<p>Numerous lists have UBC ranked comfortably in the top 50 Universities in the world, some ranking the canadian college as high as 27th(Newsweek). I was looking to apply there and was astounded to learn of this supposed prestige, so is it really that good?</p>
<p>I love the setting, the price is right, and if British Columbia is truly a top tier school, why don’t more American students try to go there if it outranks so many respected schools in the US?</p>
<p>UBC is a great choice if you are interested in attending classes with lots of international students in an amazing city. Overall, I see UBC as comparable to a school such as University of Washington. (I would tend to recommend UBC over UW which has gone downhill due to draconian cuts in state support during the past five years). </p>
<p>With that said, my sense is that graduate education is stronger than undergraduate education at UBC, as faculty are very invested in their research agendas. At the undergraduate level many classes are large and there are a lot of commuter students, meaning that city life is often more interesting than campus life. UBC is a good choice if you know what you want to study since you will apply to a specific program . UBC students are mature and often need to navigate the institution without a lot of hand holding. Some students fall through the cracks. (For students looking for more support check out University of Victoria.) However, for smart, self-directed learners UBC is a great place. One perk for U.S. students is that the drinking age is 19. For some reason this seems to result in more responsible drinking habits than at schools to the south.</p>
<p>Yes, it is. But instead of looking at the overall ranking, you should also look at the ranking of the faculty you want to go in to, for example, UBC is only ranked 51 internationally for the faculty of arts & humanities. But despite that, UBC is a very good school.</p>