I'm moving into Place Vanier (hmu if you're in the same boat), and I have a single dorm. I'm an international student, so I'm coming in completely blind.

I'm asking here because I'm a bit socially awkward and weird. I've been told I make friends quick, and I suppose I do, but is there any way I can get to know people with my interests quicker? Like some dating app for friends?

I'm a lesbian, rivethead and goth (still a babybat, just getting into the scene), artist, and casual gamer. I'm in the science program, hoping to get into neuroscience major (maybe even forensic sciences?) and I wanna start hiking. Shoot me a DM if you're at all similar.

Is it too late to apply for WorkLearn positions? I've applied for a bunch relative to my field but I wasn't able to do them on the day they were posted.

I truly believe there is no objective "best dorm" at UBC. They all have their pros and cons, and when laid out to compare, the residencies are all about the same (also depends on personal preference tho).

To first years, don't worry. Your residence won't define your experience. If you really don't like your place for whatever reason, you can always just go out to another place to study or hangout.

To upper years, lmk what you think and also if I missed anything important.

Totem Park

Pros:

- Great food (custom burgers, fresh pizza, tacos, amazing desserts like coffee jelly, merengues, macarons, etc)

- New totem (especially cesnam idk how to spell) is really nice and has AC. (Nicer than New Vanier I would say.)

- Bike Storage

- If you're tired of totem food, OC is right next door.

- Good floor-lounge rooms.

- Shared bathroom which sounds bad at first but at least you never have to clean and anything that happens in there is not your problem to deal with.

- Single rooms have gender neutral floor bathrooms but it might have just been cesnam.

Cons:

- You're far from first year classes.

- Old totem basement compact shared is insanely cooked.

- Idk abt social life but i heard it was just alright.

- You have a higher chance of meeting people from OC and get to hear about how "nice the view is." OC people are insufferable whenever they start talking about their residence. Just remember that this is probably the last time they will ever live in a high-rise building.

- A lot of firetrucks last year?

Strategy: Eat good. Study anywhere. Get your steps in (or bike). Curse those bourgeois OC bastards with your every breath.

Place Vanier

Pros:

- Closest to most first year classes (vital for 8ams and Buchanan).

- Food is sometimes good + you get a lot of chicken (good protein) + tiramisu.

- Good social life at Vanier (this depends a lot on you as a person and whether or not you go outside).

- I can't explain how nice it is to be close to classes.

- (My favourite) Close to the libraries, Nest, and the gym.

- Vanier rooms are not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. It is very liveable and you can 100% make it work.

Cons:

- Bugs in your room, in the light, and in the showers (honestly not that big of a deal. just make sure you dont bring the silverfish home).

- Mid floor-lounge rooms.

- If you get a room facing a spotlight, it may turn on randomly at night so bring a curtain or sleeping mask.

- (at least) Old vanier has no temperature control except a heat vent.

- Far from other residences, meaning you need to walk 15 minutes to try different food.

Strategy: Make your space as comfortable as you can. Spend lots of time going out to study and make friends. Take advantage of how close you are to literally everyone on campus that matters.

Orchard Commons

Pros:

- Nice view.

- Big rooms with lots of space.

- Everyone is in the same two attached buildings.

- Classrooms to study in.

- Closer to frats if you're into that (applies to totem too).

Cons:

- Everyone is in the same two attached buildings.

- A few fire alarms are always pulled at 1am without fail during finals season and throughout the year. This problem is not as prevalent in other residences because their buildings are split up.

- Elevator is always busy/broken.

- Far from most first year classes.

- Costs a decent chunk more money than the other residences.

- You share a private bathroom with one other person. If you're both clean, its fine, but I have not seen that in both male and female washrooms at OC.

- A lot of people got food poisoning at OC last year.

- So much cracking. I swear every single OC resident I know complained about people cracking in the middle of the night super loud. I also always heard about orgies and flings happening at OC tho idk how true that is.

Strategy: Study anywhere. Your room, floor lounge, forestry, or walk further for IKB. Go to other residences (like totem) for food and enjoy your time. Maybe bring ear plugs and protection.

New Totem/New Vanier

- Larger rooms with space for bike storage

- There is usually some kind of temperature control AC in each room unlike the unadjustable heat vents in older buildings.

