University Choices

[Temporary_User]

I currently go to MRC. I'm an english major.
I'm supposed to transfer next year, as MRC itself doesnt offer an english degree. I've applied to a few colleges, but havent heard a final decision from any of them yet.
The schools I've applied to are:
UBC
UofA
Athabasca
UoL

With Athabasca, I would be obtaining my degree from them through or at MRC. For some reason, to me having this a degree from this school wouldnt seem as good as a degree from somewhere else.
The more I talk to people, it sounds like I won't be getting into UBC, as everyone says that is a very tough school to get into.
I'm not too fimiliar with the transfer process, but the alberta transfer guide says that 4 or 5 of my classes won't transfer to UofA.
They transfer to everywhere else (UBC is unknown, as there is no set transfer agreement in place).

To transfer to a school, you can only transfer 20 courses or half your degree. So far I've taken 15 classes, so I could technically take 5 more @ MRC before I have to transfer. Which is one semester.
My mom wants me to take those 5 classes @ MRC again next year, then take a semester off and transfer to UofC.

I don't currently live with any of my rents, and I'm not originally from Calgary. I've lived here for 4 years.
All of my family is however from here, and lives here except for my father who lives in Seattle.
I'm kind of at the point in my life where I wouldnt mind moving again and experiencing something new. Each school has its perks to me. UofL would be the only place on my list that I wouldnt know anyone there.

Thanks
Any input and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Temporary_User

[RedDeerFan]

Living on your own helps you grow.

U of A is an excellent school, as is UBC.

Can't really answer for you though - do what your gut tells you.

[RedDeerFan]

Do a degree instead of a diploma. Always looks better on the resume

[Temporary_User]

Yeah, sorry that was a typo. I am getting an english degree.
i edited it now for clarity.

[troutman]

Ubc!

[Winsor_Pilates]

I'd go to UBC or UofA. Both are great schools and IMO degrees from them will be more respected then from UofL or Atha.
If you can get into UBC I'd say go there. It's an amazing campus in a beauiful part of the city.
Are your grades good? I'm not sure why UBC would be that hard to get into for English.

As far as transfers go, there is an across Canada agreement that makes transfering your first 2 years worth of courses really easy.

The UofA not accepting your 4-5 courses doesn't mean they won't give you credit for them. They might not fulfill certain course requirements for your degree, but you can likely use them as options instead, and therefore it won't set you back any time and you won't have taken classes that count for nothing.

I would also recommend transfering ASAP. Entrance requirements can change at any time and if you can get it, you should.
Also if you spend the fall at MRC and try to transfer for the Winter, some faculties don't allow new students in the Winter. If that happens, you'll have to take 8 months off and wait for the next Fall.

[FlamingLonghorn]

The School of Hard Knocks!!!!

[O_M_A]

I'll throw in another vote for UBC. Finished up 2 years out there and have one more left and i'll be choked when I'm finally done. Vancouver (despite all the Canuck fans!! and the constant rain) is a great city. I'm not sure specifically about the English program at UBC...but I do know that the university as a whole is looked upon well so I don't see why the English department would be any different.

I did my first year at UofC and then transferred to UBC. I got almost all of my credits (I lost one class in the process) transferred. I've heard nightmarish stories about transferring to UBC... but mine actually went pretty well. For what its worth... I lived in Calgary for pretty much my whole life before moving out to Vancouver and I don't regret it one bit.

If you do have any other questions about vanocuver/ubc/or whatever don't hesitate.. not sure how much help i can be as i'm in a different faculty though.

[Sparks]

I highly recommend the UofA, and I've heard great things about UBC. As a fellow Arts student, I suggest against going to the U of C - I remember a lot of sessionals and poor quality profs on average. They have some great programs at the UofC, but in Arts, in my experience, not so much. I'm sure it's a funding issue.

Also, as Winsor_Pilates mentioned, UofA might give you some credit for the four or five courses that they won't accept straight across. I've got courses from both the UofC and Mount Royal on my UofA transcript, some of which are written as (for example) "ENGL 1xx," and which counts for an English requirement, even though it isn't a one to one match to a UofA course.

So, I've got to write it again - the UofA is a great school. Good profs, good atmosphere, lots of quality research, respected school. The only downside is that it's Edmonton, and I hate Edmonton, but it's definitely worthwhile to live there in order to go to the UofA.

