While the University of British Columbia is considered one of the premier postsecondary schools in Canada, and perhaps North America, there are not many young American students who plan on attending the prestigious school to continue their studies.
“To be honest, I just heard about it today,” said Isabel Moskowitz, a Californian who studies Human Services at Western Washington University. “Plus, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable leaving the country in my first year as a university student. Also, if I were going to study somewhere else, I’d want to go somewhere far away like Europe.”
While plenty choose not to attend UBC due to lack of knowledge or distance, some, like Emily Seynaeve, have chosen not to attend due to finance and commitment.
“Honestly, it’s just too expensive,” Seynaeve said. “And it’s just too much of a hassle.”
Another theory, like that of UBC student Hailee Renkers, is that Americans don’t put much stock in out-of-country schooling and prefer to receive their education in their homeland.
“Americans typically don’t come up here because a degree is more creditable in the states at any level,” Renkers suggested, “eeven though the education is behind and slower.”
Renkers said that she has seen a fair number of Americans, but with a difference.
“The ones that I’ve come across all of dual citizenship,” she said.
There are some students, particularily those who live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, who do plan on going to UBC in the future. Samantha Goss, who studies Neuroscience at Western Washington University, is still deciding between the University of Washington or UBC for grad school. She is currently leaning towards UBC.
“I know that my neuro professor went there and he had really positive feedback about it,” Goss said. “I know that it’s a really good school, and I really want the big university experience away from home (Seattle) but it’s not too far away, which is good.”
