Month: September 2010

Ok, so my first week at UBC has passed, and I want to share some things that I’ve found out  – This might be helpful for new students next year.

Things that I wish I’d known for the first week of school:

1) Bring a map – The campus is huge! Even if you think you’ll look silly carrying a map with you, trust me, every other First Year student will have one anyway, so you won’t stick out.

2) Books: You don’t really need your textbooks for the first week of classes, and sometimes the books on the booklist won’t be the ones that you really need – your Prof will tell you which ones to get. Also, the Bookstore on campus is a huge ripoff – try to get your textbooks used and you’ll save a lot of money.

3) Laptops: These are really handy for studying in-between classes, and I think every student needs a good one. I think it’s also good to get one that’s light – you’ll be carrying this around and the laptop in addition to your other items can get very heavy. On the other hand, some Profs don’t  like you to take notes on laptops during class, so be prepared and bring old-school pens and paper as well.

4) Lunch: For the first week you might have to pack a lunch because the lines at the SUB are really long. Also, it saves a lot of money if you bring a lunch from home – even $10 a day can really add up.

5) Talk to people and make friends – Really get to know some people! This is what the University experience is all about!

6) Get involved: Join some clubs and go to Frosh week for your Faculty; they’re fun and a good way to meet people.

If you want to watch a video about this go to:

x Katy

PS. OT If you’re into Harry Potter watch A Very Potter Musical on youtube if you haven’t already. I promise you it is worth it.

Part 1:

So, today at UBC was Imagine Day – This is a day dedicated to welcoming new students to UBC. It involved meeting a bunch of new people from your faculty, meeting the Dean of your faculty, as well as participating in a Pep Rally with all the Freshmen at UBC. That’s about 7,000 students packed into one auditorium!

My schedule for Imagine Day was as follows:

8:30-9:00 am Morning Meeting – I met up with my MUG leader Katie Marochi as well as the other members of the group.

9:00-10:00 am Student Success Workshop – We met Professor Richardson and he talked about ways to make University a great experience. Some of his tips were to join clubs and get involved, make a study group, and study subjects that you actually like!

10:00-11:00 am Campus Tour– This was a great help for me because I get lost super easily, and the campus is huge!

11:00-12:30 pm Meet the Dean – Again, we were welcomed into the Faculty of Arts, and were informed about all the great experiences abroad that we could have. For example, Go Global.

12:30-1:30 pm Lunch – Free pizza!

1:30-2:15 pm Pep Rally Loading – We walked to the Thunderbird Arena and all 7,000 students packed in.

2:15-3:15 pm Pep Rally – There were more speeches and we were officially welcomed to UBC. There was so much cheering and each Faculty had their own cheer and colour of glow stick!

3:15-5:00 pm The Main Event – All the clubs and societies at UBC set up booths to try and entice you to join them. I had air-dried blueberries from the Food Science Club!

All in all, I think Imagine Day is a great way to start off your University career. It gets you mentally ready for classes, yet doesn’t scare or overwhelm you; lets you meet people from your Faculty before you “officially” start classes, and gets you on the right foot to start classes the next day.