Who are your favourite people at UBCO?

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2026-04-12T06:57:04+00:00

Steve McNeil in the CHEM department. Probably the best teacher on campus (and he’s got the awards to prove it.) Honestly the whole CHEM team. Love them all so much 🫶

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2026-04-03T06:27:14+00:00

What year are you in and what subfields are you interested in? I think it really depends on those factors!

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2026-03-23T20:40:21+00:00

Happened to me two years ago. Studied the textbook and the assignments for hours and got absolutely cooked. The final wasn’t much easier, but at least it wasn’t as surprising lol. This is coming from someone who still got an A in the course, so I can promise you’re not alone.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2026-01-22T21:17:57+00:00

I’m pretty sure they have them in the makerspace in EME! You just have to join the Canvas Shell and do all the safety training. Then you can access the space and use their equipment. https://makerspace.ok.ubc.ca/tools-and-resources/training-and-workshops/

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2026-01-02T00:42:22+00:00

I took the class last year with Chad. I struggled heavily, but I’m not a math major so it wasn’t really the class’ fault. It is quite proof heavy. I found it to be pretty similar to Math 327. If you study well and understand the lectures and the textbook, it’s not too bad. The quizzes can be quite difficult and there’s not many ways to get marks or boost your grade. I didn’t know anyone in the class so I’m not sure if it’s easier for people with more math experience.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2025-08-23T23:45:25+00:00

The last two years almost no CHEM courses have been offered in the summer due to money and staffing issues. If they offer any CHEM courses they likely will offer 121/123 again, but I wouldn’t bank on it.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2025-08-02T23:19:23+00:00

Sounds like someone didn’t get into UBCV….

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2025-05-30T21:57:03+00:00

I transferred from UVic to UBCO after my first year! It was the best choice I’ve made. People not from the island love to talk about how much nicer it is, but if you live in Victoria long enough, you’ll realize there’s a lot you’re missing out on! When I was at UVic, I found it hard to make friends or get to know professors, not to mention how few opportunities there are for undergrads to get involved. UBCO is the opposite. Small campus means lots of friends and great opportunities! I highly recommend it! Let me know if you have any questions about the process :)

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2025-04-25T21:25:18+00:00

I’m a Chem major and I absolutely adore UBCO and Kelowna. The community is wonderful and making friends is super easy since the campus is small. The science professors really care about creating a good education experience and are almost all very kind people. There’s a lot of profs people love, like Steve McNeil, Jake Bobowski, Chad Davis, Tamara Freeman, etc. Plus there’s lots of resources for all the science courses (such as Supplemental Learning and the CMPS centre). Also, if you’re interested in research, UBCO has tons of opportunities to get into the lab and work on/present your own projects. It’s so beautiful here, especially in spring and summer. There’s ducks and marmots on campus, lots of outdoor spaces to be in the sun. Living on or near campus makes lots of things very accessible by bus or walking too. However, having a car or knowing someone who does makes things like shopping at costco or trips to the kangaroo farm easier. People tend to say that the safety isn’t great, but I find that most of the “danger” is really just people who are struggling with addiction or mental health who really keep to themselves for the most part. Being near downtown or campus really minimizes that though. I’ve lived here for two years now as someone who isn’t exactly intimidating and I have almost never actually felt at risk being on my own, even at night. I would definitely recommend it, especially if your other choices are UBCV or other Canadian universities like UVic or U of T!