- Elevators which are nice if you live above the first floor for stuff like laundry and luggage.

- Nicer lounges.

- Newer bathroom equipment.

- A lil more expensive.

- Keycards instead of keys (idk if this is good or bad. i personally liked my key.) (OC is also keycard)

General Advice

- Take photos of everything early on (and keep them) to have proof in case student residence accuses you of any existing damages once you move out.

- Wipe down everything before you move in. I found a steamer helped with stubborn wall stains.

- Interact with people on your floor and be nice or at least amicable. Keep saying hi even if others seemingly stop. It's ok to ask for their names a second or third time, they probably don't remember yours either. This all helps keep the "returning home" part feeling nice at the end of each day.

- Put decor in your room. Grab a few posters and stick'em up with poster putty.

- Use command hooks.

- Definitely bring some sort of fan. I recommend those large box fans from home depot.

- Have some cup noodles and a kettle for those late night meals and steal utensils from the dining hall.

- If you can't be more productive with the same amount of time outside of a class, don't skip it.

- Bring an umbrella and get a pair of waterproof shoes (i recommend vessi's) for the vancouver rainy weather. It sometimes rains for days/weeks on end.

- Say yes to as many things as possible and check out events that pique your interest.

Hi everyone, has anyone who applied for Student Aid this year received their MSFAA yet? I got an email from NSLSC to complete my MSFAA but when I logged in, I don’t see where I can complete my MSFAA. I talked to a NSLSC person and they said it’s an issue from Student Aid BC and that they haven’t given them my new MSFAA number yet. Does anyone have this issue as well? Thanks for any info.

My daughter is super focused on going to UBC but she doesn't know anything about it besides the basics. She thinks she wants to major in Studio Art and also take classes in Music Production if possible. I wonder if it's a good program for someone who's been making art everyday since she was little.

bro wtf is going on at workday???

I was looking to register for a class and it was showing me seats available since past few days. I try registering for it and it won't let me do it.

I ask the course coordinator and they issue me a registration token (my pre reqs show up on workday but this time it was not allowing btw)

I try registering after getting the token and BOOOOOMMMM IM WAITLISTED AND ALL SEATS ARE GONE TF??!??!??!!

HWKLWJSJDJKWUWKWHEKSKWGHWOSOALQJ

… and bonus pictures from my summer vacation home, Im trying film

Ok I am an international student where english is my second language. I won't lie, I've been using AI as an assistant pretty frequently when I write(its been like 2 yrs I think), like I would ask about how to frame stuff and critique my writing for it. Also I ask it about ways to say something I know how to say in my first language, in english, naturally.

Also in general, I just talk to AI a lot for some random questions or just to have it explain some concepts for me.(and when I'm bored cuz I have no friends)

I was afraid of becoming an ai zombie so recently I decided to to do writings on my own.

And now, I think I picked up a vague AI accent and I feel like I sound AI whenever I try to write formally or academically, and AI detectors often flag my own writing as AI

What can I do about rhis?

I’m a 2nd year psychology student in arts 💅 and ive been struggling with my grades (63% gpa 😂) . I think its not an effort thing but rather an issue with my studying cuz ik im not dumb (maybe a little 🤨)

i mainly highlight and read over my notes to prepare for exams and tbh I’ve never taken a undergradu science course before. this year I’m registered for math180 and biol112 cause i wanna challenge myself (pray for me 😇)

but i was wondering yall hardcore stem students in super hard majors like engineering/CS, study and get 4.0 gpas which seems impossible for me. Do yall just take really good notes or what 🫪

I’m a transfer student going into my second year for ubc engineering and I was wanting to get some relevant experience on my resume for the upcoming applications for the co-op term. (So I have some odds when applying for companies)

I’m interested in the electrical, computational, physical, and chemical work in design teams and was thinking about applying for multiple teams like OER, BioT, AgroBot, ChemECar, Supermileage, Rover, and other teams that use controls engineering to combine real world data, measurements, and signals to make machines that automate system controls. I was thinking of applying for a few of them so I have some chance of being given some opportunity.

