Member of the Month

KilaTsunami
October, 2024

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

UW or UBC

profile picture
deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
Newschoolers. choose where I go to college.  My top choices are the University of Washington and University of British Columbia.  Im leaning towards UBC but I want to hear what youve got to say.  I also got into UVM and CU boulder.  Im waiting to hear back from Reed College and Middlebury.
Mar 22 2010 6:28PM
16 6
profile picture
Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
well UBC is in canada, so if you wanna live in another country, go there

or go to UW and ski stevens with me
Mar 22 2010 6:39PM
1 0
profile picture
SirFryanator
Posts: 11149 - Karma: 1,415
you applied to quite a few of the same schools as I did. I went to UW for a quarter this fall and I find it to be lot nicer than the UBC campus. Seattle is an awesome city, I highly recommend it. Then again, UBC has some good programs as well so it really depends on what you want to do.
Mar 22 2010 6:41PM
0 0
profile picture
RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
UW has access to closer resorts, and Seattles one of the best NW cities. In spring you can wakeboard in the morning on Lake Washington and then hit up Stevens Pass for ridiculously good night skiing.
Mar 22 2010 6:46PM
0 0
profile picture
BandeezyBandanas
Posts: 140 - Karma: 17
UBC is the illest. Seymour nights during the week...UBC cabin at whistler during the weekend. Vancouver is such a fun city.
Mar 22 2010 6:53PM
2 0
profile picture
WONTON
Posts: 6951 - Karma: 55
UW if you like asians
Mar 22 2010 7:02PM
0 0
profile picture
Dirac
Posts: 1304 - Karma: 335
I can't say anything for UW but I can definitely vouch for UBC. It is a very well recognized school which is pretty important depending on what you want to do. The place is huge, It is basically it's own little city about 20 minutes from vancouver (which is my favourite city in Canada, possibly tied with Montreal). Just be prepared to live in res or cluster for awhile. Some kids go all 4 years in residence, you can find places to rent but they usually are expensive or not as nice as res. There is tons of great skiing around, you can ski seymour or grouse after class and then head up to whistler on weekends or if it's dumping.

It does rain a lot in vancouver. That is the only complaint that most of my friends who go there have. One of my friends actually left because he said the school was to big and impersonal and was hard to find friends. My other friends say that their friend circles are all kind of exclusively from extracurricular stuff (like ski club) until you get into the later years and start working with people in your faculty more. That's kind of sweet IMO because you will always have people to ski with and stuff.

I tried to get into UBC and didn't, so now I got to UVic which I am loving. I still love to get down to UBC once in a while to party though. Seriously is a really nice university in a wicked place.
Mar 22 2010 7:25PM
0 0
profile picture
PeterWojnar
Posts: 3937 - Karma: 678
I am also in this game right now, and I'm really liking Western Washington University in Bellingham. It's just a little bit west of Mt. Baker, and Galbraith is in town, which is a big plus for me. [Galbraith is a mountain with tons of sick mountain bike trails on it, not a ski area].

Plus its close enough to Whistler for a broadtrip to go skiing or mountain biking, depending on the season.
Mar 22 2010 7:28PM
0 0
profile picture
popNfresh44
Posts: 3757 - Karma: 44
I think you  mean  ubc if you like asians
Mar 22 2010 7:32PM
0 0
profile picture
HowNeatIsThat
Posts: 1191 - Karma: 112
BOULDERRRR!!!!!!!!!!
Mar 22 2010 7:35PM
0 2
profile picture
FBGM
Posts: 8184 - Karma: 2,677
UBC!!!! not even a question. seriously, hands down the coolest school i've been to. have you visited there yet?
Mar 22 2010 9:42PM
1 0
profile picture
FBGM
Posts: 8184 - Karma: 2,677
i wear the sweatshirt almost every day
Mar 22 2010 9:46PM
0 0
profile picture
steezemeister
Posts: 1186 - Karma: 37
UW brah

fuck canada, USA! USA! USA!

sike i like canada a lot, but UW is honestly a better school for most things
and it's cheaper, especially if you live in state

and you can kick it with all us seattle newschoolers
Mar 22 2010 9:46PM
0 0
profile picture
Schoening
Posts: 14332 - Karma: 1,268
UW.
Mar 22 2010 9:50PM
0 0
profile picture
andreweckels
Posts: 594 - Karma: -4
haha i just toured UBC on Friday and i live right by UW.
As far as campuses go i prefer UW its much more integrated with the city, greener, really cool buildings from the 19th century, right next to the ave, (tons of restaurants and stores good vibe).
UBC is surrounded by water forest and a really rich neighborhood. its a huge campus thats a grid pattern with lots of gray 60's architecture and big apartment buildings. there are some cool parts i just didn't like it that much.

