Capilano University Semester Abroad (3)

I was at Capilano University in Vancouver (Canada) for a semester. Vancouver is right on the ocean and in some places downtown is comparable to New York City. Similar skyscrapers can be found there. I can judge it well because our trip also took us to New York for 5 days. Hollywood films have even been made in Vancouver, which should show New York, because the cities are so similar. New York is also by the sea, but Vancouver is different. It has beautiful suburbs with single family homes (for example North and West Vancouver). Most of Vancouver’s residents live in these suburbs rather than downtown. The landscape around the city is also very beautiful and unique. I don’t remember finding anything like it anywhere else in the world. Huge mountains and vast forests can be seen directly behind said suburbs. The vast nature begins immediately at the end of these suburbs, which makes the city unique in my eyes. According to statistics, Vancouver has one of the highest quality of life in the world. The people are happy there and Canadians we spoke to say they don’t want to leave.

A lot of food and paper items are extremely expensive for us Germans there. The tuition fees and rents were also very high, although the university where we studied is the cheapest in Vancouver. Canada has one of the best education systems in the world. The Canadians put a lot of effort into their students and there is a friendliness and a tone that is second to none. There are almost no arrogant professors, you can talk to anyone about anything and your problems (as a student) will be looked after in an exemplary manner. Apart from the prices at a Canadian university everything is done to make the students’ everyday study life as pleasant as possible. Even the university’s own internet pages can be grasped and understood very quickly (even in English).

According to act-test-centers, the campus is also very nice. Canadians have a very strong bond with their school and like to identify with their school. For example, with their own sports teams. Their games are major events to which everyone comes and cheers the team on with their own sweaters and jerseys. Capilano University was a good decision. Capilano is a word used by the indigenous people there. The university was founded in 1968. And now offers a wide variety of courses. From business to chemistry, music or film, everything is included. The campus consists of various large buildings, all of which are named after trees, including the Maple or Cedar Building. The names are well chosen because of themselves the entire campus is located in the middle of a forest, which gives it a certain charm. Capilano University has a soccer team that it is very proud of, called the Capilano Blues.

If I have a typical week at Capilano University would have to describe, I would say that (as in Germany) you first go to the university and go to your lessons. There you sit down in your working groups (for example at your group table) and the lessons begin. However, slides projected on the wall are not read out (as in Germany), but things are told. At least it was like that in my 4 courses. From time to time PowerPoint slides were shown but the majority of the lessons consisted of conversations that the teacher had with the students. If that wasn’t the case, we were given new assignments or told what to write down for exams. In some courses we also had to deal with interactive tasks that should bring us closer to the topic.At Capilano University there was rarely the image of students sleeping or playing on their cell phones who were bored to death during the lecture. The students there are generally more motivated, which may also be due to the high fees. Many students have up to 3 mini jobs to finance their studies. When I wasn’t in class, I had group meetings to work on projects and presentations. After university there was sometimes time for sports, then cooking and eating. In between you had little free time and even had to study or work on the weekend. There wasn’t a typical week at Capilano University because every week was different.

Nevertheless, despite the rather exhausting semester, I had time for trips through Canada. These trips were worth it. According to my recommendation, you should definitely go to the Rocky Mountains. Apart from the high costs that I and my family have incurred and the little free time from time to time, I have nothing to complain about in the semester abroad. It was a unique and wonderful experience, which has brought me further academically and personally in my life and I would repeat it immediately. Just because of all the people you got to know there. New friendships have been made and I hope they last for life. Our agent MicroEDU did a great job. Many Thanks!

Capilano University Semester Abroad 3