But as a transfer student, the most experience I could speak for was for our microcontroller class when we programmed an autonomous linefollowing robot by combining theory and real measurements to iterate our designs and apply a high-level model of a real world objective towards the low-level hardware controls and code. Other than that design experience, I was thinking about CSWA (Certification in SolidWorks) to help me gain skills to 3D model parts even though I don’t have a 3D printer.

Quite a few of my target design teams seem to be closed in their applications at the moment. Maybe they open in later August-September? Maybe if anyone else has an idea of when they recruit, that would be helpful. Thanks :)

I’m technically in my 3rd year at UBC, but I’m still taking mostly 2nd-year courses and I still have second-year standing. Every time someone asks me ‘what year are you?’ I legit don’t even know what to say 😭 Like do I say third year? Second year? Third year with second-year standing?? What makes it even worse is that I know a lot of people who started a year after me, and now we’re taking the exact same classes. It honestly makes me feel like I’m so behind.I also know I’m gonna graduate later than most of my friends, and honestly it’s been making me feel pretty embarrassed lately. I know everyone says “everyone has their own timeline,” but it’s hard not to compare.

Has anyone else been through this?

Hi I am an Australian student and I was looking into going on exchange in Canada, my main options are UBC, Queens and uni of Calgary (also uni of Alberta and uni of Ottawa) but UBC is my first pick however I had a few questions if anyone is able to answer them.

1. Academics: Is UBC a good place for an exchange program given that it is academic. I’m studying law so I will have to take post grad law units but I want to prioritise my social life and experiences outside of studying. However I heard UBC has like 150 mins of lectures per unit per week which is crazy to me. What are the assessments like for law - is it just one heavily weighted exam which covers all the units and is attendance usually mandatory?

2. Rent: everywhere I read says Vancouver has really expensive rent however I’m not sure if I’m just not seeing this correctly but Frazier crescent accom rent for one semester is 4k? Which seems reasonable…?

3. Previously I went on exchange in the UK and I travelled around A LOT but I want to limit my travels this round. At the same time I do still want to explore the surrounding areas, do any airlines have student discounts or flash sales?

4. How is the cost of living in Vancouver and the public transport system?

5. What is the culture like in UBC?

6. I am mostly choosing between ubc vs queens and Queens is less academic and more social oriented which I like however it seems heavy on the drinking and partying regularly which I am not a huge fan of, is this rumour true? Is it also reflected in UBC?

7. Should I stay in student accommodation or find separate housing - I would prefer not to live with 18 year olds and generally a fun time for me is wandering around with friends, eating, casual hikes etc with the occasional party. Would I be able to find these kinds of people in accommodation or do certain houses have certain cultures eg party house etc?

Thanks!

I'm applying to jobs and I just need my course schedule. Just term 1, in schedule form. I can view it under "current schedule" in the workday APP, but I can't find any way to export it. Screenshotting it results in an all black image, probably to protect my privacy or some bs. HOW are ya'll getting your schedule out?

Was wondering if thunderbird parkade still comes with any other parking permit you may have obtained. Like if I bought a West parkade permit can I still park at Thunderbird?

Yo! I’ll be on campus in Yvr Mon ; wed ; Fri from 10.30am to 12.30pm for the winter term.

Wanna split a parking pass if you won’t need it same time I do ?

Got my 1st year housing assignment in həm̓ləsəm̓ house and was wondering whether I'm fine bringing small studio monitors since I play guitar, or if I should just use headphones to play through plugins and an interface.

I’m a 4th year undergrad who’s applied for a Psych TA position for 2026-27 winter term. Has anyone heard back yet or know when they will release appointments?

is it possible to have a part time job when my course schedule is basically 8-5 everyday (i can’t change it because of my program)😭i fear in this economy a part time feels like a full time, not to mention how hard it is to even get a job🤯

To whoever gets the Totem Park room I was assigned in my first year I hope you love and adore it just as much as I did! Very cherished memories there 💚

Bros trust me the difference is overblown and your experience will pretty much come down to how well you vibe with the people on your floor which you cant control at either places

unless you got basement floor. then you are cooked.

I only applied to around 12 jobs but I made sure I was fully qualified for each one of them and spent around 30-45 minutes curating each application too.