<p>We discovered a great Pacific NW school recently and I thought I'd share our impressions here as the trip report section does not have this school available.</p>
<p>My son wants to stay in the Pacific NW, specifically on the western side of the Cascades, which eliminates schools like Gonzaga and WSU. He prefers an urban area, but even a medium city will do--as long as he has access to the amenities and transit systems in a city he's fine.</p>
<p>His list is pretty small: University of WA, University of OR, Willamette, and University of British Columbia. He prefers a big school but added Willamette because he knows students from his HS who speak highly of it.</p>
<p>We visited UBC last week and for those of you who want big schools in a vibrant, amazing city in the Pacific NW you should not overlook this amazing school.</p>
<p>We arrived in mid-morning and drove through a leafy and gorgeous neighborhood as we wound our way down Marine Drive out to campus. The campus is on a peninsula overlooking the Pacific Ocean and has a view of a mountain range which they told me the name of but now I can't recall. The campus sits on an enormous tract of land so there is a feeling of space and of separation from the city.</p>
<p>Once we arrived we found a multi level parking garage and parked there. The campus is well marked and we had no trouble finding the main campus area. Our overall first impression was that most of the destination buildings were 1960's or 1970's era-no ivy covered Gothic turrets here. The grounds were a bit worn and there seemed to be a lot of concrete. We found the admissions building and met up with our tour guides, both of whom were Americans. I think they try to match American guides with tours where there are several American students. Once you get away from central campus there are some beautiful buildings and pretty wooded grounds--the Chemistry building is the oldest on campus and is very pretty, and the Asian Language library is stunning. The campus Rose Garden is also quite beautiful.</p>
<p>The dorms are amazing--60% of the rooms are singles and there are quad-style apartments for upperclass students. Housing is scarce, but UBC has resisted the trend in the US of doubling or tripling. Instead they have a lottery and after the first year few undergrads live on campus. There is an exception though: international students can get on campus housing for all four years. We did not sample the food and it was not mentioned good or bad. </p>
<p>There are not as many amenities such as elaborate workout facilities. There is one area but there is a fee to join, just like a private health club. There are 40,000 students--I believe 25,000 are undergrads, so introductory classes are quite large, but all the students we talked to said that second level and above classes are small enough that they can have discussions. It is not an intimate environment, but more like a large state flagship university experience. </p>
<p>Interscholastic sports are not that big a deal in Canada, but intramurals are a huge deal at UBC. There are intramural leagues for almost every sport, and the campus has a lot of space for playing fields, etc. The university owns a lodge at Whistler/Blackcomb and skiing is heavily subsidized--free transport and a very inexpensive season pass available to students. </p>
<p>Students are heavily subsidized in BC--your student pass gets you free bus transportation and deep discounts/free admission to museums and cultural activities in Vancouver as well as that amazing Whistler discount.</p>
<p>Programs: The school is well known for its international relations, Asian studies, science and engineering programs. There is a huge Asian languages library in a gorgeous wooded corner of campus. There is a co-op program that allows students to finish in five years and alternate work and study each semester in third and fourth years. There are also exchange programs with universities all over the world and students are encouraged to spend at least a semester in a different country, in keeping with UBC's vision of itself as a truly "international" university.</p>
<p>The amazing part: Tuition is a bargain by US standards. This year's costs are around $22,000CA which is roughly $20K in US dollars at current exchange rates. Dorm fees are around $7,000CA. The even more amazing part: the admissions process is almost as stress-free as they can make it. They look at grades in what they call "senior level" academic subjects. They also look at SAT's but don't use them in admissions decisions. So if your son or daughter has a B+ or better average in college prep subjects junior year and the first half of senior year, he or she is competitive for admission. They do not look at grades 9 and 10--a boon for boys who may be a little late to understand grades matter. One significant different in admissions is that you apply to a specific faculty, or college. Because Canadian high school science requirements differ from US, my son found he didn't have the prerequisites to apply to engineering which was a disappointment until the admissions staffer told him that he could apply to Arts or Science, take the second chem class he was missing and then transfer. So the college-specific admission system does not appear to be a huge barrier. </p>
<p>All of this had me shaking my head at what limitations we put on ourselves by being so US centric. This amazing opportunity is sitting in our back yard--2 hours away--and we almost missed it. My son and I both really warmed to the school after the initial impression which was "wow, lotta concrete here!" The people we met: students and admissions staff, went out of their way to make us feel welcome and explain how everything works. </p>
<p>I came away really hoping my son chooses this school--the academics are basically the same as the other big schools he's considering, but his other choices would not give him the perspective of viewing the world from a perspective that differs from the US perspective.</p>
<p>It may also be the economy and the political environment right now, but Canada as a society seems to me less broken and more functional--their banks are healthy and things appear to be humming along.</p>