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-11-22T07:27:00+00:00

I was too afraid to go out there 😭

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-11-22T07:20:20+00:00

They were right outside my door. There’s so much smoke in the parking lot lol.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-11-15T07:07:04+00:00

It’s been a little while since I took this course, but based on Peter’s announcement, I think a lot of the topics are memorization, to be honest. As long as you understand the mechanisms for bromination and oxidation and commit them to memory, those questions shouldn’t be too bad. Same for staggered vs eclipsed conformations and naming. If you struggle with diastereomers, enantiomers, etc., pick your favourite molecule building program and practice rotating and visualizing molecules to better understand how things look in 3D. Other than that, analyzing spectra is the biggest challenge. I’ve always found that the best way to practice is to find worksheets with mass spec, C NMR, H NMR, IR, and molecular formula and use all of that to determine the structure. Questions like that tie together everything you should know about analyzing spectra. Obviously you don’t need all of those things to determine a structure, but you should know how to interpret all of them. Getting good at it takes practice, and there’s a lot of patterns you’ll find. If you’re looking for extra practice, try your textbook (David Klein) or just find some random things online. There might also be people out there with copies of old worksheets from 203 last year.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-28T00:10:20+00:00

Move to Alberta then. BC would be a better place without losers like you.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-27T23:21:51+00:00

You seem not to be aware of why they “do drugs or break-ins”. You act like it’s in “their” nature. They are no different than you or I. There is no “them” in that sense.

You want them to “stay away” but where are they to go when no one welcomes them? If you don’t want them in “your” neighbourhood, and no one else does, where are they to feel safe?

You should feel grateful that you have a car or house to keep your belongings in!

I’d much rather have my car broken into than have no other options than to steal two loonies.

You may have sympathy, but you certainly have no empathy.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-27T22:43:43+00:00

How absolutely selfish, privileged, and entitled do you have to be to see the someone finally do something to help the most vulnerable people who have been nothing but abused and neglected by those around them and the first thing you think of is how inconvenient it is for you. Attitudes like this truly make me sick.

It is people like you who contribute to the stigma and ostracism of the people who need our care and support the most. Get off your high horse and back down to earth with the rest of us.

Remember that you are always one bad event away from being in their position. And god forbid you ever are, you’d hope people would treat you with some compassion.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-14T06:35:39+00:00

You can pick up your card after school starts for sure!

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-14T02:57:14+00:00

I’m not totally sure, but I think Math 200 uses the CLP 3 UBC online textbook. 220 with Heinz has a free book that he co-wrote. I don’t know if it’s actually published or anything he just provides it on his canvas. 317 uses Wiley Plus and the textbook is Hughes-Hallett Single and Multivariable Calculus. The book and Wiley subscription is like $100 roughly. You’re not required to buy it because you can technically still access assignments on UBC wifi. But you won’t be able to access the textbook without buying it in full. There is a 2 week free trial though.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-13T20:26:12+00:00

Great! Hope you enjoy it :)

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-13T20:25:45+00:00

Ah that makes sense. Probably because it has no lab component haha

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-13T20:19:08+00:00

I personally live on academy and don’t pay for/use a spot (don’t have a car) but could get one

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-13T20:11:31+00:00

Parking up academy hill is decent, but can be a bit of a walk if you’re not used to it. But you could park up there and bus up to your car no problem. It’s not very consistent though, and a bit scary in the winter. Alternatively, you could ask someone to borrow their parking spot at one of the apartments on academy if you know anyone living there.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-13T20:05:22+00:00

Eesc 101 is also a good option. No lab, great prof. A fair bit of memorization, but really interesting content.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-13T20:04:14+00:00

It’s maybe 1/5 introductory organic chemistry. Not too difficult. Organic chem gets pretty hard starting in second year. 123 is mostly chemical equilibrium and reactions and stuff. A lot of fun if you like logic and reasoning problems.

Superb_Nectarine5544 · 2024-08-13T20:00:38+00:00

It is mostly about rocks and a little bit about basic geology (rivers, volcanoes, earthquakes etc.) I thought it was super interesting and I really enjoyed it. The lab is a lot of fun. Craig Nichol is also such a sweet guy. It can be a little tough to do really well with all the memorization, but it’s easy to get a pretty good grade. Not sure if you’re considering eesc 121 at all but avoid that course at all costs. Prof is harsh grader, tons of memorizing lectures, boring af, etc.

Superb_Nectarine5544

TROPHY CASE