I am an American citizen currently not residing in the US, and I just got accepted to UBC on a small scholarship and Colorado College. Both are at the top of my list and both are completely different, and based on what I want to pursue in the future, I’m really conflicted as to which one I should go to.
I’m planning on majoring in physics or a combination of sciences and go on to grad school either in the US or Canada, and for that reason I’m leaning towards UBC which has a lot more resources for research and better programs oriented towards the sciences. But the large class sizes are what’s putting me off, and I like Colorado’s more intimate classes and easier communication with professors. I prefer the UBC campus largely to the Colorado campus, and its price as well (since I predict that to be an issue in the future), but I’m afraid that I might face some problems finding employment in Canada without a citizenship or going to grad school in the US without doing undergrad in the US as well. Below is a handy dandy pros-cons table I made:
Colorado
Pros
Small classes
You get time with professors
You can make friends easily
Lots of outdoor nature activities
You can take more variety of classes
holistic
Can get into US grad school easily - better known in US
3-2 programs with other unis
Cons
Surrounding area
$$$
Very closed (insulated)
Only BA degree
Only engineering option for co-op program
UBC
Pros
Surrounding area
Lots of resources and research opportunities
More diverse
More to do on campus and outside
City life
More people
Can stay in Canada in grad school or go back to US
Cheaper
Better living quality
Prettier campus
Science programme
Don’t need to take Arts
Better known around the world
Co-op internships
Cons
Hard to find job after graduation, need a long time to become one with the Canadian
Very big, classes are really big so limited personal engagement with professors
Not that much freedom in choosing courses
Don’t have experience writing
Classes hard to get in
If any of you have any advice, please feel free to offer some! I don’t really care about rankings or any of that, I know they’re only arbitrary anyway since I’m probably going to grad school. Sorry for the long post!
I would reach out to someone in the Colorado College physics department (you can email to try to schedule a phone conversation) to discuss how the block program affects physics students, and to discuss undergrad research opportunities. You will need the latter to be a competitive candidate for good grad schools. I’d be honest during your conversation: tell them you’re weighing CC against UBC and your decision hinges on these two issues. A physics professor isn’t going to try to sway you in a direction that’s not good for you. And if you do end up gong to CC, you already have a helpful contact in the department. Good luck: two good – albeit as you say, very different - choices.
Your assumption that it will be harder to get into US grad school from UBC is off. If you find good research opportunities and end up with good recs and a strong GPA, UBC will carry enough weight for US grad schools. If anything, I’d say grad schools – especially the top ones for physics – would question your preparation at CC, being a LAC with more limited course offerings, less focus on research, and an unusual block plan. If CC only offers a BA, that in itself looks suspect to a top physics grad department; it has “breadth” written all over it, when you want more depth to look attractive.
@Dunboyne, A LOT. I’d say ubc costs about 2/3 of cc. but I think I’m far more attracted to the small class sizes of a liberal arts college and the fact that they don’t focus on graduate level research means that undergrads have all the opportunities and they can also form tighter bonds with the faculty. @katliamom, I’m yet to do that since I’m in a completely different time zone to them, but from what I’ve heard as well it’s hard to do the block plan with the sciences and math, but it’s do-able, and I really like the plan and am ready to accept that challenge.
how do you all think cc matches up to reed and oberlin? I’ve applied to those and am yet to hear results, but am less geared towards them in terms of learning environment.
Both Reed and Oberlin are respected LACs. Oberlin in particular is known for its music, theater and arts.Reed is a little bit of a “hippy” school - very liberal, lots of marijuana, etc. - but also known for good academics and smart students.