UBC GRADS UNITE!

[crhyme]

Hi all,

I officially committed to UBC today for my PhD in Geography. As I'm an international student from the United States and won't have any close family or friends in the Vancouver area, it would be great to start building a network of ALL UBC Masters and PhD students. Comment here to connect and share what you'll be doing at UBC. This would also be a great place to share housing, neighborhood, activities and such. 

A bit about me: Married, have a dog, enjoy hiking and the outdoors, looking forward to Vancouver coffee culture. 

Cheers,

C

[Sid A]

I got admitted into the Jan-2020 Ph.D. program in Computer Science. I am looking forward to connecting with students from a variety of disciplines. I already live and work in the metro Vancouver area. Will relocate to UBC graduate family housing with my spouse once the program starts.

I know all the best coffee places in this area and I love dogs

Cheers,

-Sid

[underthewaves]

Current UBC undergrad here - if you have any questions about the campus at all, I'd be more than happy to try and help!

Edited February 16, 2019 by underthewaves

[elijoe3yk]

Good day everyone, do anyone know when decisions are taken concerning application to UBC Okanagan campus department of Electrical Engineering for fall 2019, any information will be highly appreciated. Thanks

[Arroyo]

Heyyy all! I'm a new Sociology MA admit and I'm an international student from Hong Kong. Excited to be living in Vancouver and to get to know you all! I love coffee and cute animals (who doesn't??) and also biking and good food!

Still trying to figure out the housing, haven't decided if I'm going on-campus or off campus yet...

 

 

[Giank]

Hello everyone! I just accepted an offer to study my MSc in Statistics at UBC, starting this fall. I'm beyond excited about coming to Vancouver and meeting other grad students.

I'm also unsure about housing, so I'll check options both on and off-campus. My Department's admissions coordinator told me that this year UBC is offering a limited number of guaranteed housing spots to new graduate students. I'll copy-paste what she sent me in case it's of interest to any of you:

"For the September 2019 intake a number of rooms in winter session student housing (Vancouver) will be set aside for newly admitted graduate students. Priority for these rooms will be given to newly admitted graduate students who have accepted their admission offer, have no prior experience at UBC, and reside outside of the Greater Vancouver area. In order to have the best chance of securing on-campus housing, newly admitted students who meet those criteria should:

• Submit BOTH a Winter Session and Year-Round Housing application. You will only pay one application fee ($50) if you submit both within a 14 day period.
• Apply as soon as possible.

Currently, the majority of graduate students residing on-campus live in the two Colleges (Green College, St. John's College) and Acadia Park (student family housing), which are year-round residences. However, for students who are new to Vancouver and UBC, getting into single studio and shared living arrangements in winter session housing (8 months contract from September 2019 to end of April 2020) will allow you to get to know the city, and look for long-term housing options while at the same time staying on the waitlist for year-round housing for May 2020.

Demand will exceed the availability of these rooms, and no guarantees for on-campus housing can be given. Timing is still a big factor in the success of housing applications.

You should not select a room type/residence area on your 19W Session Residence Application that you are not willing to accept.

Common questions:

1. When will offers be made? Year Round Housing offers start as early as mid-March and Winter Session Housing offers will start going out in June.
2. If students apply for both options (Winter Session and Year Round) with preference on year round should they wait for an offer for their preferred choice? That usually depends on a number of factors, in particular, time of application and current waitlist number. If a student accepts a winter session offer, and had a Year Round Housing (YRH) application on file, Housing will encourage the student to change the start date on their YRH application to May 1 of the following year, e.g. to May 1, 2020.  The student's waitlist number for YRH remains the same (as it is based on the date of original application) and it might put the student in a better position to receive a YRH offer for a start in May.
3. Can I arrive early? Graduate students who have applied for 2019 Winter Session housing and receive an offer with a move in date of September 1, 2019 may be able to request an early arrival accommodation from UBC Housing. The application for early arrival will become available at the beginning of July at the latest and students are encouraged to apply early if they wish to arrive early. Please note that you are only eligible for early arrival in particular circumstances, such as the intention to attend Graduate Student Orientation on August 30 or your academic program starting early with specific academic sessions. You may have to provide proof of the reason to UBC Housing"

I will still look for off-campus housing, but if any other newly admitted grad student is looking for on-campus spots then this might be of interest

Cheers!