from UW you can ski at:
snoqualmie/alpental hour away good park good steeps and cliffs at alpental
stevens hour and a halfish really fun terrain best park
crystal hour and a half to 2 hours  big wide open bowls steeps higher up no park priciest
baker 2 and a half to 3 hrs, sick terrain most snow pinky park cheapest

UBC: could be wrong but i think that grouse seymor and cypress are all about 45 to an hr away and smallish
whistler is hour and a half to 2 hrs away
Mar 22 2010 9:51PM
0 0
profile picture
deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
Unfortunately, the only schools I have visited are CU boulder and UVM.  Its a little hard to visit them seeing as I am from Pennsylvania.
Mar 22 2010 9:53PM
0 0
profile picture
FBGM
Posts: 8184 - Karma: 2,677
im from maryland, i visited ubc
Mar 22 2010 9:55PM
0 1
profile picture
deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
Thats great for you.  I dont have the time or money at the moment.
Mar 22 2010 10:01PM
4 0
profile picture
FBGM
Posts: 8184 - Karma: 2,677
okay sorry
Mar 22 2010 10:02PM
0 0
profile picture
PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
UW and UBC have NOTHING on University of California Berkeley when it comes to asians...

40.38% asians at Cal.

UW is only like 25.75%... I'd imagine UBC's probably pretty similar.
Mar 22 2010 10:05PM
0 0
profile picture
FBGM
Posts: 8184 - Karma: 2,677
ubc is 100% asian.
Mar 22 2010 10:07PM
3 0
profile picture
Scott29~
Posts: 1448 - Karma: 62
UW is no good, too many bandits on campus. They stop you at their checkpoints and ask you to pay up or they beat the crap out of you. You also have to pay protection fees to the italian frat mafia or they run in and break your lab equipment~
Mar 22 2010 10:10PM
1 0
profile picture
PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
seeing as I know white people who go there, i know this is false.
Mar 22 2010 10:12PM
0 0
profile picture
FBGM
Posts: 8184 - Karma: 2,677
yeah, i know it just feels 100% asian
Mar 22 2010 10:23PM
0 0
profile picture
californiagrown
Posts: 9794 - Karma: 2,014
UCLA= University of Caucasians Lost among Asians

If you want skiing close by, why not go to UofU, its easier to get into than UW

And finally.........Fuck the Huskies clap, clap, clapclapclap...



Mar 22 2010 10:24PM
0 0
profile picture
PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
Its true... UCLA's 38% asian... Again... wannabe's who wish they went to Berkeley...


And... c'mon... You're supposed to say it like this... "HUCK THE FUSKIES clap*clap*clapclapclap"

Get a friend from Pullman or something, jeez. haha.
Mar 22 2010 11:04PM
0 0
profile picture
finsauble
Posts: 3 - Karma: 10
I actually decided between these 2 schools too, and eventually chose UBC and really I couldn't be happier here. Season's pass to Whistler is super cheap, and there's really easy transport 3 days a week up to the hill from one of the first year dorms/bus loop. Also, you don't get the weirdo social scenario like UW where it's run by frats/sororities, honestly I think the best parties (besides the bars/pubs on and off campus) are thrown by the Ski & Board Club, who also host some pretty sick ski trips too. And if your grades are alright they're not too stingy with scholarship shiz either for international students. But whatehrrr, just my opinion. Good luck!
Mar 22 2010 11:28PM
0 0
profile picture
squibble
Posts: 4569 - Karma: 104
i live close to ubc but will never go there just because a) i want to move out of my parents house
B) too many asians (im not a racist, once i took E and concluded that i was not a racist, its just that they dont speak english and can't "merge" into the canadian society)
C) its enormous
D) refer to b

