This year I chose to enter the New Media CAP stream at UBC. If anyone reading this is thinking about entering this program (or any like it) from high school next year, these are my personal opinions about the program.
OK, first of all what the heck is CAP? The coordinated arts program at UBC is a first year option where students interested in a certain area of study choose a standardized timetable customized for the entire year. Basically, students choose a theme that is offered that year. Then, students get a standardized timetable for the entire year (but you can choose your electives.) This timetable will be customized to the theme that was chosen – for example, the courses, coursework, readings, and lectures will all focus on that material. For me, Since I had chosen New Media, the courses that were given included Journalism and Visual Arts, the coursework focused on the impact of new media and technology, and the professors all tailored their lectures to this idea.
Pros: What are the benefits to this program?
- All of the courses have the same people in your stream. This means that you will get to know the 100 people in your stream very well.
- You get a study room just for CAP/CSP/Arts One/Science One students. TRUST ME. This was the most useful thing the entire year. When exam time comes around and people are jockeying for seats in Ike, you’ll be glad this room is reserved. I studied there every single day for the entire year.
- The classes are small. Compared to other classes which can have 300 students in one lecture hall, this was really nice. It also felt like the professors cared about their students, which is nice.
- It is a nice transition from high school because you get to know everyone, and the class schedule is made for you. If you are at all worried about being overwhelmed in Uni, I would recommend something like this. One of the most stressful things is signing up for courses, so this really alleviates some of that stress.
- Some other programs that are similar to this would be the Coordinated Science Program (CSP), Arts One, and Science One. The science programs would be worth looking into if you are thinking about this type of program but were thinking of entering into Sciences.
Cons: There are some downsides to this program.
- All the courses have the same people in them. Although this can be a good thing, it also makes it difficult to meet people outside the course. This is especially true because I don’t live on campus and don’t have a chance to meet people in residence.
- Sometimes the material can get repetitious. Because all of the professors are teaching about the same material, there can be some overlap between courses.
- If you don’t like a course, you can’t drop it. Since the courses are standardized, dropping one course would mean you’d have to drop all of them. So you’re stuck with all the courses even if you don’t like them.
This doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy this program, I did! It’s just that with everything, there are downsides to this program. I would recommend it to high school students who don’t really know what they want to do in University, but generally know what they are interested in. If you are unsure of some of my points, or have questions about this program, the UBC CAP website is a good place to start.
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Tags: 10 Comments
10 responses so far ↓
Are you thinking of going into communications?
Haha my Dad actually asked me the same thing the other day! I’m actually not sure though. I really liked Sociology this year, but I’m leaning toward Art History at the moment.
Do you think the CAP program is any more rigorous than the standard courses?
Hmm… I think that the CAP program’s “difficulty level” is more or less the same as if you would have taken standard Arts courses. However, if you’re looking for something more challenging I would encourage you to check out the Arts One program. Looking back now, I feel like I would have chosen that course. At the time though, I was just a little scared that I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the workload. Are you thinking about taking this course next year?
Yes, I actually do not want an overwhelming Freshman year and yet appreciate the ease of class scheduling CAP creates. I am hoping to get into the film program Sophomore year. I want interesting courses, taught by good profs, and again, not too killer!
I totally understand – I felt like CAP took a lot of the pressure off of me when I first registered. I didn’t have to stress out about course conflicts other scheduling issues, and the professors were all really understanding and made sure to have plenty of office hours for students. Really, the only downside for me was that the course material was repeated in some classes (I get bored easily.) Also, if you’re looking into the film program I hear it’s really good. I went to elementary and high school with a girl whose film has been shown throughout Canada because of that program. (If you want, you can check out Kat Jayme’s “Little Big Kid.”)
Thanks – I appreciate your feedback. Enjoy your summer!
Thank you. I’m a mother wondering about my son’s registration at UBC and this was informative. I appreciate the time you took to provide this useful information.
Thanks for this. I’m going into Gr.12 next year and am considering what to do after…this was very informative. How interesting are the courses, and how are the profs?
As for the courses, I can only comment on my opinions considering the new media stream. I would say that the courses would be interesting for someone considering a job in journalism or sociology. I thought that the professors were very helpful and eager to aid students in succeeding in their course work. However, I would not base your choice of program only on my opinions. You may take the same courses as me and have a very different reaction.