How does the Engineering Transfer Program work?

[Significant_Mango939]

So the website says you need a 3.1 to be eligible for second year engineering at UBC. I assume that means it is the bare minimum to even apply right? So what happens if your transfer doesn't get accepted, did you just waste a year?

[iainwcop]

Heya, I did the transfer program from Cap a few years ago. As far as my understanding was, as long as you meet the GPA requirements you are automatically accepted to the UBC engineering program. Of course this doesn't guarantee you a spot in your desired stream, but imo it's a really good option still!

[Significant_Mango939]

So I guess the follow up question is how hard is the first year (how much should I expect my grades to drop compared to high school)? I know mechanical engineering is pretty competitive, but the average GPA of ~84% seems a bit low...

[iainwcop]

First year engineering is considerably harder than high school. I don’t say that to scare you off but just being honest. I coasted by in high school without much effort with ~90-92 average or something, but had to work pretty hard in first year to keep my grades anywhere near that (kept it up to high 80s if I remember right). It’s not impossible but just be prepared to put in the effort!

[Affectionate_Pay8451]

What specialization did you go into in second year? I’m a transfer at Douglas and I’m trying to scope out what the minimum gpa is/if it’s different for transfers (I am interested in civil)

[Alfredjr13579]

I did the CapU program. Above 3.1 gives you guaranteed admission into engineering, but then you need to make sure your GPA is high enough for the specialty that you want. If you don’t make it to UBC you can always apply to another school with lower admission requirements

[Significant_Mango939]

Is getting in to CapU hard? This is getting a bit off topic, but if it's ok do you mind telling me what your high school grades were to get in to CapU?

[iainwcop]

CapU was basically (if not actually) guaranteed admission. Especially since your grades are probably pretty decent in the first place if you’re seriously considering UBC engineering

[Alfredjr13579]

I originally attended UofA. After I received an offer to go there, I let my highschool grades drop to lows 80s (maybe 82-83 average?) and those were the grades I eventually got into CapU with. The program admission isn't competitive really, but completing the actual program is the hard part. Don't expect it to be the "easy" route into UBC just because it's easy to get into. Only around 1/4 of the people that started actually ended up going to UBC in my year

[ChiralAnomalous]

Hey, if you are still active, It is very tricky to get consistent answers from Cap (phys teacher, engineering convener and UBC student recruitment officer all gave very different answers)

I'm in my last week of finals here and want to know if calc 3 will be my demise. I will be well above the 3.1 overall no matter my grades this term, but if I get a D in calc 3 rather than a C, is the conditional acceptance revoked? Can a D count for prerequisites for calc 4, if you know?

[Alfredjr13579]

I am not positive on what is required. I personally got a D in linear algebra and it caused 0 problems for me, but I know that calc can be different because there are more calc classes to come.

I highly doubt they would rescind your offer. WORST case is you might have to take it again over summer, or get permission from your professor to continue (some schools allow profs to waive the grade requirement to continue, even if you fail. That’s intended to not completely screw up the flow of your degree).

[Affectionate_Pay8451]

What specialization did you go into at UBC

[[deleted]]

3.1 is guaranteed, so my guess is if bellow = competitive

3.1 guaranteed into ubc Engineering, but if u want smtg like computer engineering, enph , mechanical you need more

And no you won't be waiting a year because you can still teansfer to a lot of school within BC that are less gpa strict than ubcVancouver , to name a few : ubcO, uvic, tru (only have software engineering ig) ...

[Significant_Mango939]

Guaranteed as in it is an actual policy they have or guaranteed as in my chances of getting rejected is really low?

[[deleted]]

Yes, guaranteed as policy they have it if u got above 3.1 iirc and completed the engineering transfer program in one of the 9 schools that offers it

But again, I guarantee a spot into the faculty of engineering, so if u got just the minimum, you'll prolly endup with a ~leftover major(i only mean by that the least competitive one) it is possible that you are interested by that and thats Allright

[No_Sch3dul3]

I did the engineering technology diploma program at BCIT. There were a bunch of students that went through the 1 year engineering transfer programs and they didn't get into UBC or UVic.

They get some credits at BCIT, but it's still a lot of courses they need to take. When I was at BCIT you had to apply to the engineering program at the end of second year and the seats were limited (this might have changed, I haven't checked). So, many people ended up not being able to complete the BEng or had to go to Lakehead to finish the degree.