but vancouver is a nice city year round

Mar 22 2010 11:31PM
0 1
profile picture
123+ski
Posts: 2832 - Karma: 581
i visited ubc everyone on the tour even the guide had some name for the school with an asian reference
and i live near uvm its really sick u can like longboard everywhere and burlington is a cool city but a lot smaller
Mar 22 2010 11:45PM
0 0
profile picture
deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
Bump
Mar 23 2010 5:22PM
0 0
profile picture
hellomynameisjef
Posts: 5794 - Karma: 167
im visiting UBC in april, i can tell you all about it then.
Mar 23 2010 5:32PM
0 0
profile picture
p_n
Posts: 573 - Karma: 26
my boy vt_scratch just got into UBC today! you should talk to him about it and you can both weigh pros and cons hah
Mar 23 2010 6:27PM
0 0
profile picture
Hermondo
Posts: 1244 - Karma: 52
U to the W. i go here. sickest school ever. you've got some good sports teams, the number 1 med school in the nation, and incredible business school, amazing campus, etc. seattle is a dope city to hang out in too. cheaper than if you go to UBC. you just won't have that traditional school pride and rivalry if you head up there.
Mar 23 2010 6:41PM
0 0
profile picture
Hermondo
Posts: 1244 - Karma: 52
the social scene is definitely not run by frats/sororities. only 3000 or so students are members compared to the 40,000 students that attend. you can easily stay away from those houses. most people live off campus and throw sick ragers
Mar 23 2010 6:48PM
0 0
profile picture
Mac.
Posts: 953 - Karma: 24
Funny you should ask this. I have gotten into UW and UBC and am now deciding between the two. I have one more Ivy League to hear from, and after that I will be deciding between these 2 schools.
I visited them both in February while the Olympics were going on.
Note: I favor UBC, and will most likely go there if I dont get into the Ivy League school.

UW
It has a really nice campus, a lot of green and some really nice gothic buildings, and plus the area surrounding it is really nice. UBC feels a bit isolated since it is more away from the city vs. UW has a nice area immediately around it with a more college town feel. One thing I didn't like about UW was the fact that there are not as many kids living on campus as at UBC. I definitely want to live on campus past freshmen year, and at UBC you have a better chance at it.
UW is a great school no doubt about it, great for academics and great for the area and the people there seemed chill and cool.

UBC:
The buildings were not as nice as UW. They had more modern buildings than UW but some older not as nice looking buildings. I like the more modern look rather than the old Gothic style, so that is one reason I like UBC more. As stated above UBC is a bit set back from the city, but I like that, in that you can get the full college feel and have it be isolated for a bit, but you also have a great international city not too far away. I am a little shaky on going to school in Canada as some things are a bit different there, but the differences are worth it as UBC seems awesome. UBC also seemed more international when I was visiting and I really liked that.
But then again when I visited UBC was closed for classes and at UW there was a ridiculous amount of people on campus.

Skiing and city wise Both of these areas are top notch. With the exception of maybe SF, both of these cities are my favorite in North America. Beautiful cities and a ton to do. UBC you have the locals and Whistler and UW you have Stevens, Snoqualmie, Crystal and some others.

One thing about both these schools: They are HUGE so make sure you are ok with potentially big classes.

I really like both of these schools, and you can't really go wrong with either of them but I give the slight edge to UBC. As that is where I will most likely end up next year
Mar 23 2010 8:06PM
0 0
profile picture
VT_scratch
Posts: 8784 - Karma: 6,232
can you elaborate on this ubc cabin?

i got into ubc last night, real stoked, so its that or university of calgary for me. pretty sure itll end up being ubc though, but who knows
Mar 24 2010 6:47PM
0 0
profile picture
skier_boy26
Posts: 11295 - Karma: 502
What kind of program are you looking to do? That should also have some weight on your decision, as a school like UW has some programs that are super excellent, and others that are just your run-of-the-mill programs.

As for input on the schools: both cities are fantastic. A bit heavy on the hippies and shit, but Vancouver and Seattle are great places to be. But UBC, to me, is just too detached from Vancouver, not to mention it is a sprawly campus, I considered going there, but just didn't like where it was at (but I'm considering it for grad school at the moment). With all sorts of shit considered, UW is pretty slick.

plenty has been said already so I'm not going to beat a dead horse. But I would definitely consider what major you want to pursue as a helpful indicator.
Mar 24 2010 7:01PM
0 0
profile picture
zachimo
Posts: 159 - Karma: 10
Well I go to UBC and there are a couple of facts that i've read in this thread that I can't completely agree on
Vancouver is NOT always nice all year round and it certainly has it's fair share of rain (which i'm sure the Seattle area does as well)
Second, there is a reason UBC has been given the name of University of a Billion Chinese
The residence for first year students is pretty gross at UBC so you'd be better off finding a basement suite or house around the UBC area.
The three local mountains are pretty close and you can reach them within about 30 minutes so night skiing is definitely a sweet option
It depends on what program you want as well, certainly UBC has it's prized faculties
The UBC cabin on Whistler is basically first come first served at the beginning of the year, but you can stay there for $20 per night, which is a killer deal.
Other than that, the campus is nice IMO, located right on a peninsula where the views of the mountains, city and sunsets are unreal. People from Vancouver are super nice and will be able to help you get used to a new city.
Mar 24 2010 7:06PM
0 0
profile picture
cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
UW sucks balls for your first two years.

