The following is a fictional narrative, based on speculations and experiences from Admissions. Specific student experiences will vary widely.
Hi, my name is Somi Chuhon, and I’m an Admissions Advisor here at UBC. I wrote this story as a reminder that while we don’t meet with applicants in person here in the Admissions Office, we are aware that behind every application we evaluate is a human being with a very personal story unlike any other applicant before or after them. Every decision to admit is a life-changing experience for them. And every refusal is as well, come to think of it. UBC is an amazing place for students to experience (I know, as I’m a proud UBC alumnus), but there are always so many more applicants than there are seats in a program. The decisions we make are difficult only because they impact real lives — but at the same time that’s also what makes it important. I’m truly proud to work here and represent all that this university has to offer to students in its desire to develop young leaders who will change our world for the better.
ENTRY LOG: MY PATH TO UBC ADMISSIONS
September 3: This is the final stretch of high school, Grade 12. When I look at the Grade 8 students just starting this year, I remember how lost and intimidated I felt. I’m glad to be a peer mentor to help them figure out high school, just like I had when I first arrived. It’s nice to see some of my classmates again after the summer. We get to be the “seniors” now!
October 12: It’s Thanksgiving weekend, and it’s hard to believe, but I’m submitting all my applications for university! It’s such a big step into the unknown.
I picked a few universities here in Ontario because I thought it would be nice to stay at home while I’m at school. But the idea of leaving and going out on my own to a university far away makes me think maybe UBC might be a good choice. At least my cousin is there in Vancouver so I can go to school with her (if she gets in!).
October 13: I got all my Ontario university applications done. Whew! Today I’m going to do UBC. The personal profile took me by surprise. I see they want a lot more than just an essay. I’m going to have to go back to look at all the activities I did and find the references. Sigh. I guess I won’t be able to finish this today. But at least I got it half started!
November 11: Wow time got away from me. But I just had to get this personal profile done for my UBC application! I let my Dad read my answers. After all, he’s the doctor with all the smarts. Except for a few typos I made, I think he was really proud of what I wrote. Then again, I kinda gushed about him in the second question about “what’s important to me”. It was all about him and how he pushed me to study hard and get involved. He’s my inspiration! The thing is, I have SO MANY activities to list, it’s hard to reduce it to five. But I want them to know that I’ve done so much more! So I found a creative way to “mention” them in my other answers.
11:00 PM update: I did it. My UBC application is done. All my university applications officially are in. I wonder how long it takes to get an answer. Okay, now I’m getting butterflies in my tummy.
December 4: I’m starting to get emails from all the schools I applied to. “Thank you for your application.” is mostly the message for now. My family has decided to visit my uncle’s family in BC for Christmas Break. I guess they just want to get away from all the snow. It’s blistering cold this year.
December 29: Wow, so a lot has happened. I found out my cousin applied to Yale and Princeton in the US! I thought I was being adventurous by just applying outside of Ontario, and here she wants to leave Canada! She’s brave! She applied to UBC as her back up, so our families took a day to visit the campus and walked around. It’s weird seeing Christmas with absolutely NO SNOW on the ground. There’s still a lot of greenery. There was so much to explore even if everything was closed. The view over the water was incredible! And I never get tired of seeing mountains in the background. The hiking and biking trails here really makes me want to live here in the Spring when it warms up. This place is starting to make me think twice about leaving home for university. Maybe a change of scenery could be a good adventure.
January 2: The New Year is here and this is the home stretch! These are my final months in high school. I wish I knew what was going to happen after June.
February 15: Wow, I just got accepted into University of Toronto. My Dad’s so proud. That’s where he went to school. But after visiting BC last Christmas, I’m really starting to think about what it would be like to live there and give independence a try. I talked with my parents about it, and they said it’s okay to accept my offer from UT and they will pay the deposit even if I don’t go. My Mom did say though that if I decide to go to UBC, I have to be sure because it costs a lot more to pay living costs there.
I thought maybe I could save costs by sharing an apartment with a roommate instead of going to the dorms. I took a look on Craigslist. Gulp! Are those really the rental prices around UBC? I had to double-check to make sure I had the right city.
I accepted my offer to University of Toronto and the deposit is now paid. For now, I guess I’m going to be a UT student next year!
My UBC application status still says all my documents are in and my file is ready for evaluation. It’s been like that for a while now. *sigh*
February 28: Some UBC Recruiters came to visit Ontario. This is the first time I got a chance to actually talk to someone from UBC. The guy I spoke to was great. Of course I had to ask when I’ll find out if I got into UBC, and told him I’ve already accepted an offer from University of Toronto. He congratulated me because he was sure that I got an early offer of admission, and probably have good grades. He said that UBC also has something similar and some students would have received their admission decision by now, but for sure I would hear something by mid-April. April! That feels like an eternity of a wait. But I won’t give up hope.
I also asked him about the living in Vancouver, and he agreed that it can get quite expensive to live in the city, but that the housing on UBC is exceptional and really accommodating. It’s a great way to get to know other UBC students, and will save lots of time commuting. He told me that there is a May 1st deadline to apply for UBC housing for a guaranteed spot if I get accepted. Ooh, guaranteed! I’m glad he told me that!
8:00 PM UPDATE: Okay, I just submitted my housing application to UBC. It was so cool that there’s even an option to have my own private room and bathroom, and I wasn’t forced to share. But of course, that costs a lot more. I asked my Dad about limits on how much he was willing to pay for the dorm rooms, and of course, he said I can get anything I wanted. So I asked Mom instead. *snicker*
Then I thought, hey, what about campus jobs. Surely they hire students. My Dad really didn’t like that idea. He said I should really focus on my studies, especially in my first year. But maybe second year if I really wanted to. And then I thought maybe being in this big new campus all by myself was already scary enough, and it might be nice to have a roommate.
