UBC or UofC ?

F

frostymustache

New member
When it comes down to skiing access and availability which school would be the most convenient to attend? Where is skiing culture the richest and where is the overall best skiing experience? At University of British Columbia in Vancouver or University of Calgary?
 
They're both great choices, but I'd pick UBC. The campus is absolutely beautiful and the weather in Calgary sucks.
 
alberta sucks vancouver is awesome. only advantage of alberta is you're gonna be legal drinking age the minute you get there unless you have a late birthday.
 
good one fuckface, not like i live in british columbia or anything. it was already mentioned but i would like state it again, alberta has a drinking age of 18 while BC has a drinking age of 19.
 
Well drinking age aside both would be sick choices but at UBC you really only have Whistler, but warmer weather. I go to U of C, Calgary defs has a wayyyy bigger skiing community and you can take the bus to Louise or Sunshine daily for a decent price if you lack a car or just don't feel like driving on shitty roads and want to nap. As for ski hills there is Nakiska, Sunshine, Lake Louise all within 2 hours. Since it seems you live in Pano now there is there Kicking Horse, Fernie, Kimberley, Revelstoke, and Marmot all a bit further away. and if you ski any urban Calgary defs has some great spots that have been in many movies since we almost always have enough snow to do such activities, but if you are not fond of the cold, go to Van, we pretty much always get a week or so of -30C- -40C (depending on the wind chill) and yes it sucks but the snow can be epic. There's my 2 cents. Out of curiosity, what do you plan on taking? Maybe a bit of insight as to what you wanna take would further another helpful comment.
 
Im from Edmonton but I applied at UBC instead of UofC because UofC has a bad rep as a institution. UBC has a nicer campus. Vancouver rarely gets snow though, so urban might be and issue, don't know if thats your thing or not.
 
Both are good options, I think having COP is a big bonus to UofC, but having lived in Banff and currently attending UBC I'd say Whistler trumps Sunshine or Louise easily. Personally I think Vancouver is a much nicer city than Calgary also, but thats just my opinion.
 
I must admit, there are some shitty ass profs at U of C, if you ever read the Macleans magazine annual school rankings, of the major universities in Canada, like those in the CIS, U of C is the only one not to release their USRI (Universal Student Ratings of Instruction) to them, so it says something, but there are also lots of good ones. The thing about U of C is that for sciences it is a renowned research facility, so profs come for that and just fight over tenure, so teaching is more of a thing they have to do and would rather just research.
 
I really don't see why that bothers people. Any good university will have lots of Asians. Cause well theres lots of Asians in the world....
 
As a UofC student who grew up 10min from UBC I'd say choose UBC.

Grouse/Seymour are cheaper than COP and have better skiing. Whistler is cheaper than Sunshine/Lake Louise and has better skiing. Although everybody in Calgary skis, there isn't the same community built up because people tend to just stick with the people they grew up riding with. You won't have a problem finding people to ride with in either city but it doesn't seem quite as friendly in Calgary (see the thread about the kid getting beat up at COP). Vancouver has a lot more going on than Calgary as a city too, Calgary is an oil town so downtown empties out by 5pm as everybody drives back to their patch of suburbia.

As a university I actually prefer UofC to UBC, it may not be as well ranked for teaching but the services they offer are awesome and I prefer the smaller size. Just put some research into whose classes you are signing up for and avoid the massively ESL ones. I had a couple of bad ones first year but since then have had no problems. Free gym/pool/rock gym/bouldering wall/gymnastics centre access is great. The Law school students provide free law services to students, the SU has a program to help you file your taxes. Both Universities are research universities so their focus is that rather than on teaching - this is awesome if you're considering getting into research because you can start getting experience by volunteering with a prof/TA in first year and it's super easy to get grants to help them with research over the summer - but can be less helpful for you learning. Degree-wise you get essentially the same piece of paper from any university for undergrad so that's not a huge deal. Both Universities are commuter schools so you aren't going to get the stereotypical university vibe, but sign of for the Ski club at either and you'll meet some cool kids.
 