If you are science or engineering bound they actively try and lower your gpa. The idea is to not just throw everyone in the deep end, but to first give them concrete shoes and then only keep the ones who can stay up.

50% of the students in intro chem classes will get below a 2.6. in math classes 50% will get below a 2.8 and 50% in the physics series will get below a 2.7. That is a fact. IT will happen and the classes are designed that way.

Then you will want a 3.3ish to get into your major.
Mar 24 2010 7:38PM
0 0
profile picture
deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
I'm planning on studying economics, but I'm not positive yet.
Mar 24 2010 7:46PM
0 0
profile picture
iFail
Posts: 2066 - Karma: 65

Most people I've met who go to the UW say it's fine, but nobdoy seems to really like it more than they would most colleges.  Like, nobody gets excited over it kinda thing.  Just what I've noticed, but I'm not in college..
  If you really wanna ski great hills then Ohio State for sure!

Mar 24 2010 8:02PM
0 0
profile picture
Travapple.
Posts: 6787 - Karma: 88
BC for t3h chr0n
Mar 24 2010 8:03PM
0 0
profile picture
deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
bump
Apr 17 2010 1:11PM
0 0
profile picture
Style+eeze
Posts: 6901 - Karma: 551
I live in Seattle (I can see husky stadium from my porch on Capitol hill) and I can tell you that this city is dope. UW has some amazing programs, and skiing as well.

I don't know a whole lot about ubc, and I would really just be reiterating what everyone else said if I continued.

Seattle is amazing, but you're bound to have fun and enjoy wherever you go
Apr 17 2010 1:34PM
0 0
profile picture
honeydip
Posts: 984 - Karma: 20
university is gay
Apr 17 2010 1:47PM
0 0
profile picture
SUPREMExDIPSET
Posts: 310 - Karma: 12
i think people want mountains not just hills....

But to the point, UW is really a cool school, great medical program, great big city feel when you are on campus, and Seattle is a great city, but it really depends on what you pursue.

UBC is also a great school, great views of mountains and such from the campus, Vancouver is awesome, there are a lot of Asians (which isnt neccesarily a bad thing depending on who you are)(asian fetish = go ther).

I also recommend Western Washington University though if it is not too late.
It is really close to baker which is a really cheap pass to buy, and gets a ton of snow. It is probably the most relaxed campus i have ever been to. It also has Vancouver about an hour away and Seattle another hour and a half away. But honestly i would look at your future in education and what you want to study.
Apr 17 2010 2:22PM
0 0
profile picture
EthanH*
Posts: 375 - Karma: 129
I don't know anything about UBC, but i can tell you UW is a dope school. I live in the area, and i can tell you Seattle is a great place to be. The UW has the Ave, the campus is awesome, good food all around seattle, and plus if you go the the UW, your close to Snoqualmie pass, Stevens, Crystal and Baker. Plus, on those long weekends and breaks, you can head down to Mt. Hood for a couple of days, Up to Whistler and those places, hell, you coud probably get to Shweitzer and some places in Idaho, for around 5 hours of driving.

So go to UW.
Go Huskies!
Apr 17 2010 2:32PM
0 0
profile picture
deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
Say I have no idea what I want to study.  Which do you think is better.
May 1 2010 8:34AM
0 0
profile picture
squibble
Posts: 4569 - Karma: 104
ubc is a great school and i dont know anything about uw but its probably pretty good too. it depends what department your going into and what teachers you get. sciences? business? economics? arts? other??? choose
May 1 2010 11:13AM
0 0
profile picture
Shifty540
Posts: 1843 - Karma: 21
Jake Locker goes to UW.

/thread
May 1 2010 12:09PM
0 0
profile picture
deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
Im going into arts.  My decision needs to be made today.
May 1 2010 6:20PM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-5)