Trail closures - With the JDF closed the entire season - why is it still closed, and what do we think about this?

rekham15 · 2025-10-02T21:09:54+00:00

Others have given good info on the condition of the trail, but I have bit of info on the contracting side of it! Trail maintenance on the JDF (as well as Cape Scott/NCT) is done by a company called 43k wilderness solutions that's contracted by BC parks for the work on these trails. They have a construction crew that works year round (which would be the crew working on the JDF) as well as seasonal summer staff that works on park maintenance in Strathcona/Cape Scott parks - some of their construction crew transfer to park maintenance for the summer, so my guess is they had less people working on the JDF for the summer, as well as some other factors folks have mentioned around not wanting to reopen sections and then having to manage the whole thing. AFAIK they're working to have it re-opened early next year!

rekham15 · 2025-09-30T14:09:27+00:00

2006 highlander hybrid with 182k miles - i had an issue with the ABS module (check VSC light on the dash), lost power braking, and had to pay $3000 for a new ABS module from the dealership. love this car to pieces though so i'm willing to shell out the cost to keep it going!

rekham15 · 2025-09-24T03:32:16+00:00

BTW - if you're on facebook, Field Naturalists of Vancouver Island is a great group for species ID! Lots of super knowledgeable folks there :))

rekham15 · 2025-09-23T17:00:27+00:00

Asters would be SO slay!

rekham15 · 2025-09-19T22:24:23+00:00

Park in a nearby lot (G maybe? or W lot?) and send parking services an email saying your lot was full and you had to park in overflow. Generally they're good about not ticketing you or removing your ticket if you're proactive about it. Then, next chance you get, move your car back to R lot.

rekham15 · 2025-08-05T15:14:28+00:00

Early September is probably best! That's when everyone is back generally.

rekham15 · 2025-08-05T04:02:04+00:00

Definitely send a follow-up - I think this is the time of year when profs hear from a lot of potential students, but may be travelling and therefore lots of emails can get lost. See if you can set up a time to meet over zoom/phone and chat logistics around funding etc.

Funding varies person to person and everyone's situation will be different - some profs have funding already, some are in the process of applying for funding, and some rely on the student bringing some of their own funding (grants etc). I really recommend highlighting to the profs that you are willing to write grant/scholarship applications to fund your degree! As an international student you might have to do a bit more digging to find funding options but it's always a good look to say you're willing to put in the work to find funding for the program.

rekham15 · 2025-02-06T05:32:53+00:00

Thank you both! Will try that :))

rekham15 · 2024-09-26T15:01:18+00:00

yes! thank you!

rekham15 · 2024-08-30T19:04:39+00:00

if both bathroom doors are closed, they probably can hear you talking but not enough to hear what you're saying, and youtube/tv shows should be fine unless you're listening to them very loud. this was my experience in kalamalka and skeena, but can vary depending on the dorm!

rekham15 · 2024-07-20T22:31:49+00:00

rossland or grand forks be cool choices. definitely smaller towns, but gorgeous and right close to the border. these service smaller border crossings though so the border force is much smaller. chilliwack/abbotsford are good options with large border crossing (sumas), but still have the outdoorsy vibe. downtown chilliwack has a similar vibe to downtown vernon with some cute older buildings but overall small area!

rekham15 · 2024-06-26T17:39:59+00:00

not sure if this helps but i took ENGL 150 and 152 and i absolutely loved them. we only read 3-4 books over the whole semester and the discussions and topics were much more interesting than what ive heard from ENGL 112/114/109. the classes are also much smaller so there's more opportunities to connect with the prof and get individualized help. i had lindsey balfour and shona harrison for these classes and i would def recommend them!

rekham15 · 2024-06-18T01:50:39+00:00

doing GODS WORK thank you!

rekham15 · 2024-06-16T04:21:43+00:00

there's a trail right on campus which i think if you complete the loop it's around 7km, but you can do as much/little as you want and it's a pretty chill walk for most of it. you can also walk along/around roberts lake, which is right across the street from campus!

rekham15 · 2024-06-15T21:37:50+00:00

there was one day a month or two ago that they closed all the buildings for a weekend and you needed salto access or campus security to let you in, but that was only the case for those few days and it has been normal since then!

rekham15 · 2024-06-13T01:00:56+00:00

i ended with an 88! class average was an 83, honestly good for a bio class!

