A Reply To Myself, Almost A Year Later

To be honest…I’m pretty tired right now, but I’m going to try to stay awake for another few hours. I find that now, when I go to sleep at an early time (like now-8:36PM), I would wake up at around midnight then not be able to sleep until 7AM. Then for energy’s sake I would sleep and basically my sleeping schedule would be messed up for a few days. So I’m going to blog and listen to music at the same time.

So last year, I wrote a Guide to UBC after finishing my first year. It was in my head for a while but I finally wrote it then. In bold is my reply to myself, almost a year later.

June 12, 2009:
Dear Grads 09 (and further), High school grads 2010 now!
I’ve been in your position. I graduated high school last year and transitioning to university meant that I had more questions (than usual) haha. In between exams and other extracurriculars, sometimes random questions you have might slip your mind and when it’s time to face them, you’re stuck. So here are some answers you might be looking for.

Q: OMGIGOTIN!! WHAT COURSES SHOULD I TAKE?
A: I was excited too! I would say definetly take some courses in the Arts faculty even if you got IB credits or if you`re in Science/Business/Engineering/Dentistry/Forestry. If you’re in Arts, you’re going to have an awesome time! Guys, my Arts class had 64% female 😉 There are some classes with an extra disproportion of girls. I was talking to someone and he was the only guy in his French class. I think my most balanced courses would have to be for my literature and science requirements, because everyone had to do them.
I was in the Coordinated Arts Program and I really like it because it’s smaller classes and you have at least 2 classes with the same people so it’s a lot easier to make friends. But if you don’t want a standardized timetable and you’re in Arts, take FAACT (Faculty of Arts Commuter Transition Program). It’s a non-credit “course” where you sign up and you have weekly meetings with other Arts students who has gone through what you have. So it’s like a buddy system. You can get advice, help with homework (well, depending on the course) and have an easier transition to university. Check out http://www.arts.ubc.ca/students/learning-academic-skills/faact-faculty-of-arts-academic-commuter-transition-program.html
I had a great time in CAP, but I was able to bond more with my FAACT Learning Team Leaders and the FAACTees too. RIP FAACT. You were awesome.

Okay now onto the courses!
Reading the course descriptions are important! If you don’t know what to take, people usually take these:
-Anthropology 100
-Economics
-English
-Math
-Psychology 100
My perspective is still the same. It feels like a lot of people want to do International Relations, so they take Economics.

I would really recommend taking these:
-History 105 (Environmental History)-it changes your perspective on the world!
-Sociology 100-It seems like a lot of common sense, but you learn to question society and the dominant ideas and make your own opinions.
-English. Even if you got credit for them. What you got credit for in AP/IB doesn’t reflect what is taught. I feel like my writing got sooooooo much better this year. It might be at the expense of your ego and what some people say “Expect to drop 10% from your average in your first year of university” is also true. But hey, it’s your first year. Don’t stress-you’ve got 3 more years.
Here are some options to fulfill your Science credits. I took GEOB 103 and CPSC 101. I had a great professor for GEOB 103-Professor Eaton. Please openly laugh at his jokes. They’re really funny. This course was a lot of memorization but maybe it’s just because I’m not familiar with physical geography. I hear the other professors are really good too. I’m thinking of taking GEOB 102 next term.
The best part about Computer Sciences 101 was the group project. You learn about NAND gates and there are some complex computer terminology, but the class was good. I really liked the group project because my partner and I just went wild with our creativity. It was a lot of hard work, especially when the deadline was coming up, but totally worth it.
A lot of people take Earth and Ocean Sciences courses, but I have a phobia, especially living on the West Coast…so I prefer not to scar myself with nightmares and paranoid thoughts during the day. Most of the people I know (opinions, not fact) really enjoy them.

I took African Studies when I was browsing through the courses and decided to enroll. It’s one of the impulsive things that I’ve done that opened my eyes to something that I really liked earning about, African economics.

Just so you know, ratemyprofessor.ca is a good resource, but they don’t take into account of the Teaching Assistants who can not be as awesome as the professors.
I’ve learned this year that it’s not necessary the professor you should watch out for, it’s about you and your schedule. Be honest-do you have time to take this course, meaning do the readings and homework? I had two courses with the final exams 24 hours within each other. Brutal.

Q: I didn’t get into my first choice faculty 🙁
A: No worries, likely your second choice (that you got into) will be Arts, and Arts is a fantastic faculty! You can transfer to your faculty of choice in your 2nd or 3rd year 🙂
To be clear, this doesn’t extend within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences/Commerce, etc. You can transfer faculties, providing you meet the requirements. This is the same with majors. You can always switch! And if you didn’t get into UBC this year, you can always do a few years somewhere else then transfer! A lot of the involvement activities are not based on what year you’re in-for example, you can be in your fourth year and run for General Officer in the AUS!