[Reza2019]

@Giank this information is very helpful

Just a general question for everyone. I am a graduate student starting my PhD program in Business at UBC. I am a single male who is 30 years old. I was looking up the different housing options: John's College, Thunderbird, Ocean Drive and Exchange. They all seem very similar according to the website (John's has a mandatory meal plan) but I was wondering if a newer building like Exchange is perhaps the best option? Anyone have any thoughts about each of these? My budget for rent would be about 1200-1300. 

 

Also, can anyone shed some light on the difference between a 1 year lease and an 8 month lease. Why would anyone opt for an 8 month lease?

Edited March 19, 2019 by Reza2019

[viv_vin]

Hi

I'll joining the MSc in Finance program at the Sauder School this September. I am currently doing my Engineering undergrad in India.

Even I'm thinking about Housing option at UBC and would appreciate your thoughts on the same like @Reza2019. Vancouver looks Amazing and the drive through the Sea to Sky highway is something that's on my bucket list.

[underthewaves]

On 3/19/2019 at 10:08 AM, Reza2019 said:

@Giank this information is very helpful

Just a general question for everyone. I am a graduate student starting my PhD program in Business at UBC. I am a single male who is 30 years old. I was looking up the different housing options: John's College, Thunderbird, Ocean Drive and Exchange. They all seem very similar according to the website (John's has a mandatory meal plan) but I was wondering if a newer building like Exchange is perhaps the best option? Anyone have any thoughts about each of these? My budget for rent would be about 1200-1300. 

 

Also, can anyone shed some light on the difference between a 1 year lease and an 8 month lease. Why would anyone opt for an 8 month lease?

This is kind of random but important to know -- Exchange is right next to the bus loop. As in, the reason it is called Exchange is because it is next to the current bus exchange and built on top of the old bus exchange. Convenient? Yes. It's very centrally located. Super quiet? Not exactly.

[Reza2019]

 

 

1

13 hours ago, underthewaves said:

This is kind of random but important to know -- Exchange is right next to the bus loop. As in, the reason it is called Exchange is because it is next to the current bus exchange and built on top of the old bus exchange. Convenient? Yes. It's very centrally located. Super quiet? Not exactly.

Thanks, this was exactly the kind of 'insider' information I was hoping to get. Any thoughts on Thunderbird? I am looking for an annual lease but my classes start in September and they seem to require a 1 May 2019 to 30 May 2020 lease. Is there any way around that besides paying three months extra rent?

Also, I have been given a verbal offer. Can I apply for housing now or do I need to accept a written offer before I can do that?

[underthewaves]

I've heard good things about Thunderbird from a friend who lives there currently (although, to be fair, he is part of the Res Life team so not sure how that may colour his perceptions). It's not exclusively for grad students, but it is primarily grad students and upper-year undergrads, which is nice. I personally don't live in official UBC housing (and never have, although I do live-on campus -- UBC is HUGE and there are tons of places to live that are on-campus but not UBC residence, varying from places with mainly students to like 20 million dollar homes with gorgeous views of the ocean), but I'd recommend the UBC sub-reddit for specific housing questions -- people on there are super nice and helpful, and there's always tons of questions about housing. 

[Sabr_Shukr]

Hello everyone, 

I will be joining UBC to do my Masters in Rehabilitation Sciences starting Fall 2019. Any suggestions on where to look for a place to live as I'll be relocating with my partner? 

Thank you! 

[Giank]

Hi all.

I found a post in UBC's graduate community that may be of interest to you.

