UMichigan vs McGill vs UofT vs UBC for Economics

ubcucsd
Sun, 22 Apr 2012 03:54:22 +0000

Hi,
I’m currently an econ student at UBC, and I have to say I’ve been disappointed with the quality of my education here.
The econ professors I have had here have been either unprofessional or careless about their teaching. Most only care about their research and not the students, and overall the classes have been boring and lacking any sort of passion. I understand UBC is a public research university and that many professors will be more focused on research, but I have often had teachers who yell at students or act extremely unhelpfully. The workload is also quite heavy.
I know that UBC has a good reputation in econ, but I’ve considered transferring from UBC (to McGill, despite a lower reputation) several times because of my disappointment and also because the school is large and impersonal, and it is extremely difficult to meet people. Not only is it full of 50,000 people but it is also a commuter campus. However, Vancouver is a beautiful city.
Focusing on a school’s academic reputation seems like a good idea going into undergrad, but you should think about the overall experience you want as well (the atmosphere of the school). I have not had a good experience as an econ major here.
Also, you should think about where you would want to apply for graduate school or get a job after graduating college. I have found that UBC does not have a very strong reputation outside of Canada. For myself its been difficult to get internships, even with a 3.8/4.0 because most people in large financial centers like New York/Boston/East coast area have not heard of UBC.
I would recommend looking more into personal aspects about the schools you are interested in than overall reputations because your overall experience matters. You are very lucky to have the great college choices you have, but what you do at a school often matters more than rankings.
Also, as for the wait list…I was a recruited athlete to UChicago in 2010 and I was wait listed and did not get in. So it might be difficult to get in off of, although I do not know your background as a student or person.
I hope some of this advice helps.