Austin vs. Vancouver? (Canadian: crime, buy, school)

[onthefly]

@gpurcell- i don't necessarily want to live in texas. i also plan to attend grad school. I believe UBC is well-respected around the world, so i don't think a degree from there would hinder me from getting a job.

But if someone thinks I will have a hard time getting into grad school or getting a job coming from ubc, please let me know. I don't want to make that mistake

[G Grasshopper]

Whether the school you went to matters in getting a job depends on what your field is. Some fields, mostly professional things like law and medicine, do care about the reputation of the university. But most jobs don't care at all. You might want to talk to someone who is working in your field to see if their work place is big into hiring on the basis of schools attended. If you intend to go straight to graduate school without working in between and staying at the same school, you need to take into consideration the quality of the master's programs in each. Beyond those things, you need to look most favorably at the school that feels most comfortable to you. Those "intangibles" will count when you look back on your college years.

[AustinExPat]

Vancouver is truly lovely, and, no, a bachelors degree from UBC will not hinder your grad school or career plans. UBC is a well-regarded university, and, as another poster pointed out, Canadian higher education follows the American model, not the British.

If you need a cheap clean place to stay in downtown Vancouver for your visit, I recommend this place:

YWCA Hotel, Downtown Vancouver :: HOME

Public transportation in Vancouver is great. Consider getting a transit day pass each day if you'll be without a car. The easiest place I found to buy them is at 7-Elevens.

In making this decision, I recommend trying to figure out how the long, cloudy, rainy winter---months and months of it---will affect you. That is crucial.

Maybe you could attend UT for your degree but go to UBC for summer school!

[figmalt]

Originally Posted by gpurcell

Er, this isn't about your next four years...its about the rest of your life.

If you are planning on living in the US, particularly in Texas, then a degree from UT Austin cuts a hell of a lot more water than a degree from the University of British Columbia.

That's not really true for people who have familiarity with Canadian universities. Canada has some world class universities, including UBC. According to this survey of the top 100 world universities, UBC is ranked 40th in the world, UT-Austin is 76th.

The world's top 100 universities listed | Education | guardian.co.uk

I considered UBC for grad work, and was impressed by the depth and breadth required for prerequisites in my field. It's very competitive, and certainly nothing to be ashamed of when going out into the job market.

For me, the biggest concern would be the cost of living and the gloom and rain that comes with living in the Pacific Northwest. It's not something to take lightly if you're sensitive to those kinds of things.

[gpurcell]

Originally Posted by figmalt

That's not really true for people who have familiarity with Canadian universities. Canada has some world class universities, including UBC. According to this survey of the top 100 world universities, UBC is ranked 40th in the world, UT-Austin is 76th.

The world's top 100 universities listed | Education | guardian.co.uk

I considered UBC for grad work, and was impressed by the depth and breadth required for prerequisites in my field. It's very competitive, and certainly nothing to be ashamed of when going out into the job market.

For me, the biggest concern would be the cost of living and the gloom and rain that comes with living in the Pacific Northwest. It's not something to take lightly if you're sensitive to those kinds of things.

That's the problem...and I speak as someone with a degree from a top 20 foreign uni on that list.

[onthefly]

^what is the problem? i dont get what you mean

[Robynator]

Originally Posted by onthefly

^what is the problem? i dont get what you mean

There would be no problem. The other poster has a degree from a top 20 university, but that doesn't mean anything. You can have a prestigious degree but still be uninformed or ignorant on topics outside of your area of expertise. It doesn't mean they know anything about UBC, other than they're probably quite unfamiliar with it. And if they're assuming it's not going to get you places because they're not familiar about it, it says more about them than UBC. And it's also kind of funny, because if they're suggesting that their opinion should hold more weight simply based on the ranking of the university they went to, then by that logic, wouldn't UBC be the better university if it ranks higher than the UT Austin? I don't get it either. I'd take it with a grain of salt.

I spent 5 of my years at UBC. My father is also UBC alumni, as are a good chunk of people I know. I network with people who have UBC degrees, who move on to grad schools around the world, or who carry on jobs and pursue major careers around the world. Going to UBC won't hinder you at all. There are UBC grads all over the world. It's a well-respected university worldwide and gets you places. Sure, it's not Harvard, but not many universities are. It's one of Canada's top universities. And Canada, in general, is looked upon as having a high standard of education.

But to be honest, you might want to ask these questions on a forum that targets UBC alumni, such as the LinkedIn UBC alumni group, or the Livejournal UBC community website (which is quite active). They'll be able to answer your questions based on their actual experience at UBC, not based on speculation. I seriously doubt the average Texan is familiar with UBC to provide relevant academic advice, with the few exceptions above.

[gpurcell]

Robynator, my point, which apparently you missed, is that UBC doesn't have a profile in the US that matches its actual academic excellence. Now, maybe that doesn't matter if you are in academia in a discipline that it targets. But it does have an effect for general people having a general attitude about your credentials...and that might be the difference between, say, getting a job interview or not. Again, I come to this impression through my experience with an advanced degree from the Australian National University. Nice, a curiosity, but its the UT Austin credentials that get me in the door here.

[thesonofgray]

Uuuuuhhhh...seriously? Has no one asked the field of study??

If you care at all about your academic experience, please let us know what programs you were accepted in.

This is an extremely general statement since I don't know your field of study, but from what I've heard, UT would probably be better for technical areas of study (science/engineering) whereas UBC might be better for a liberal arts related education.

I would put the quality of your eduction before any fascination with a particular city.

[onthefly]

majoring in geosciences btw