Does anyone know much about UBC?

[Ren]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

Dentistry used to be no where as competitive as Medical School. Now it's almost the same. There are less applicants, but there are also less seats. Equally competitive IMO. That said, I have always had bad teeth and pains so I fully appreciate the work a Dentist does

Academically the requirements are almost identical. The real difference is in the extracurriculars. For dentistry, you basically just have to shadow a dentist during your summers and get a letter of recommendation from one of your profs and that will do you in many cases. For med school, the stuff you have to do outside of the classroom is just staggering and personally I found it demeaning when I did it. Maybe it's just because working in a hospital is a lot less personal than working in a small office, I just couldn't put up with some of the egos in the medical field.

Every dentist I've ever met or worked with has been awesome, but I know a lot of a**hole doctors.

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by Ren

Academically the requirements are almost identical. The real difference is in the extracurriculars. For dentistry, you basically just have to shadow a dentist during your summers and get a letter of recommendation from one of your profs and that will do you in many cases. For med school, the stuff you have to do outside of the classroom is just staggering and personally I found it demeaning when I did it. Maybe it's just because working in a hospital is a lot less personal than working in a small office, I just couldn't put up with some of the egos in the medical field.

Every dentist I've ever met or worked with has been awesome, but I know a lot of a**hole doctors.

That's pretty much most of the reason I didn't want to go the medical route anymore. I have never met with so many stuck up people in my life. Some treat patients like they're nothing, no eye contact, mumbles something then walks away.

But there are a lot of nice guys too. In every field you're going to get some of every kind. Sorry Keenan87, don't let this distract you from your Medical hopes and dreams. Helping sick people constantly with a good attitude requires a special kind of person. And... the best hot chicks with brains are usually the nurses. I'm going to find myself one of those someday.

[Ren]

To get back to the original topic... Don't think that it's impossible to work and go to school at the same time, just be aware that if you're really serious about med school, you're doing yourself a favor by staying at home if your parents are willing to continue providing for you.

Again, I'm not saying my life is the standard to which you should adhere, I was personally miserable for the greater part of my undergrad career but that had much more to do with overly controlling parents and the fact that for my first 3 years or so I was confused as to what exactly I wanted to do. For the vast majority of people that's not going to be an issue. You can still go out and have a social life, even in something as academically demanding as bio sci, you don't have to be a total square like I was. However, I just don't think it's wise for you to put additional pressure on yourself by having to financially support your own life when there are other, more important things you should be focusing on for these 4 years such as volunteer work and studying to maintain a first tier GPA that schools are going to be looking for first and foremost.

Once you're accepted to grad school, you'll have a lot more time to go out and party and do other things, but to get there you have to put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears and speaking from the point of view of someone who had his parents pay his way through school, it's much better to not have to worry about the financial side of things. Try to aim for a balance of work and play but don't make things harder for yourself than they have to be just to try and prove something. You'll have all the time in the world after undergrad to learn about financial responsibility and all that other stuff.

...Or to get back to the *real* original topic and not the implied sub-topic, it doesn't matter where you take your undergrad as it's all pretty much the same. Being out-of-province counts for much less than a good academic standing and a solid list of extracurriculars.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by fatso

Not to be a dick, but doesn't that amount to at least a half-hour walk? From the entry to the University from W. 16th or W. 10th at Blanca St. alone would be a minimum 20 min. walk to any significant building.

Yes, that's why I was asking if he was referring to 30 min walk, or drive? It's definitely at least a 30 min walk, probably a fair bit more.

As he has now replied, 30 min bus seems about right due to the stops.

[chid]

As someone who transferred schools TWICE in her undergrad I can give you advice.
I did my first year of Fine Arts at York, second year I transferred to UWO and then third and fourth year UofC.

It is a lot of extra work and meetings and phone calls to get what you need to transfer, but if you are dilligent and don't let them push you around you can get the credits to transfer. I convinced my UofC advisor when I came here that a random 1 credit art course at York would definitely qualify for 2 courses at the UofC and they weren't even related at all. I simply had to get my old York prof to explain what the course was about and then I parallel it to the two UofC courses - the advisor really had no choice she had to give them both to me.

Basically, you can do it, its a lot of work but if you want to attend different universities its worth it. I had a great time in my undergrad in each university.

[FiftyBelow]

I did a transfer from U of A to UBC in my 2nd year. Honestly it was a great decision. I just realized... if I was going to be living away from home, why should I pick Edmonton? The weather, culture, girls, etc. are way beyond what is available in Edmonton. In comparing the two schools, UBC is arguably a better institution in all facets such as student life, academics etc. All of my credits transferred over cleanly. However that might be a different story if you attempt to transfer during 3rd or 4th year where many of the courses are a little more specialized towards specific curriculum's.