First Year UBC Tips + Tricks
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes, it stems from my personal experience as a first year science student at UBC. By using any resources or tips from this article, you understand you do so at your own risk.
Hi soon-to-be UBC students,
First, congratulations! You’ve made it through high school and university is right around the corner. You’re probably feeling a little nervous but excited and thrilled for a new chapter of your life. Over the course of my first year, I’ve compiled a small list of resources and tips that helped me throughout my first year. Here are a bunch of nifty tips, from borrowing a free laptop to finding microwaves around campus to heat up your lunch, so enjoy the read!
These tips extend beyond first year, so reference it back as you feel. Oh, and feel free to contact me if you would like to add to this list!
P.S. I’ve included Amazon affiliate links to products I use and recommend so you can support me while I support you. Win win.
Must Do Before School Starts
- Get a picture for your UBC student card and pick it up to avoid waiting in line during the first week of school.
2. Setup your UBC Email address:
I recommend selecting the UBC hosted version so that when you graduate, you will still have access to your hosted mailbox. Additionally, you can forward emails from the hosted mailbox to your personal email in the settings so you won’t miss out on any emails to your [name]@alumni.ubc.ca email
3. Get Amazon Prime for students. (Free Trial for 6 months)
4. Get Microsoft Office and 1TB (1000Gbs) of free cloud storage on OneDrive!
5. Link your UPass to your Compass Card (If you’re starting in September, you’ll need to link it in mid-August)
6. Sign up for Umbracity! Borrow an umbrella for free up to 24 hrs at one of the designated kiosks. Note: a credit card and cell phone number is required. -Thanks Jason.
7. Get an iClicker (new or used). Getting an iClicker now before the start of the year would be smart because there is so much demand in September.
Textbooks + Courses
In first year, I thought I had to purchase all the textbooks before classes started. But soon learned that things are a little different.
This is where you can find the textbooks for the courses you’re registered for:
When September rolled around, many students purchase textbooks around the first/second week of school because the profs may not use them in their course (even though the course list builder say’s the textbook is mandatory…). Or, you may no longer want to take the course after a couple of lectures, so there’s no rush in buying textbooks.
Quick note, this is can highly depend on the course. For example, Chemistry 121 required students to purchase their own textbook (the CHIRP) because the textbook is updated annually and the Chemistry department doesn’t allow students to use previous years.
Where I bought textbooks:
From older friends or UBC’s FaceBook buy and sell groups, Amazon https://www.facebook.com/groups/234720869933130/
Quick tip from reddit, thanks /u/cynber_mankei
Grants
You can travel to attend conferences at a reduced price with your undergraduate society. Yes that means discounted travelling!!! This is considered as professional development. For comp sci students, you can travel to hackathons at a reduced price!!
Arts Undergraduate Society:
Science Undergraduate Society:
Engineering Undergraduate Society:
Land And Food Systems:
https://www.lfsus.landfood.ubc.ca/copy-of-the-pod
Commuters
EBooks + Audiobooks:
Check out your local library’s website to get free access to downloadable Ebooks and Audiobooks to make your commute productive and more enjoyable! You can even borrow movies and tv shows to watch while you’re on the bus/skytrain/seabus.
Lockers:
Lockers are really useful and can be rented for a low price each semester (Sep — Dec/Jan — Apr), academic year (Sep-Apr), and/or summer (May-August).
Lockers can be found by organizations such as the Undergraduate Chemistry Society, Computer Science Student Society, etc. Most are open to anyone renting (you don’t have to be a Computer Science major to rent out CSSS lockers) but each organization may vary.
Collegia:
Highly recommend. Take a break between classes to socialize, use a kitchen, or relax in a comfortable, friendly, and welcoming environment.
Microwave locations with peak usage:
Credit — from someone on reddit… sorry I forgot their username.
Residence
Recommended things to bring:
Laser printer, you’ll save a lot of time from walking/finding a printer and waiting to use one. Additionally, toner for laser printers is very inexpensive compared to inkjet cartridges. Also, if your printer has Google Cloud Print, you can print from anywhere in the world as long as you have internet — useful for those last-minute prints when you gotta run across campus (comes from experience).
toner ~ $10+ for 2000 pages
inkjet ~$20+ for 190 pages for just black
New — Amazon — Brother laser printers are pretty reliable. I had the Brother DCPL2520DW.
Used-FB/Craigslist /Let Go/Classifieds/Previous Students— Make sure you test the printer thoroughly (wifi is working, pages are printing straight, etc.)
