I am aiming for applying to a community college and studying Creative writing and Fine Arts. I have no idea how I need to go about with getting a student visa or how to get finical aide since I will surely need it.
and to be honest I am quite nervous about the process.
I am planning on going to Langara community college and possibly it might serve me good to go up there after July and check out the campus and speak to some people there.
lol I am just a simple Midwestern girl from Missouri trying to start my life over with my fiance in Vancouver.
I just want to make sure that you are clear that “College” in Canada is generally not the same thing as “Community College” in the U.S. In general colleges in Canada are 2 year diploma granting institutions that tend to focus on applied and vocational studies. There are exceptions and a few will have transfer agreements with 4 year Universities like many do in the U.S., and some offer 4 year applied degrees but this is not the norm.
Having said that if Langara College is what you are looking for, they should have information on their website for international students or you can contact their admissions department directly and they should be able to point you in the right direction with regards to getting a student visa. Financial aid is a whole other story and I think you should be prepared to find that there is not much available for international students. There maybe bursaries available at the school but you would have to investigate. I am doubtful that you would qualify for any provincial assistance.
Apparently Langara College has a few 4 year degree programs. But for the others, Wiki says, " More students transfer to BC universities from Langara College than from any other college in the province."
Langarra alum here! Many Canadians, especially ones who had less than stellar HS marks, start out at a CC then move on to a University such as UBC or SFU(in this case). I shared a house with one student who later transferred to UBC, the into UBC med.
Langarra is a low stress place in a reasonably pleasant location. It is especially well known for it’s drama department(Studio 58) and it’s Fine Art department, or at least, used to be. The admissions department will tend to be far less byzantine and bureaucratic than UBC and SFU…just ask them for help and info.
If your fiance is Canadian then you might be able to get a status that will make your tuition cost significantly less.
I went there long time ago, so it’s possible that some of my information is out of date, though I do keep up with Studio 58 a bit, which appears to still be going strong. The Artistic Director there was one of my teachers over 40 years ago! BTW, they do now have a Playwright’s section, which they never had in my day. It is quite competitive to get into, I would guess.