Basically some fellow UBC grad student, named Scott, created a Google Docs spreadsheet where people looking for off-campus housing can post their info (price ranges, where would you like to live, with how many people, etc.).

How it works is that you comment your email on the UBC grad community thread over here and Scott will share the spreadsheet with you. Then you post your info and look for other potential roomies or wait to be contacted. When you find accomodation, you delete your info from the spreadsheet.

The thread contains detailed instructions. It's brilliant, if you ask me.

Cheers!

Edited March 26, 2019 by Giank

[Nazrafhy]

Hey guys. I'm have applied in Naval Architecture and marine engineering program at UBC Vancouver campus for fall 2019. It would be really helpful if you could tag me with someone who has applied there or is currently pursuing.

Edited March 28, 2019 by Nazrafhy

[Demure]

Hi, all! I’m starting a masters program in math this fall as an international (US) student. TBH I’m feeling awfully nervous about grad school, making friends, and finding my niche, but I’m super excited and am grateful for the opportunity to attend my dream school/program!

I love going on long walks/hikes and volunteering, and I’m sure Vancouver is a great place to do both those things (when I’m not overwhelmed by grad school, of course!). I visited the city and campus briefly a couple years ago and quickly fell in love with the area!

I’m looking forward to meeting everyone at orientation this fall, and I hope I can make a couple good friends!

Edited March 28, 2019 by Demure

[Demure]

On 3/22/2019 at 8:38 AM, Reza2019 said:

Thanks, this was exactly the kind of 'insider' information I was hoping to get. Any thoughts on Thunderbird? I am looking for an annual lease but my classes start in September and they seem to require a 1 May 2019 to 30 May 2020 lease. Is there any way around that besides paying three months extra rent?

Also, I have been given a verbal offer. Can I apply for housing now or do I need to accept a written offer before I can do that?

You can apply for housing as soon as you submit your grad school application (so yes, you can apply now). Make sure you apply for both winter and year-round housing at the same time so that you’re not charged twice for the application fee!

Sorry, I don’t know what to do about the May-September thing, as I’m new to renting too. I think what I plan on doing is trying to find a lease from August/September 2019 through April 2020 and then lease from May 2020 to May 2021. Not sure I’ll have any luck though. Good luck!

[underthewaves]

On 3/27/2019 at 9:53 PM, Demure said:

Hi, all! I’m starting a masters program in math this fall as an international (US) student. TBH I’m feeling awfully nervous about grad school, making friends, and finding my niche, but I’m super excited and am grateful for the opportunity to attend my dream school/program!

I love going on long walks/hikes and volunteering, and I’m sure Vancouver is a great place to do both those things (when I’m not overwhelmed by grad school, of course!). I visited the city and campus briefly a couple years ago and quickly fell in love with the area!

I’m looking forward to meeting everyone at orientation this fall, and I hope I can make a couple good friends!

One of the greatest things about UBC's campus (in my opinion) is that the campus borders Pacific Spirit Park, which has tons of trails for running/walking and you can feel fully away from campus and just out in nature without ever having to technically leave the campus. Welcome to UBC as well -- I'm starting my MA in the fall at UBC but I'm also finishing up my BA here.

[Demure]

3 hours ago, underthewaves said:

One of the greatest things about UBC's campus (in my opinion) is that the campus borders Pacific Spirit Park, which has tons of trails for running/walking and you can feel fully away from campus and just out in nature without ever having to technically leave the campus. Welcome to UBC as well -- I'm starting my MA in the fall at UBC but I'm also finishing up my BA here.

Thank you for the warm welcome! Congrats on graduating and I hope you enjoy your masters program.

Yeah, I remember stumbling into Pacific Spirit Park when I visited. It blew my mind that such a large campus in a big city could be so close to nature. I live in a small town, but most of the “nature space” here is privately owned. If you want to enjoy nature trails here, you have to drive.