Mini Refrigerator. Store cereal, yogurt, leftovers, perishables, and of course… beer. For those quick breakfasts and Saturday nights with the boys/gals
New-Amazon:
Used — FB/Craigslist /Let Go/Classifieds/Previous Students — Ask to have it plugged before you meet the seller and ensure there are no leaks and transport the fridge upright. Why? Here’s a link
Router — If you’re going to reside at Totem/Place Vanier, be sure to pickup a router because your room may not have WiFi. I recommend getting a router that supports 5Ghz Wifi so that you get the fastest internet speed possible.
If you’re into technology, I recommend getting routers with DDWRT compatible firmware because there are many great features such as built in VPN that are fun to play with.
New-Amazon:
Used — FB/Craigslist /Let Go/Classifieds/Previous Students —If you can test using an ethernet cable, that would be great. But it can be a little hard without a direct connection to internet. In those cases, just make sure the lights turn on and the wifi network exists (can check through your phone).
UBC Parking
Free Options:
Village — Between 6PM and 9AM, the meters are free
Marine Dr — Anytime, but limited space
Another very smart way of commuting is to drive close to campus and then take the bus the rest of the way. For example if I’m coming from Richmond, I would park my car by 41st Ave and Dunbar and ride the 49/480/43/41 to UBC. That way you can:
- Utilize your UPass
- Avoid time wasted parking/traffic
- Avoid having to pay for parking
- Save time having to travel around campus to get to your car. Bus stops are easier to get to (Varies on the location of your classes)
Stuff I Carry in my Backpack:
An Umbrella
Just get one. You’ll thank me later.
Like I said above, you can also sign up for Umbracity! Borrow an umbrella for free up to 24 hrs at one of the designated kiosks. Note: a credit card and cell phone number is required. -Thanks Jason.
Here is where you can find one of the kiosks:
Powerbank
PowerBank — for all those times to — Anker 20100 mAh Portable Charger
Most reliable one I’ve purchased and use almost daily:
Wireless Earbuds
I’ve been using the SoundBuds Slim for more than half a year now. They’re great and pretty inexpensive.
Food/Drinks
Starbucks — You can use your UBC flex dollars at the Starbucks by the UBC Bookstore
Dominos — They open until 3AM and accept UBC student card flex dollars! (Yes, many of my friends didn’t know this until I told them)
Special Dominoes Codes:
4201 — 4 Topping Pizza for $12
4049 – 2 Medium Topping Pizza + Coke for $15
Other options:
Bikes:
Planning to bring a bike?
U-Locks are a must, I had my 2 month new mountain bike stolen because I used a cable lock. You can’t go wrong with Kryptonite U-Locks, if someone is able to cut through a Kryptonite u-lock, you may get your bike fully reimbursed (Thanks — Kareem). Also, you should register your bike with 529 Garage, a national bike registry.
Free Caged Bike Lockers
Store your bike on campus for free in locked cages only accessible via your UBC Card.
Misc:
- Rez tip: if you input your pin wrong of your first 3 digits, you can press * on the locks to restart.
AMS Health and Dental Plan
Every student is required to pay for this unless their parent/guardian already has a plan for them. So read up on it and use these benefits!
Benefits include:
- Eye exams — You can get 100% off by going to Image Optometry
- Prescription Glasses
- Teeth cleaning/polishing
- Massage Therapy
- Physiotherapy
Technology you can borrow from the UBC Library:
- Windows Laptops
- Calculators
Chargers:
- Mac Chargers
- Laptop Chargers
- iPhone Chargers
Audio, Film, & Media:
- DSLR — Rebel T5i + Canon EFS 18–55mm lens
- GoPro Camera Hero 4
- GoPro Mounts
- Tripod
For a full list:
More Resources:
- AMS Services: resources for UBC students such as a food bank, Safewalk, tutoring, advocacy and mental health/addiction resources such as AMS Vice and SpeakEasy.
- Vancouver General Hospital Access & Assessment Centre for referrals and assessment. It is a good starting point for getting help with improving your mental health.
- Student Health Service — medical clinic w/ Mental Health & Sports Medicine
- UBC Wayfinding — campus map and building information
- Translink — transit schedule lookup and maps
- The Ubyssey — your student-run campus newspaper
- CiTR — your student radio station
- AMS — your student society
- UBC Lost and Found — lost something on campus? Check here!
- Free software — You can get Office, MATLAB, a VPN, and more, all for free.
- Rate My Professors — crowdsourced ratings for professors and their courses
- UBC Pair — grade distributions for previous offerings of all classes offered at UBC (UBC CWL required to access)
- Room Schedule/Timetable — find class and room schedules
- Slacknotes — historical grade distributions for past courses and professors
- Unofficial transcripts — a bookmarklet that will generate transcripts from SSC pages.
- UBC Pre-Req Tree Navigator — see all the courses that you can, can’t, or need to take.
- Other Useful Places:
- UBC Engineering
- UBC Computer Science Student Society
- Vancouver