I decided to put down my preferences for a shared room. I’m definitely NOT an early riser! But I am a bit of a neat freak. It’s kinda cool that UBC is asking me this just to make sure I get matched with someone similar.
March 1: Well, my cousin didn’t get into Yale. And she got waitlisted for Princeton. She actually found out back in January, but was so disappointed, I didn’t hear about it until now. I told her how amazing it is just to get waitlisted at an Ivy League school, but she said she’s not really expecting anything to come of it. She asked me if I was coming to UBC. When I told her I don’t know, she was like, “Really? I got in.”
Okay, NOW I’m nervous. I mean, I know my cousin is COMPLETELY BRILLIANT, but I’ve worked hard and I got some really good grades! I’m not jealous or anything. It’s kind of sad that she isn’t sure she’s going to Princeton. But honestly, if she DOES go to UBC, that will really make me feel better about going too. Now I really want to know if I’m getting in!!
I asked her if she’s going to apply for UBC housing, and she said she’s planning to stay at home if she goes to UBC. Aw, that would have been cool if we were dorm-mates.
March 15: Okay, so I know that I may not hear back from UBC until April, but honestly, I’ve been checking my application status like every day. PLEASE tell me if I got in! I’ve even been tempted to email the admissions office. I can feel the end of my high school year coming. I’m putting in my orders for grad pictures and picking my gown size. I just wish I knew SOMETHING! Am I moving or staying home? AAAHHHHH!
March 18: ARG! Still no update on my status. Just tell me if I got in!!
March 19: Seriously, I’m going to make myself crazy. Okay, I’m promising myself NOT to log into my UBC account for a week.
March 22: Okay, still no update from UBC. But I did get some news from my cousin and she didn’t make it into Princeton either. I feel for her. But her parents have suggested maybe going to the dorms at UBC for at least the first year, just because it’s an important first experience. So she went ahead and applied for UBC Housing.
WAIT! Can we room together? I wonder? I sent an email to UBC Housing asking if there was a way.
April 1: OMG!!!! I can’t believe it!! I got accepted into UBC!! I just got the email 
and I’m so, so happy! This is it! I can feel it. It’s the right decision. I’m headed to the West Coast for university! My parents are so happy for me, and we’re going to go out for dinner tonight — my choice, of course!
I also heard back from UBC Housing and they said that if both my cousin and I put each other’s names down as a request to room together, they can try. So I replied back and asked to put my cousin’s name down and then called my cousin to do the same. She was a little surprised… I forgot to ask her if she even wanted to room with me! LOL! She laughed, and said, of course!
Hey, I just noticed… Happy April Fools Day! Good one, UBC.
April 5: It’s the weekend, and I still can’t believe I got into UBC! My life is about to change a lot! I’m going to be a West Coast Canadian! What does that even mean? LOL. I’m starting to look up all the stuff that people do in Vancouver, and I’m kind of getting excited at seeing all the pictures. Then my Mom said, “Yeah, that’s when it’s not raining.” My Mom grew up in Vancouver as a kid. She would know. She told me the first thing I should do when I get there is invest in a good umbrella and rain boots.
June 10: Provincial exams are coming. Grad events are all set. This is the last month as a high school student. I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad. I’m just going to get through these exams first and think about it later.
June 18: I heard back from UBC Housing, and apparently they couldn’t room me with my cousin. I was so disappointed! Then I thought about it. The last time I was at my cousin’s house, she was up at 6am every morning. I’m not sure how I’ll handle getting woken up that early every day. Maybe it’s for the better.
July 1: Canada Day Long Weekend. My Mom put a few packing boxes in my room. She said my room will be here for me, but that they may use it for guests once in a while. So make sure anything important either goes with me to Vancouver or gets packed away in the closet.
That did it. It really hit me. I’m leaving home. Everything is so familiar here. I grew up here. I’m telling myself it’s just another trip — another family vacation. Except when I think about, it’s going to be like my family taking me on vacation somewhere, and then leaving me behind at the end. (Oh great, that’s a nice thought!) A lot of my friends are staying here in Ontario. Not everyone’s going to university, but most of them will go somewhere for school. None of them are going to Vancouver. So we’re planning to make the most of July and spend as much time together as possible before I go.
I know I chose UBC. But it’s going to be a hard change. I’m feeling less sure of myself. I won’t see my parents, my friends, my brother, my dog. Suddenly I was feeling really alone. Then I thought back to my first day of high school. I’m sure there will be some orientation events! And I’ll have a roommate! My cousin is on campus too!
I started to feel my breath come back. It’s going to be okay. No… It’s going to be GREAT!
July 27: Got a confirmation from UBC. My final Grade 12 grades are all good, and my offer is confirmed. No looking back now. UBC, here I come! 🙂
August 19: This is it. My last day in my bedroom. I’m off to Vancouver. Most of my boxes have already been shipped to my cousin’s house. I just have my backpack and a carry on. My Mom made me my favourite smoothie this morning — added some chocolate flakes. My Dad woke me up this morning to say his good-bye before going off to work. He told me again how proud he was of me and hugged me. Can’t really go back to sleep after that.
My mom and brother are going to help me settle into my new dorm room at UBC. I have a feeling there’s going to be a little shopping spree there — or at least that’s what my Mom told me with a wink as she was holding Dad’s credit card. LOL.
And with this, I’m signing off. I’m headed to British Columbia for four years. I made it!