University of British Columbia v.s. University of Toronto
Locations:
UBC has two campuses: The Vancouver Campus and The Okanagan Campus.
The University of Toronto has three campuses: Mississauga campus, St. George campus and the Scarborough campus
Brief Histories:
UBC – The University of British Columbia was established in 1908 under an act passed by the BC legislature New University Act which began construction of new universities around BC. This led to an area called “Point Grey” to be designated for the construction of UBC which then followed with its official opening in 1915.
After WW1, many former students and new students flooded the University campus leading to the campus becoming too overcrowded. This led the government of BC to eventually allow the continuation of the construction on “Point Grey” leading to the development of library, the science building, a powerplant as well as other buildings.
The Okanagan campus was originally occupied by the Okanagan University College after the Provincial Government determined to increase post-secondary accessibility in the BC interior. However, after negotiations were held in 2004 between Gordon Campbell (Premier of BC at the time) and Martha Piper ( President of UBC 1997-2006 ), the Okanagan University College was dissolved and control over the North Kelowna Campus was granted to UBC.
U of T – The University of Toronto, originally called King’s College, was founded by the Royal Charter in 1827 as a means to providing a higher level of education and to teach people of the principles of Christianity. During its decades of growth after its establishment, it saw its establishment and growth of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Law, as well as many others and also gained 2 other campuses, the Scarborough campus and the Mississauga campus.
Number of Students and Population Diversity:
UBC – Currently in June 18th 2023, UBC has 70, 757 students across both of its campuses.
With the Vancouver campus holding the majority of students; 58,768 including Graduates and Undergraduates and the Okanagan campus holding 11,989.
Statistics provided by UBC shows that 28.6% of its students in the Vancouver campus are international students and that 21.8% of students in the Okanagan campus are international.
U of T – The number of students enrolled at UofT from 2021-2022 was a total of 97,066 students. 65,617 students from the St. George campus, 16,902 from the Mississauga campus and 14,547 from the Scarborough campus. That makes up the Undergraduates and Graduates from Canada. Then there is an additional 27,130 international students.
Housing options and Costs:
UBC:
Vancouver Campus: The Vancouver campus offers a variety of dormitories for its students. For prospective students ( First Years ), they can apply for dormitories located in the Orchard Commons, Place Vanier, or Totem Park. It is important to note that all first year students will be assigned a room type by the university.
At the Orchard Commons you would have 4 choices in room type and 3 choices in applying. For room types, you have the choice of a shared room and shared private washroom, Connected Single room, Single room with private washroom, and a one bedroom apartment. These room choices will also come with a mandatory Meal Plan cost as well EXCEPT for the one bedroom apartment option.
One choice for applying for dormitories would be the single term contracts such as the Term 1 and the Term 2 contracts. These will only last for one term.
Term 1: September 2nd to December 23rd
Term 2: January 7th to April 28th
Average cost of rent = $845-$1,123/ month
Cost for Dormitories for single Term Contracts (Not including taxes):
Shared Room and Washroom: $3,531.00 + $3,555.50
Connected Single Room: $4,154.50 + $3,555.50
Single Room with Private Washroom: $4,460.00 + $3,555.50
1 Bedroom Apartment: $5,735.00
The Winter Session Contract spans for the entire academic year (September 2nd to April 28th ) meaning the cost would be nearly double the amount for single term contracts.
Cost for Dormitories for Winter Session Contract (Not including taxes):
Shared Room and Washroom: $7,062.00 + $6,949.50
Connected Single Room: $8,309.00 + $6,949.50
Single Room with Private Washroom: $8,921.00 + $6,949.50
1 Bedroom Apartment: $11,471.00
In Place Vanier, you also have 4 options to pick from for room type. Unlike Orchard Commons, each dorm room has a mandatory meal plan cost. However, it is important to note that the term 2 single term contract meal plan cost is $111.50 cheaper than the term 1 contract; this applies for each dorm room.
