<p>I'm a sophomore at an U.S. community college right now and I want to get my Bachelor's degree from a Canadian university and hopefully go to grad school in Canada as well.</p>
<p>I looked at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., and I have also looked at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta.</p>
<p>I have contacted Admissions at both schools and I have received answers to my questions from the U of Alberta already. It seems like I would have a shot of getting in.</p>
<p>I'm majoring in Political Science and Journalism -- are those good programs at the U of Alberta? Do students have a chance to get good internships for those two programs?</p>
<p>Also, how is student life at the U of Alberta? What is living in Edmonton like?</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the political science and journalism programs at the schools you are interested in, but I know general information.</p>
<p>My brother attends U of A and I don’t think he minds it there. In his first year, he stayed in the dorms and said that pretty much everyone drank in their downtime, but I think if you stay in the right place you’ll be fine. The only thing that bothers him is the weather. It is extremely cold in the winter and it snows heaps. If you don’t mind that, then go for it! I’d say U of Alberta is a pretty solid school.</p>
<p>Simon Fraser is not bad. Personally, I am not a fan of the campus just because the appearance seems very drab and depressing, but that’s just me! The campus is on top of a mountain, so if it snows, which is not very often, there is some difficulty getting up to and down the campus if you take the bus.</p>
<p>As for UVic, all I know is that it has the reputation of being a party school. </p>
<p>If you want to know more about the schools in general, let me know.</p>
<p>Thank you for all this info! I wanted to apply to U of Alberta but their deadline for the Winter Term had already passed so I applied to UVic instead.</p>
<p>I really want to go there though… Maybe later on for grad school. </p>
<p>I honestly don’t really know that much about UVic either but it seemed to be a decent school for undergrad and somewhat better than my other state schools (Washington State U is also a party school but it’s in the middle of nowhere). I applied to 2 US state schools and UVic, and I will most likely go to UVic. </p>
<p>By the way - UVic has received all my application materials, including transcripts. How long does it normally take a Canadian university to get back to you with an Admission decision? The international student counselor I spoke with told me that I should get accepted as a Transfer and I saw online that they accepted all my transfer coursework, so the only thing I’m currently waiting for is their letter.</p>
<p>If anyone on here knows anything else about UVic, I’d seriously be super happy to here from you guys. :)</p>
<p>My knowledge is limited, but U Vic is a relative medium size school, known for relatively easier grading that a lot of other Canadian schools, and it has a pretty campus with a lot of wild rabbits. It seems to attract students largely from the province of BC, who either weren’t able to get into UBC and/or who prefer a smaller less overwhelming campus and/or wanted to stay on Vancouver Island (where they have family). It seems like a very nice place to do an undergrad- friendly, self-contained, big enough to have a diverse student body, with lots of majors and clubs and a not too competitive environment- but also not nearly as large (with the downsides of feeling lost) as many find large state schools or Canadian publics.</p>
<p>@aheadofthegame: It’s too bad the U of A deadline has already passed. I know it is a pretty terrific school.</p>
<p>I have heard positive things about UVic and I think you should enjoy it there. I’m assuming UVic notifies their applicants around the same time UBC and SFU does, so sometime in the Spring. I’m not too sure if it is different for transfer students though. I’ll see if I can dig up some more information on UVic for you. :)</p>
<p>Guys – I just got my ACCEPTANCE letter from UVic in the mail yesterday!!! I’m so happy! :)</p>
<p>@starbright,</p>
<p>That sounds really awesome! From what I researched it does seem like a really beautiful place but a lot of people seem to also move there to retire. I’m really looking forward to moving up there though. I will most likely go to another school in another province for grad school later on lol but I think the next 2 years will definitely be awesome!</p>
<p>@lanz17,</p>
<p>Maybe I can go there later on for grad school. Edmonton seemed like a really cool place too! </p>
<p>I applied to UVic for January 2012 and I just got accepted yesterday haha Yeah, that’d be really neat! Thank you! I’m super excited right now!! I was born and raised in Europe and Canada is a lot more European and I really loved that I kinda felt at home when I visited Vancouver a while back. </p>
<p>Anyways, I am SO EXCITED that I got accepted!!! :)</p>
<p>@aheadofthegame: Yes, that is definitely doable! I’ve never been to Edmonton, but I hear it’s pretty terrific. </p>
<p>Congratulations! That’s great. I’m glad you got accepted! Vancouver really is a terrific city. I love it here as well. Let me know if you have any questions about the city or the Island. :)</p>
<p>@aheadofthegame: Did you not apply to SFU after all?</p>
<p>In terms of the quality of education, the two schools are comparable.
And Victoria is a beautiful city.
But it is so isolated. Any time you want to visit Vancouver and enjoy some of the bigger city amenities, you’ll have to take a ferry to the mainland, pay an arm and a leg, and take up pretty much a whole day on the trip back and forth.
At SFU, you are already in a Vancouver suburb. If you want to go to Vancouver, it is a quick bus-ride.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! I am really, really excited. If I do I’ll definitely get back to you! Thank you for the offer!</p>
<p>@MichaelH37,</p>
<p>I didn’t. I could’ve applied for Spring but then I would have to wait 3 months where I wouldn’t be able to take any classes. I really had to apply for January 2012; and that wasn’t possible with SFU. Yes, that is also what I noticed after researching a bit about Vancouver Island and Victoria. I don’t think it is that much money to take the ferry as a pedestrian - $13, maybe? I thought hard about applying to UAlberta - and waiting for Spring to apply there - or just going to UVic. And honestly, I will stay at UVic and Victoria for two years and then I’ll graduate with my Bachelor’s so if I have to be stuck in Victoria for two years then that’s totally fine with me. </p>
<p>I really am considering UAlberta for grad school though, and UofToronto - but that totally depends on my grades and some other factors.</p>
<p>U Vic is a relative medium size school, known for relatively easier grading that a lot of other Canadian schools, and it has a pretty campus with a lot of wild rabbits. It seems to attract students largely from the province of BC, who either weren’t able to get into UBC and/or who prefer a smaller less overwhelming campus and/or wanted to stay on Vancouver Island (where they have family). </p>
<p>@ starbright
Lots of misinformation there. Firs of all, there are no more bunnies on campus.</p>
<p>Yes, many students are from BC, and we also get a huge number of students from other provinces as well as intl students. I am an RA, and come in contact with hundreds of students whenever I work, and most students I know chose UVic because of it’s size - not too big, not too small, as well as family like you said. To say that students choose UVic because they did not get into UBC is quite insulting. </p>
<p>About the grading info, this is the first I’m hearing of this and I am interested in where you got this from. </p>
<p>@aheadofthegame
Yes, UVic is a party school. I work in Res, I should know haha. But, it’s gotten much better, compared to 2-3 years ago when we were in the news for all the wrong reasons. It is a beautiful campus, Victoria is a beautiful city. The people are warm and friendly, and the weather is amazing. It’s still sunny in December, it was sunny today! :)</p>
<p>UVic is an amazing school, and like Starbright said, there is a diverse student body and lots of ways to get involuved on campus.</p>
If I do I’ll definitely get back to you! Thank you for the offer!</p>