with life, natural and physical sci- ences frequently ranked first nationally). UBC has 12 faculties in Vancouver and seven at its Okanagan campus. Vancouver is also home to two academic colleges: Interdis- ciplinary Studies and Health Disciplines, while Okanagan has a College of Graduate Studies. The Sauder School of Business is UBC's Fac- ulty of Commerce and Business Administra- tion, and in December of 2012 a new school, UBC Vancouver School of Economics, opened its doors. Simon Fraser University If all of that doesn't strike you as a fit, perhaps you'll be more attracted to the iconoclasm of Simon Fraser University. Bing Lee, direc- tor, student recruitment and transition for the institution, points out that while his campus offers many of the traditional programs found in most Canadian research universities, "we also offer more innovative programs, an exam- ple being our new Bachelor of Environment degree." This degree gives graduates a good scientific understanding of environmental pro- cesses and the social, political and institutional frameworks in which issues are considered. Moreover, SFU has several degree pro- grams (such as Communication, Interactive Art and Design, Mechatronics, and Software Systems) that are not widely available at other institutions. Lee says students who seek out SFU are most interested in "our flexible, interdisciplin- ary academic approach in which they can create their own degree program. For example, stu- dents with an interest in life sciences and busi- ness can do a joint major in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry and Business Administration." University of Victoria If you're in the market for higher learning in a less hectic milieu, you can't do better than the University of Victoria. With 19,000 students, UVic has all the amenities of its larger com- petitors but is small enough to provide a more personalized approach to teaching. It's a des- tination university, with 76 per cent of under- graduates coming from outside Greater Vic- toria, and it guarantees a place in on-campus residence for all first-year students. UVic's focus on environmental research is one of its distinguishing characteristics; particular areas of strength include oceans and climate, matter and energy, society and health, global change and sustainability, and indigenous and cultural studies. World-leading University of British Columbia Simon Fraser University University of Victoria Continued on page 7