In the fourth semester of my semester abroad, I went to Capilano University in North Vancouver, BC in Canada. Vancouver is located on the Pacific Ocean in the extreme south of the province of British Columbia and is known for its mild climate and an interesting mix of a busy metropolis, the ocean and the nearby Canadian wilderness. And first of all, my semester abroad in Vancouver was a complete success.
The application phase was much easier thanks to MicroEDU. All you had to do was submit the required items to MicroEDU and a few weeks later the official approval from Capilano University came. Nevertheless, I can only advise everyone to start planning for the semester abroad at an early stage, as there are a few things that have to be prepared. Furthermore, questions were always answered in a friendly manner by the MicroEDU team. Visit iamaccepted.com to get information about 7 myths about PHD abroad.
Unfortunately, the university doesn’t have any student dormitories, which is why I lived in a shared apartment. The apartment was completely renovated, had very nice landlords and was in the best neighborhood. It should be said that North Vancouver is one of the best areas in the city. The rent of the flat share was here at 750 CAD per month.
The support from Alison Rudko, contact person for exchange students, was very good. Many details were explained in detail in advance by email, which significantly reduced the uncertainty in advance. In addition, Alison had organized some events with the University’s International Office to get to know the university and other students, including a “Street Festival”. There were also several events for international students during the semester.
During the semester abroad at Capilano University, I took the following courses: Leadership in Teams, Organizational Behavior, Cross-Cultural Business and Professional Selling Skills. The latter two subjects in particular were very interesting because they were very practical. However, my experience shows that you should definitely not choose more than four subjects, as the workload is significantly higher within the semester. While in this country usually only one final exam is written per subject, there you have homework, presentations, midterms, etc. This of course has the advantage that the grade is improved and made up of many different services. The relationship with the lecturers is much looser and more pleasant there than in this country. An example is, for example, that all lecturers are being used and they even stop twice at the bus stop and ask if you want to be taken along. That would be unthinkable in Germany. In addition, my professors were all very committed, gave fair grades and took into account that you are not a native speaker.
Personally, I liked the student life much better in Vancouver. On the one hand, this is due to the local people. Canadians are much more open to strangers. It starts with small talk at the bus stop or in the supermarket and ends at the university, where it is much easier to make new friends. In the end, I knew more people there on campus than here in Germany after three semesters. At Capilano University, “multi-cultural” is capitalized because as a student you get to know people from all over the world. It also confirmed the prejudice that Canadians are super friendly. For example, it is commonplace to say thank you when you leave the city bus!
In addition, like the entire coastal region, the campus is very green. The greenery is a result of the heavy rain in the winter months. In “Raincouver” it can almost rain through November, although I didn’t see it as negatively as here. Maybe you could just call it the “West Coast Livestyle”. But I can recommend using the time in the summer months to discover and travel, as these are usually very sunny. By the way, those who like to travel have come to the right place in Vancouver. There is so much to do in Vancouver. My highlights there are the huge Stanley Park and the mountains in the north of the city, from where you have a great view over the whole of Vancouver. Incidentally, these mountains begin directly behind the last houses in North Vancouver, which includes the university. The first bears are already living here. In the North Shore Mountains, however, you can safely hike and even go skiing in winter, all just 20 minutes away by car. The typical “Vancouverite” loves to be outside in nature. With the bus, Seabus and the Skytrains you can get almost anywhere within the metropolis for little money (approx. 30 CAD per month). The only negative point is that some bus routes are relatively unreliable due to the volume of traffic.
Furthermore, Vancouver is a great base to travel to the Rocky Mountains, which by the way was my absolute highlight, to Vancouver Island, to the USA in the south or to the north, in the almost infinite expanse of the west coast mountain region. The vastness of Canada is, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating things about the country. Around 35 million people live in an area of almost 28 times Germany. Residents!
With the only negative point is that the cost of living is higher than in Germany. This is particularly noticeable when paying tuition fees, rent and in the supermarket. On the other hand, it should be said that due to the current (as of late 2015 / early 2016) low oil price, the Canadian dollar is currently cheaper for us than it has been in years.
A little tip for financing: Find out how much BAföG abroad you can get, as all allowances are significantly higher than with “normal BAföG”.
In summary, I can only tell you: go to Capilano University in Vancouver and enjoy your time there ! I’m still thrilled to be back in Germany and I would love to take the next plane to Vancouver tomorrow morning.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask me! 😉