Q: Do I need a laptop?
A: I heard from Engineering/Science students that they don’t need their laptops because they have equations and all that jazz, but you definetly need one in Arts. Even though there are computers and laptops available, they’re limited and what if you get into a writer’s block and wind up having to cram to finish a paper? There are outlets everywhere so don’t worry about the battery life and the size and weight depends on how much you like to exercise your arms/shoulders. Personal preference-you can try looking at netbooks/tiny laptops but a 15.4′ should be the biggest (and they would fit nicely inside laptop backpacks). You don’t need to bring them to class unless you like to write notes on your laptop, but they can be distracting (see people playing games/facebook during class). I was good with a pen and a notebook.

Q: Are there any other supplies I should buy?
A: Highlighters. Especially if you’re in Arts. I go through one every 2 weeks.
Tidbit: Since my highlighters tend to dry up with periods and they would work a few minutes later, I carry 4-5 yellow highlighters with me. It’s probably different for you.

Q: Is there a dress code?
A: No. I still wear the same things I wore in high school. But your choice.
Still true. I just realized that I can’t remember what I wore in high school.

Q: Do you recommend any extracurriculars?
A: I didn’t do any this year because I was seeing how I would adjust to university. But honestly, go to Clubs Day/Imagine Day! Clubs advertise everywhere and UBC Rec has a “shopping week” where you can go and try out classes before paying for them. Expand your horizons! Try new things! I’ve heard really good things about sororities and fraternities, so try those too?
This year, I got pretty involved. To be honest, in more activities than the number of courses I took per term. It was a lot of fun, but if I had to do it again, I would have done some things in my later years. The VP Emerging Leaders Program overlapped with FAACT a lot in the activities they recommended. But that is one of the activities I would have done later on my undergraduate education, not because it’s not good for junior students-it’s a great introduction to the activities on campus. But I would have used the Emerging Leaders Program to explore areas outside of my interests in my later years. With Phrateres, I did so many things that I never thought I’d do, like go to semi formals and formals, stay up until 4AM super tired with 25 other girls, participate in UBC Rec intermurals teams where we had more fun than won games and much more! The girls/we really wanted to form and have a sisterhood with each other and although nothing was mandatory, we did a lot of things which I feel like gave me a lot (more) life experiences. I definitely did not regret joining this year (any female in any year can join).
Peer Programs…my honest opinion is that you will bond more with your teammates/partner than the UBC students you are peer helping, because some don’t need the buddy portion/are too busy and stop coming to your events. But I’ve become really good friends with some of them and although we may not see each other all the time, it’s always super fun when we get together.

Q: Any downsides to UBC/universities I should know about?
A: The food sucks. The really good stuff (fruits and yogurt) are stupidly overpriced.University is all about learning to be independent and make your own choices. There’s no one whose going to tell you exactly when to do things. You have to manage your time wisely and do the readings! But you also have to have a social/non-academic life. One of the biggest problems I had this year was getting enough exercise-PE 12 was awesome but you have to schedule some of that in yourself-no excuses! Papers, exams, midterms blah. Get your endorphin fix! The Freshman 15 really does exist.
So does the Sophomore 30. If you don’t have time to hit the gym or exercise, you’re doing too much, my friend. If it wasn’t for participating in UBC Rec intermural teams, I wouldn’t have gotten any exercise in term 2. But I’ve solved the food dilemma! You just have to know where to look! When I was referring to the good stuff like fruit and yogurt, I was talking about the main floor of the SUB. My advice is to go downstairs, and you will find two of my most favourite places to eat and one of my most favourite places to indulge. The indulge is The Delly, who serve really good samosas, and sometimes you can find coupons in your agenda! Fried food mmmmmmmm. My other two most favourite places to eat at Sprouts and The Pendulum. Awesome prices! Awesome food, a lot imported from the UBC Farm, fair trade, and organic food! I really miss Sprouts. They’re not open during the summer. I must warn you though, you better get to Sprouts early, because sometimes they run out. I’ve started bringing tupperware with me because they offer Community Eats, a donation-based lunch on Fridays and they don’t use packaging. You know what this means? Less garbage in the landfills! Woot!!

OOH! And go to Imagine Day! It’s the 1st day of school and you’re going to receive a sheet with your group name and your faculty colour. Wear your faculty colour and bring your spirit! You made it! (And then the hard work begins..)
I tried dying my hair purple about a week ago…dark hair from Asian genetics/my lack of experience in cosmetics = no purple hair. But I will try again!

On another note, I’m currently taking two summer courses. I really like the content and what I’m learning, but I’ve been getting around 250-300 pages of readings per week, plus I’ve got some AUS stuff to do. This means I won’t do this again, two summer courses at the same time…super interesting but brutal.