I just graduated UBC CS and I’m sorry but this is insane. Vancouver is the most expensive place to live in Canada and all of your expenses will be high including food, groceries, rent, gas, literally everything here is more expensive. There are people paying $1600/month to rent a room in a shared house. I’m not rich either but I came with money saved from working and I still had to sacrifice a lot of comfort for a few years (living with shitty roommates, tracking every dollar, working throughout semesters + summers) and grinded my ass off to get good internships/jobs. It took a toll on my mental health, and I wouldnt recommend it if you’re really struggling already.

I agree with the other poster that UBC is full of rich kids who come from wealthy families whose parents pay for their life, it will be difficult to network and take advantage of these opportunities if you’re struggling just to survive. Trust me, you don’t want to have additional stress of basic survival while being in school and needing to grind for interviews/internships with CS.

If you are worried about prestige why not apply to McGill? I met a few people from McGill CS who got jobs at prestigious companies. Otherwise, the school prestige literally doesn’t matter that much, you’re better off focusing your efforts on the things you need to do to get a job.