I won't be able to help too much here but i lived in calgary for years and the access to skiing was pretty sweet i must say. Revelstoke is doable if you have a weekend or even 2 days to kill and kicking horse is a doable day trip. sunshine is just fucking awesome i love that mountain. There are a ton of things to consider though with this choice. For one if you have a car, then calgary would be sweet because there are quite a few places you can rip too no problem. If you don't have a car though calgary will suck because if you plan on skiing quite a bit then taking the buses to sunshine and shit would get pretty pricey and the public transit in calgary sucks so bad, especially in the winter. If you can deal with the cold though and have a car calgary wouldn't be a shitty choice plus the party scene there is pretty vibrant. Vancouver would be dope though because if you don't have a car it doesn't even matter cause the transit is just wicked there with the buses and trains. Also if you have a car you can easily drive down to baker for a day trip, i've met a bunch of kids who used to that who lived in vancouver. Also, the party scene in vancouver is just nuts. So, it really depends on what you want, if you can deal with the rain and mass amount of asians then vancouver is your guy, or if you don't mind the cold and have a car calgary is a good choice. AND i forgot to mention COP in calgary is a ton of god damn fun and its right in the city so you can hot lap park pretty much any day you want and the jump line is actually pretty sick.

Hope this helps
 
They are both great options and both have advantages. I like how close C.O.P. is and the fact it is much cheaper to live in Calgary, plus it doesn't rain here 24/7, and Calgarians don't walk around feeling entitled... Note: Vancouver Riots.

Vancouver is a beautiful city though.
 
So true, and to whoever mentioned a kid getting beat up at COP, it was taken by many totally out of context, I worked there when that went down, the kids knew each other from school and what not and things just got escalated and one ended up finally taking his anger out on the other one over some beef they had.But COP does have a sick park, home to the worlds tallest half pipe, and some pretty big jumps if I may say so, but only go for the park.
 
Terrible ratings/don't respond to questionnaire in the Globe and Mail's report on universities or the maclean's report
 
a) don't trust maclean's on everythingb) there are more schools that won't release their usri records than just u of c

c) as a u of c student i personally like the school, but i would have loved to move to vancouver instead. however that being said, i think calgary has a better ski scene with cop, sunshine, louise being so close. i'm not comparing sunshine or louise to whistler, but i get out to the mountains every week and cop a few nights a week. i will say though that the u of c ski club though is shit.
 
Whistler is waay closer than Lake Louise though, and often faster to get to than Sunshine as well because the road conditions are generally better. Plus UBC has a cabin there so you can stay cheap if you don't feel like driving home. And Grouse is just as easy to get to as COP on public transit, plus both Grouse and Seymour have cheaper passes than COP, while their parks are just as good if you don't need halfpipe, and they have skiing outside the park to boot.

What Calgary has ahead of Vancouver for skiing is easier access to Kicking Horse/Revy/Fernie etc (if you have a car and can afford weekend trips) and snow for urban. Plus Freshtival.
 
Vancouver is a much nicer city as a whole, lots to do. You are not only skiing, sonhaving those other activities are nice. Grouse mountain is also very close to downtown, can be seen at night
 
Umm Whistler is like a 2 hour drive from Vancouver at least that's how long its taken me the few times I've gone and Calgary is only a 2hour drive if not hour and 45 minutes to Lake Louise,They do shut down the roads sometimes but that's mostly heading west from Lake Louise, Whistlers a pretty dope mountain for sure but a lot busier then Lake Louise and sunshine, it is twice as big but probably 5times as busy. Plus Whistler gets rainy wet'ish snow where The rockies got that Champaign Pow Pow. But saying that Vancouver is a pretty beautiful place, I'm not a big city person but If I was going to choose one I'd pick Vancouver hands down, Warmer, I love sushi and seafood and have never found anything that competes with the quality you can find there. I'd say both towns would be good don't have anything to say about the schools as I haven't attended either of them so find the one that offers the program suited best for you and make your decision.
 