[Antithesis]

My wife and I both highly value the education we received at the U of A ... I had an absolute blast and learned from some top-notch professors. Obviously, I am biased, but the U of A would definitely get my vote.

[Ashartus]

As a few others have mentioned, UBC is very well respected, as is U of A. I know a couple of people that went to University of Lethbridge and really enjoyed it - I'm not sure what the quality of the English program is. Your long-term plans should be considered too; are you looking for 'education', or is it a stepping stone on a career path or towards something else? For education, you want to look at which place has the best program in your area of interest; for a career, once you're done most people won't really care which university you went to.

[Phanuthier]

I'm in engineering and I have nothing to compare by, but from what I've heard, alot of other universitie's profs show you no respect as an undergrad that that hasn't been an issue for me so far at UofA.

[Flickered Flame]

I graduated from the UofA. I got a good education not great. I did get a teaching job just a few months after graduation but while attending the UofA I had more hassels than anything else.

[Clever_Iggy]

I went to MRC for my 1st year of college and then transferred to UofA. So Ill toss my hat in the ring for UofA. You should be able to get credit for the majority of courses and sitting down with an advisor either at MRC or UofA would be time well spent.

In terms of prestige - meh. Go to the University that suits you the best. UBC and UofA are both excellent schools while UofL is climbing quite nicely. Another thing to consider is living arrangements - Vancouver is pricey and Edmonton can be tough to get a place. But, like you said, you know people in both places.

Athabasca is fine as well, but I understand the desire to move again and try something new. Basically, you cant really go wrong.

Good luck!

[Flickered Flame]

[quote=Temporary_User;879687]
Athabasca
With Athabasca, I would be obtaining my degree from them through or at MRC. For some reason, to me having this a degree from this school wouldnt seem as good as a degree from somewhere else.
/quote]

Athabasca University is a distance education institution. Is that why you feel that way?

[Winsor_Pilates]

1 more thing
From what I've seen tuition in BC is a little higher. I'm starting at SFU next week and the costs seem about 20% higher. Not sure about UBC but I'm guessing it's the same or more.

[604flames]

Tuition is higher in BC too from what I've heard, even though I've never gone to school in Alberta.

I am an English major at SFU, and even though people REALLY knock the campus (for its dreariness during the winter), it really isn't that bad, except that compared to UBC, there really isn't much of a campus life. It's more of a commuter school, lots of people drive or bus from Burnaby, East Van, or the North Shore (like me).

UBC is, in a word, HUGE. SFU isn't nearly as big, but both English programs are good.

That said though, I dunno how out-of-province transfers work for people from out of province. I transferred to SFU from a local college here no problem, but it might be a bit different from MRC.

Hope that helps a bit..

And.. to add to Winsor's point, both UBC and SFU accept transfers for January.

[JohnnyB]

Vancouver is beautiful, in the summer. But the rest of the time you are there and doing school it pretty much rains all the time, and seems pretty dirty compared to Calgary.

Also, Vancouver is a city that is packed with flaky people. The type who will say that they are part of some remote tibetan religion one week, hard core vegan the next, and a hardcore snowboarder after that, even though they may not maintain those habits for more than a day. But hey, that's fashionable in Vancouver, and there is a relatively high population of others who genuinely are into things like that.

If you don't mind lots of rain and flaky people, could be the place for you.

[Flames09]

I hate MRC, if I were you I would have gone to St. Marys University College in Calgary it's small but they are great especially with transferring to other schools (very easy to get into).

http://www.stmu.ab.ca/ProgramsCourses/programs_all.htm

Anyways I would go with UofA I know a couple of people that go there it's a good school, and it's not impossible to get into the city itself sucks. Although my teachers all highly recommend UofL.

[Titan]

From my perspective I have been to five post secondary institutions in my tortured path. I like U of A as a campus but I would suggest doing something that is way outside your comfort level to experience the "life" outside of calgary. That is why I would vote for B.C. The process of moving to a new and vibrant city is the most valuable part of a post secondary education. Pretty much all programs are going to be the same, meaning you will get out of them what you put into them. An english degree is fairly interchangeable, no offence intended, but the life experiences you will get from the campus life and organizations will be far more valuable than your class work.

Just my two cents.