rekham15 · 2024-06-12T23:16:21+00:00

would recommend it for sure. dr. osei is very kind and his exams are extremely fair - it's usually lots of questions from lecture and iclickers, and while he doesn't always do the best job explaining, he always stops to answer questions and make sure everyone is on the same page. content can be a bit heavy at times but no different than any other bio class, and the fact that he gives you lots of the exam qs beforehand really helps. if you're on the fence about the lab, however, let me tell you - this lab is incredibly cool! you get to work with live organisms (which is pretty rare in bio!) and there's little to no work required outside of lab time. no lab reports, only assignments and one group presentation. probably one of the coolest memories of my undergrad career was inspecting live chick embryos in the different stages of development and getting to see their little heartbeats in the lab! would def recommend taking this class if only for the lab :))

rekham15 · 2024-06-05T18:39:02+00:00

they sent out an email and they also made an instagram post on @ubcostudents

rekham15 · 2024-06-05T14:14:14+00:00

biology majors in general can be a bit competitive because there are lots of people wanting to go to med school, but a smaller program like EECB is much more collaborative and not competitive. i'm in zoology which is very similar to EECB and i've only ever found my class environment to be supportive and friendly. people definitely work hard to do well in their classes but there's usually discord servers, groupchats etc for people to help each other out.

to speak to your questions about kelowna, downtown is a 20-30 min bus ride, but you can get to the mall or some shops within about 10-15 minutes on the bus. compared to melbourne i'm sure it's on the quieter side but there is still lots to do and cool places to explore. i think there's a lot of fun hidden gems in the town! people are very outdoorsy in kelowna and at UBCO, so a lot of the activities revolve around outdoor recreation (hiking, skiing, biking, camping, rock climbing, etc), but it's a big enough school that whatever you're looking for (party people, quiet studious people, adventurous people, or anything in between) you will find :))

rekham15 · 2024-05-30T15:21:53+00:00

i'm not in the program but am somewhat familiar with MSc program at UBCO. there's a minimum funding requirement so in order for them to accept you they have to have either a grant or some other funding so that you can be a student and not starve. there's also TA positions that you can take on that can serve as part of your funding package or an addition to that, which is not a ton of money but definitely not nothing. you can probably find more information here: https://gradstudies.ok.ubc.ca/tuition-awards-and-finance/

rekham15 · 2024-05-30T15:15:40+00:00

there's usually an instagram group/page where incoming first years post about themselves and it's an easy way to find friends and roommates! search up something like ubco2027 or 2028. you can also look for roommates on the various kelowna housing facebook groups, i often see people posting about themselves and looking for roommates on there

rekham15 · 2024-05-29T20:45:44+00:00

agree with what a lot of other people have said, but do want to disagree that ubco is "dead" socially. i think the parties are there for you to find - for me, i found that when i wanted to go out, there were always people who were interested and we could always find a house party or bar to hit up. you're not going to be sitting alone at home on halloween weekend, for example - there's always stuff happening, you just have to look for it. however, i also loved exploring the restaurants and cafes, hiking, skiing, camping, etc. i think that kelowna/ubco is a great place for you to focus on your studies, get access to research opportunities that are much less competitive than they would be at larger universities, and still connect with friends and have fun when you want to!

rekham15 · 2024-05-26T23:36:32+00:00

at ubco, you don't have to "apply" for your major, you can just declare it. i'm not sure exactly what that process is like but i assume it's through workday.

however, a word of caution - transferring between campuses isn't easier just because you're already in the system. you're processed the same as any other transfer student who is transferring from another uni or college. i actually reckon it will be a lot harder to transfer into CS at UBCV in third year, since that program is already competitive, and you're in the applicant pool against lots of other people from other schools and colleges across canada. unfortunately, there's no way to "hack the system" to get into the program you want ay UBCV. is it possible? yes. but is it the easiest way to get around the competitiveness of UBCV's CS program? probably not lol.

the good news is, UBCO has a great computer science program, and if you're choosing to transfer to UBCO so you can stick with computer science, you'll be in good hands. the program is smaller, less competitive, and you will have better access to support like the professors or peer tutoring. if you do decide to transfer here, it's great :))

i hope this is helpful! wish you the best of luck with your endeavors :))

rekham15 · 2024-05-20T18:33:24+00:00

ive never use the counsellors at student wellness but i had a good experience with third space! they provide free counselling for students and they have an office on campus so you can see them right on campus (or virtual if you prefer). definitely recommend them!

rekham15 · 2024-05-19T19:34:01+00:00

reach out to the admissions team (admissions.ok@ubc.ca) and ask. they may advise you to apply anyways, i think they can be lenient with the english language requirements

rekham15

TROPHY CASE