Average rent cost = $681-$876
Cost of Dormitories for Single Term Contracts (Not including taxes):
Shared Room: $2,834.00 + $3,555.50 ( Term 2 meal plan $3,444.00 )
Shared Room with Washroom: $3,090.00 + $3,555.50
Single Room: $3,395.00 + $3,555.50
Single Room with Washroom: $3,643.00 + $3,555.50
Cost for Dormitories for Winter Session Contract (Not including taxes):
Shared Room: $5,669.00 + $6,949.50
Shared Room with Washroom: $6,180.00 + $6,949.50
Single Room: $6,790.00 + $6,949.50
Single Room with Washroom: $7,286.00 + $6,949.50
Average Rent for Totem Park = $475-$995
U of T:
St. George campus: The St. George campus of the university of Toronto offers wide selection of off-campus residences for its students. For new undergraduate students, UofT offers the Chestnut residence or the CampusOne residence.
In the Chestnut Residence, all first year students are placed into double rooms and there are only full semester contracts unless you are an exchange student. These contracts includes free internet, utilities like electricity and water.
For first year students, there will also be a mandatory meal plan fee. however, in U of T, you can choose different meal plans. The meal plans offer you dining dollars to spend on the Chestnut and New College dining halls as well as some retail outlets.
Plan A: $5,850.00/ academic year – $180 average of weekly spending
Plan B: $6,320.00/ academic school year – $195 average of weekly spending
Plan C: $6,810.00/ academic year – $210 average of weekly spending
Cost of Double Room (Not including taxes):
Fall 2023 Only: $3623.45
Winter 2024 Only: $4073.77
Full academic Year: $13,377.00
If you were to continue to attend U of T, you will be able to choose to apply for a single room.
Cost of Single Room (Not including taxes):
Fall 2023: $11,006.33
Winter 2024: $11,527.88
Full academic Year: $22,534.21
Popular Programs:
UBC: The most popular programs in UBC are its computer science, engineering and health programs.
U of T: Some of the more popular programs at the University of Toronto are its Huan Biology, Statistical Sciences and anatomy.
Program I Plan to Attend and Complete at UBC:
If I were to go to UBC, I would apply for the Cellular, Anatomical, and Physiological Sciences undergraduate program (CAPS). This program is an 4 year long honors co-op program that is only open for applications at the end of a student’s second year in University.
The Cellular, Anatomical, and Physiological Sciences program focuses on preparing students who intend on pursuing a medical or biotechnological field. This program offers courses on the human anatomy that mainly focus on the gastrovascular, nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine, respiratory, and renal systems of the human body.
Admission Requirements:
- You will need to have graduated from highschool
- At least 70% in Grade 11 or 12 English
- A recommended amount of at least 6 academic or non-academic courses in your grade 12 year.
- If grade 12 grades are unavailable.
Grade 12:
- English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12
- Pre-Calculus 12 with at least 67%
- Anatomy & Physiology 12 or Chemistry 12 or Physics 12
Grade 11:
- English Language Arts 11 or English First Peoples 11
- Any language 11 except for introductory courses
- Chemistry 11
- Physics 11
- Pre-Calculus 11 or Foundations of Math 12
Deadlines for an application to UBC:
Early October: Applications open
December 1st: Deadline for Canadian citizens to apply for UBC’s presidential scholar’s awards and Centennial scholar’s entrance awards. It is also the deadline for students who wish for their application to be based off of their interim transcripts.
January 15th: Deadline to apply for the Winter Session. ( September 2024 to April 2025 ) Also the deadline to apply for summer session ( May 2024 to August 2024 )
Average Tuition Costs for a Science Student at UBC:
$194.78 per Credit, 30 credits in total
$194.78 * 30 = $5834.80 per year.
Total Budget to Complete My Bachelors at UBC:
Assumptions: In this calculation of my total budget, we will have to assume that the cost of text books and student fees remain a constant throughout all 4 years. We will also assume that I was assigned a shared bedroom with washroom in the Orchard Commons. Let’s also assume that I spend the same amount on personal items each year. We should also assume that I stay in the same dorm room for the next 4 years.
The Move-in, technology and insurance cost is a cost that only occurs once at the start of year 1.