Where in Vancouver are you leaving from? We make it in under 1.5hrs now that they've redone the highway as long as there are no crashes/stops for construction. It used to take longer for sure.
 
Well I haven't driven it since they re did the highways actually been like 2 years and Um kitsalano or whatever its called, I don't live in Vancouver, and I guess it all depends on the Lion gates bridge wait times plus the construction which shouldn't be to bad now, but still hour and a half is only 15minutes shorter then to get to Calgary which shouldn't be that big of a deal.
 
HI LUKE!

Can't say anything about UBC, or UofC. I got to SAIT, so yea...Still taking post-secondary in Calgary though, and I did also look into BCIT. I can't give you any insight into either universities, which is what you came here for. But this thread just turned into a shit show about Calgary vs. Vancouver....

Student scene in Calgary? Pretty good actually, I don't go out a ton, but the Den at UofC is greasy, cheap and full of babes if you want something easy (teehee). There are plenty of schools here, so a ton of places offer student discounts and deals. As said before, Calgary is pretty spread out for it's population, compared to Vancouver. This can be a problem, but there are tons of pubs and bars in each little suburb. I take it since you're a skier, you're not into the club scene. If you do care about them, they are downtown, knock yourself out kid.

As for skiing, Calgary offers tons of areas. COP is great, ignore the case of the punk ass snowboarder beating a kid up, you're an adult, I'm sure you can deal with anyone that comes up to you like that. COP is dope though, I just started park last year, and I love going to COP. I go every night or so, even if it's just for an hour. Along with COP, we have Castle, Sunshine, Nakiska, Norquay, and Lake Louise all within a 2 hour drive (and all in Alberta). Another hour west or south, you have Fernie and Kicking Horse, and another hour west of Golden, you have Revy. So plenty of skiing to be had, and plenty of skiers to meet.

 
This!

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I guess it depends on what you want out of it, I've never skied at COP but I'm guessing its safe to assume that its park is better and easier to get to than Seymour or Grouse. Its pretty comparable with Sunshine/ Louise and Whistler. The Banff hills don't get nearly the weekend crowds or the wet days which I miss, but having skied all of my degree in Whistler I don't think I could go back to the Banff hills, but they will both have a place in my heart. I'll admit their quality of snow is better but a pow day at Louise or the Shine is around 20cm where as Whistler its 60 cm. That being said a wet 60cm isn't much fun but last year with La Nina (this year too I hope) the snow quality was pretty good, not rocky light but good. In the end I'd take Whistler, except I hate the long weekend crowds. As for parks neither Lake Louise, Sunshine or COP (i assume) even come close to Whistler. Ultimately make your choice of school based on academics. Both school will have programs that are strong others that are weak, research what you want out of your degree and what both school have to offer.
 
I have lived in both and absolutely hated van. there were a few cool things about it but in the winter it rains every single friggin day and the snow at the local hills is wayyy to heavy,

Calgary may be cold but the sun is shining 5/7 days of the week, people are friendlier and banff/golden/fernie are all easy to get to

i would go calgary over van any day of the week

Oh and Van canucks suck dick!
 
Maybe with fucking night vision goggles. You can see lights in the night, the mountain is pretty visible during the day but that might be just me
 
Explain why. Please, list reasons. I'm sick of all these fucking people that are so smug about Van/Whis and don't listen to what other people are saying. I'm sorry, but this has just turned into a massive argument on which city is better.

I can see Kicking Horse from my house in Golden, and the house is 20 Km out of town in the forest.

I can see COP blowing snow from my house in Calgary.

Don't get me wrong, I like Van, I love the Island so much, and I spent a week at the Sheraton Wall Centre back during the Olympics, the place is night. But if you're saying more things to do when it comes to night life? It's the same in Calgary too, maybe a wee bit better.

Like said, Van gets tons of rain, tons of warm weather, and it's one of the most expensive cities to live it.

