CanPlan

Nice! No update here. Email or did you check the portal?

Yeah! Not with an individual, though. It sounds like we are given questions and a few seconds to compose ourselves, then the response is recorded.

That's too bad, but you've got Ryerson! That would be my top choice if leaving Vancouver was an option for me.

Any tips on what to expect from the interview? I've been invited to complete one for another school!

I received an update from UBC today. I was invited to the next stage of the application process, which is a video interview.

I met with a professor last week from one of the programs I applied to, and he told me the same thing. If I'm accepted to a different program and they offer me more money, I should let him and his department know so they can make a competitive offer.

I don't work in the urban planning program at UBC (I work in an unrelated department), but my understanding at the university was that the number of applications has pretty much been normal. This recent article from the New York Times seems to imply that top programs are experiencing a surge in applicants because they have waived testing requirements (SAT, ACT, GRE, etc.): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/20/us/colleges-covid-applicants.html Standardized tests aren't really a thing up here, so I imagine things are more or less the same. Canada tends to see a surge in applications depending on the US political situation. There was a big spike after Trump was elected (US students looking to get out), but that won't be the case this year.

I just got this email (the Head of my department forwarded it very late at night). If anyone else is wondering, it sounds like UBC (as a whole) is pushing for some sort of in-person arrangement, but all options are still on the table. They will make a final announcement in May. The two possible options they list are 100% return to in-person teaching, or allowing small classes to return in classrooms 3x the size of the class. In the latter, large classes will still be online. It's definitely possible that the planning program will meet in person, as the classes are small and can be scheduled into large teaching spaces.

I actually applied to McGill with the hope it would partially be online, as relocating isn't an easy decision for me. Anyways, this is a very premature announcement. One year ago we were still all in person, and I don't think any of us could have guessed where we are now. Six months from now is a mystery. I work at UBC and everyone is preparing for next fall to be online. Nothing is official, but we are preparing for the worst. This may of course change. Also, the COVID situation in Quebec is incomparably worse than British Columbia.

I know a few people have heard back from Ryerson, but it seems like that is it. I'm personally still waiting on UBC. Based on previous years/threads I'm expecting some applicants will start to receive offers around the end of next week.

No formal announcements quite yet, but it is pretty much guaranteed Canadian universities will be online in the fall. I currently work at UBC and all of the professors are preparing for next year as if the fall (at the very least) will be mostly online. The university sent out an email a couple weeks ago that basically said "We don't know what September looks like, but be prepared for online." There is a chance a small program like urban planning could still meet in person, but I doubt it. Given how much universities rely on international students and how every country is experiencing this differently, I don't think anyone is jumping at the opportunity to bring anyone back. That said, I know many US universities have stayed open/in-person this whole year.

Anyone hear from Canadian schools? Waiting for UBC and McGill. I talked to a professor from the MRM Planning program at SFU and it sounds like I'm in, but no official offer.