1 year:
Yearly Tuition Fee: $5834.80
Student fees: $1,227.60
Text books and supplies: $1540.00
On-campus housing: $7062.00
Meal Plan: $6949.50
Technology/ devices: $2000.00
Health Insurance: $300.00
Personal belongings ( such as toilet paper, clothing, etc. ): $1,600.00
Move-in costs: $100.00
Expenses that may occur over the course of 4 years ( broken device, damaged/ destroyed textbook, etc. ): $4,000.00
Budget for 4 Years as a University of British Columbia science student:
23339.20 + 4910.40 + 6160.00 + 28248.00 + 27798.00 + 2000.00 + 1,200.00 + 6400.00 + 100.00 + 4,000.00
= $104,155.00 ( This value does not include taxes [ GST and PST ] )
Program I plan to complete at U of T:
If I were to go to U of T, I would apply for the Human Biology Program. This program focuses on exposing students to fields of work involved with human biology as well as showing students different opportunities to further specialize into different fields. The program’s goal is to help students develop critical core competency skills such as quantitative and analytical reasoning and effective research and communication.
The Human Biology Program can only by entered after the first year of University after taking first year life science courses. Then you can enter the program through a select few courses.
Admission Requirements into Life Sciences:
- Must have graduated Highschool.
- Highschool diploma with at least 6 grade 12 courses.
- Must have taken English 12 and Calculus and have at least a mid to high 80’s mark in each.
- If grade 12 grades are unavailable, grade 11 grades will be used instead.
Grade 12:
- English 12 or English First Peoples 12
- Calculus 12
- Anatomy and Physiology 12
- Chemistry 12
- Physics 12
There is not much information on U of T’s admission requirements for Life Sciences for BC students.
Deadlines for an application to U of T:
Admission Process Begins: This process begins in the fall of the year prior to your intended year of attending U of T.
Before the deadline: After the admission process begins, you should submit your admission along with other supporting documents and the admission fee well before the deadline. 1 week after the university has received your application, you will be sent an email and granted a join code which will lead you in the following steps of the application process.
Those who get admitted to U of T are informed beginning from January 1st to the end of May.
The application Deadline for the U of T Faculty of Arts and Science is January 12th.
Average Tuition Cost for a Science Student at U of T:
Total Budget to complete my Bachelor’s degree at U of T:
Assumptions: The list below assumes that the incidental and ancillary fees will remain a constant through out all 4 years. It also assumes that text book and supplies will always cost $1,500 for 4 years. This list will also be using the Chestnut residence as the residence with Meal plan B.
Year 1:
Yearly Tuition Fee: $6,590.00
Text book and supplies: $1,500.00
Incidental/ Ancillary Fees: $1,979.00
U of T Chestnut Residence: $13,377.22
Meal Plan ( B ): $6,320.00
University Health Insurance: $756.00
Technology/ devices: $2,000.00
Personal belongings ( such as toilet paper, clothing, etc. ): $1,600.00
Move-in costs: $100.00
Expenses that may occur over the course of 4 years ( broken device, damaged/ destroyed textbook, etc. ): $4,000.00
Budget for 4 Years as a University of Toronto Science Student:
26360.00 + 6,000.00 + 7,916.00 + 53,508.88 + 25,280.00 + 3024.00 + 2,000.00 + 6,400.00 + 100.00 + 4,000.00
= $134,588.88 ( This value does not including taxes [ GST & PST ] )
Where to find more Info?
You can find more information on the University of British Columbia’s official website and the University of Toronto’s official website listed below:
Conclusion:
My goal in the future is to go into the medical field and become a Neurologist, a specialist that specializes in analyzing, diagnosing, and treating people with neurological diseases or disorders. With this goal in mind, I chose UBC to be the school I would go to and would recommend to those who are also looking into going into the medical field. When you think of medical school in Canada, you would almost always think of the University of Toronto or McGill. But what do these schools have in common? They are extremely expensive to attend making them hard schools to get into especially financially wise. However, UBC is a University that offers medical school and puts less financial pressure on you. Some reasons why I chose UBC over U of T was for these reasons, one being that UBC has a medical program that is among some of the best in the world. Coupled with that, UBC also has many award winning professors which means that you can only expect the highest quality of education; to be taught by some of the best professors in Canada. Also, since UBC is the only medical school in all of BC, you will have many opportunities to work and connect with hospitals around the entire province.