I'm not saying Calgary is heaven, it has it's downsides. There are no bodies of water around to swim in...That's all I can think about. K Country has plenty of stuff to do in the summer. Plus we have Drumheller close by. You know what Drumheller has? MOTHERFUCKING DINOSAURS.

I took consideration into choice before I moved out of home and into the city. It was Vancouver, Kelowna, or Calgary. Calgary was just it. Less tax, closer to the hills, close to Golden(hometown), and (for my schooling), plenty of jobs.

If I was offered a job with my company in Vancouver (it can happen), I'd say no. Simple as that. I like Calgary. No city is perfect.

Please OP, what do you want to take as for school. People want to help out, but there are so many facilities and stuff.
 
Continuing on this though, this can lead to heavier snow. I'm not saying the Rockies area doesn't get warm, it's been unseasonal here lately, but I'm just not a wet snow fan.

Whistler, you might have a ton of terrain that is rad, but we have multiple hills that offer tons of different terrain, snow, atmosphere, and people.

It is sunny here, people are friendly, maybe we have a ton of yuppies, who cares?

Whatever, until we know what OP wants to take, all I can say is this.

Deal with it
 
Also on this front... not only can you drink a year earlier in Calgary but alcohol is a lot cheaper. Especially if you go to the Superstore/Costco liquor store. And double especially if you're willing to drink President's Choice brand beer (though I don't know many who are but it's an option).
 
Having grown up in Calgary, and then moved to Vancouver.... I would honestly rather ski in Calgary. I rarely make it up to whis because its so far and I always have shit to do, plus I need to pay someone for gas or take the greyhound, both of which suck. I could put more effort into skiing, but its way easier in Calgary.

You can be at COP in 10 minutes from campus driving, hit a really nice park lane with lots of options for a couple hours, be home by 6 and write a paper. Rinse and repeat 7 days a week. That is a huge advantage over committing an entire day to skiing when you have tons of work to do all the time and can't justify writing off an entire day. Plus, when you ride a couple hours every day instead of 8 on one day on the weekend, you get WAY better. Tis a fact.

Yes, the snow and park at whis are better - however, Calgary doesn't have a shortage of snow or terrain, the parks are fine, and your regular season will often start and end around the same time as whis (I went skiing at COP and Louise on remembrance day weekend before whis was even open).

Straight up... I don't see myself throwing down $500 on a whistler pass for minimal amounts of riding next year, its just not worth it. 100 day seasons in Calgary, I think I got 15 or 20 days in last year here in vancouver?.... I could have done more but skiing here is a pain in the ass. I'll probably either buy a car and get a seymour/grouse/cypress pass, or not ski at all and start skating a lot instead.

ALSO, a car is absolutely key. Take your car with you at all costs if you intend to ski a lot.
 
ya don't be fooled getting to the mountains in van is a bitch without a car. That being said I got 88 days last season and studied full time, but I had a car.
 
Its totally depends on what lifestyle you want, I'm sure Calgary has its ups and I would consider living there because the skiing is decent. But Vancouver is just a more appealing city to me, climatewise and the line of work im interested in I think Vancouver would have more to offer. Thats not to say it doesn't have its downside, absolutely stupid realestate and an excess amount of coffee shop douches. But for the most part I find people here have a similar mindset to me, I love having the ocean and the mountains. Can skip to the island for some surfing, hike and ski all within a few months. And at the end of the day BC is home for me, but im sure calgary could grow on me too.
 
I also can't stress this enough - how hard are you willing to work? All the science profs at UBC are not interested in teaching, they're doing research. Going to a bigger school inevitably makes that more common. And then you end up with 300 people in your first year physics class, a prof and TAs that don't give a flying fuck, and exams meant to fail half your class. Depends what program you're taking but it honestly would save you a lot of stress if you took a harder program at a smaller school. More people pass = you are more likely to be one of the people who pass. LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF SEATS IN THE CLASS WHEN YOU SIGN UP. That lecture section with 400 seats? Avoid it if you can.

