Need help deciding... King's or UBC??

Student Lounge International Students
1

Hey guys, I’m having trouble choosing between KCL and UBC in Canada.

I’m applying for an undergraduate Business and Management course, and Commerce at undergrad at Sauder, UBC.

I’ve got my conditional UCAS offer from King’s, and they would like 35/45 at the IB with 7,7,6 at HL. This is achievable for me, but the 7,7,6 may be a slight problem.

On the other hand, I have been offered an unconditional UBC offer, also with a scholarship of $64,000 CAD, or circa. $48,000 USD (dont mean to toot my own horn, just need help).

I quite like the idea of a city university like King’s, and plus my parents have contacts there in finance, so it may be easier for me to land internships.

That being said, the main thing I care about is employability.
Another thing I consider is that I live in Dubai, and the UK is much, much closer than Canada.
The last thing that interested me is that if I study in Canada, I could get a Canadian passport much easier, and ditch this stupid, useless Indian passport I have.

Given that money is not a problem, i.e. I don’t care what fees I pay, I want the best return on investment, what would you guys recommend? I haven’t read a lot about UBC, but I know British Columbia is a gorgeous place.

I’m at a real tight junction now, the scholarship and the look of UBC is all very very nice, however I have heard the employability of King’s undergraduates is much more.

Any food for thought would be appreciated, thanks so much.

2

I can’t comment on KCL. I know nothing about it. The fact that the offer is conditional on something that might not happen is however worrisome (or would be if I were involved).

I have a lot of relatives who went to UBC, and know a fair amount about it. My relatives are all very positive about the university. It is a great university, and is generally ranked 3rd in Canada for most subjects (behind McGill and Toronto both of which are also great universities, and ahead of many other very strong universities in Canada). Your scholarship at UBC is amazing. I was not aware that any offer this good went out to international students.

UBC is essentially on the western edge of Vancouver. The ocean (or inlet’s from the ocean) is on three sides of Campus, Vancouver on the other side of campus. Thus it is not really right in the city, but is very close. There is excellent bus service from UBC to downtown Vancouver (and its an easy drive). UBC was granted a rather large chunk of land before Vancouver grew up around it, so that you can stand on the edge of the university, and in some locations if you look west you see a forest (which is part of the UBC campus), and if you just turn around and look east you are in the middle of a city. It is one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, surrounded by ocean and (at low tide) a sandy beach, in a great city, with mountains quite close by (big ones and bigger ones). It rains a LOT in the winter (probably similar to the UK in that regard) but rarely snows, and the rest of the year is beautiful.

Housing in Vancouver is VERY expensive. However, compared to London England, and coming from Dubai, it has probably pretty much what you would consider as normal prices. Vancouver is significantly smaller than London England (but so are most cities). Canada is very big, and Vancouver is almost as far away from Europe as you can get and still be in Canada.

You will see a fair amount of diversity at UBC, particularly students of Asian and European ancestry.

Academically all that I can say is that UBC is very strong in a wide range of subjects, and has a well deserved strong reputation throughout at least North America (including the US).

You apparently have noticed that getting a 4 year degree in Canada allows you to apply for and get a 3 year work permit. One nice thing about this is that the permit comes with your degree and NOT with your job. This means that if you hate your first job you have time to get a second one. If this works out there is still time for your employer to help you get a permanent resident visa. After some number of years this would allow you to get Canadian citizenship. This is not a quick process at all, but is at least feasible.

3

You’ll be very employable in the US and Canada with a UBC degree. You can take advantage of your parents contacts in London as well.

You are right to be concerned about the 7,7,6 requirement for King’s. That’s a really high bar. If you can’t make up your mind or you decide in favor of King’s, I’d suggest depositing at UBC, whether or not you deposit at King’s, in case you don’t make those grades. You wouldn’t want to be left with no place to go.

4

Hi there:) I lived in Vancouver for many years and I understand that Sauder had been very difficult to get in and that the scholarship is appealing. However, the employment may not be very optimistic, which is why I chose UCLA over Sauder. It is so difficult to find a job after Sauder that grants you a good living in Vancouver.

5

I’d choose UBC. It’s at least as good as King’s, you don’t have the added pressure of a very high conditional offer, and you’ll be very employable. Added bonus, you won’t have to deal with the Brexit turmoil.