I was in science at UBC and hated it for the reasons stated above, now I'm taking English and Music and I couldn't be happier. I went from profs who wanted to fail me to profs who wanted to teach their students as much as possible. Universities are really weird and confusing institutions, I would highly recommend you use NS as much as possible for research, you'll get tons of info from people who are going to school at all sorts of different places.
 


Yeah, OP, totally depends on what you're intending to study.

I'm in first year engineering, and I can tell you that the above description is accurate. My Chem & Physics classes have around 250-300 kids, and both professors are fucking terrible. They go spend half a term going through 3 chapters of high school shit really slowly, and then in the last weeks before finals they're like "oh by the way, you also need to know 2 other chapters which you didn't do in high school, here they are". It's pretty evident that they are not there to teach, at all. My econ class wasn't half bad, I liked the prof, but with 500 kids, you're kinda dependent on your TA for questions. And ALL the Econ TA's were ESL as fuck. I spent half my time trying to figure out what mine was saying, others were so bad that my friends just stopped turning up to them, despite the fact that you got attendance marks. Granted, this is first year, subsequent years will (hopefully) be slightly different (especially for engineering courses). Fortunately, I'm the sort of person who can sorta pull shit together myself if need be haha. But if you feel like you would be more likely to succeed with a little more attention from instructors, a little more help, smaller classes, and generally a more organized institution, you might be better off going to a smaller university/college. A lot of people get a better "education" (note: not reputation of degree) from going to a smaller university/college.

With regards to skiing, as someone said above, bring a car if you have one. The locals are still over an hour away by public transport, and depending on where you live, you have to get across a campus that is bigger than some small towns to get to the bus loop (fortunately there's a shuttle that runs every 20 mins round campus). You won't have much trouble finding people willing to give you a lift up to Whistler though, there tons of passionate shredders.

 
exactly thats just first year for most programs it sucks but its how the cookie crumbles... That being said, I still had some decent teachers in my first who were hired has instructors not for research who were very willing to provide me with help if I approached them after class, but I guess Kinesiology is a pretty small faculty. But even in big general Sciences classes I always make an effort to meet my profs the first couple of weeks, make up some reason if you're fine with the material. In general if you show that you care they will care. Don't just be another fly on the wall.
 
They are probably about the same in terms of skiing. Vancouver is a way better city in my opinion. I could be biased though as i grew up in calgary.
 
U of C doesnt have a golf course and few otehr things that drop it in ratings ( no joke)

Also more importantly, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO STUDY????

There are good schools for everything across the country, but when it comes to things like business or oil patch concentrations you will not find a better school in Canada
 
I couldn't agree more with you, but I have done the opposite from you. I did two years at Mount Royal University in the south of Calgary, where since it was its first year of being a Uni in 2009-10 almost all the profs had a teaching degree or education background of some type. I had our MAYOR Naheed Nenshi as a prof my first year, damn was he good. But I went from teachers who were there to help you to profs and TA's who could careless. Now that I have almost all my intro courses under my belt and Im not in ENG, my classes are way smaller.Best 2 pieces of advice I have been given in uni so far

1. Check Rate My Prof .com, super useful, or just the USRI on the schools website, but those can be harder to understand

2. Since its exam time, even if it costs you a couple bucks, GET OLD EXAMS, especially if they are from the prof you have, they almost always have the same important topics and will seriously prepare you well
 
Grew up and went to school in Calgary (25 years), it is a great city and I enjoyed it, good skiing options too. But Whistler is on another level than Louise/Sunshine in terms of snowfall, snow pack, in bounds terrain, backcountry access, park, scene etc. I don't know why people are saying Calgary has a bigger scene? It is way quieter than Whistler. Revy, Kicking Horse and Fernie are good options that actually get some snow.

School wise, depends what you are taking. Lifestyle overall, UBC/Vancouver is the best place to be in your early 20's, dunno how anyone could dispute that. U of C is a commuter school, most people there are from Calgary and stick with their crews from growing up/high school. Nowhere near as many people live on campus compared to UBC.
 
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