5 Reasons Why You Should Study at the University of Victoria

1. The Location

UVic is on Vancouver Island and it is such a beautiful part of the country. There is so much to do and see here, so much nature to take in and views to admire. It’s so close to many different beautiful locations, for example, 10 mins away from Cadboro Bay (Caddy Bay), Victoria’s beaches and city attractions are a short bus ride away. There are many nearby day trips you can do from here (Mystic Beach, hiking in East Sooke Regional Park, etc.) and Vancouver is just a short ferry ride away. The best thing about Victoria’s location is the ferry access to everywhere – ferries to Vancouver, the Gulf Islands and even Seattle if you fancy a fun day out or weekend away.

Another favourite which I loved but never expected to visit was Hawaii, only a six hour flight away from Vancouver! From Europe it would take around 15 hours and the price would be x4 or x5 what we paid so this was an unexpected “nearby” location I had not anticipated before jetting off to Canada.

2. The University itself

UVic has a varied study programme and lively campus life. As I had a business major, I took three modules relevant to my main study programme and one non-related module I was interested in. I took Cross-National Management, Leadership Strategies and Public Speaking which were related to my business degree and for my non-related class, I chose drawing (where along with improving our art skills, we learnt techniques on how to teach others, planning lessons and the art of being a good teacher). I truly loved these courses, the transferrable skills I picked up and also the other students I met. 

Having a campus lifestyle and living on campus was great as everything was accessible and pretty nearby, including classes and other students. Picking up a Starbucks before class, living close to your friends in the on-campus student accommodation, having the option of so many on-campus parties and fun events – it truly never got boring. If you weren’t in the mood for cooking, there were also many on-campus dining options, including classic cafeterias, cafes and ‘Felicita’s Pub’ – not to mention food delivery services (hello Domino’s, my old friend :)) I lived in the Cluster Housing which was a small student village on the outskirts of campus, with small houses and apartments shared with a few other students. I stayed in apartment 47B with two other exchange students and a local Canadian student. We all became close friends and living together with friends and sharing this experience abroad with them was a great bonding experience.

3. The Weather

The weather is the mildest here and the winters are not as extreme as in other parts of Canada (I’m talking -40°C or colder). My semester here was from January 2017 – April 2017 so there was a lot of colder weather. We did experience one of the coldest winters at the start of the year during my semester abroad there, so it did snow heavily a few times instead of the usual heavy rain, cancelling some classes and flights, but overall it was not really freezing like in Calgary, for example, where my aunt told me it was -40°C at times. As winter on Vancouver Island is not as extreme and long, we were able to enjoy a lot more outdoor activities without freezing and the sunsets were stunning however warm or cold the weather was.  

4. Life in Canada

Living in Canada is an experience, especially if you love the great outdoors. As I mentioned before, there is so much to see and do, whether you’re in the mood for hiking, orca spotting / whale watching, exciting ice hockey games or long road trips. From BC, to Alberta, there are endless options to make the most of living in and exploring this country. That being said, I did not get the chance to do a very long road trip here but some of the other students did drive from BC to Banff, Alberta – a highly recommended road trip. 

I did go on more local road trips, including to Tofino for a weekend. It was amazing and I’d highly recommend it to others. Three other friends and I rented a car from Victoria and drove to Tofino in the month of January (not the warmest time to visit this surfing destination but it was still beautiful, with nice hikes and pretty beaches despite the rain). We stayed in a cosy hostel Tofino Hostel / HI Whalers On The Point Guesthouse and my friends wanted to to this hike up a mountain on a nearby island (on a very rainy day) but I decided to stay in town and visit Tofino’s beaches with one of the bikes at the hostel. This was a wet, windy but overall fun day out and the nature in Canada is something else. I would probably not recommend taking a bike along the coast because it was hard to navigate on the beaches and through the woods at times but it was really useful on the ride back to the hostel for which I took the main road instead of the beaches, just making a short stop at Chocolate Tofino for some amazing hot chocolate. 

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games took place in Whistler, BC and I was lucky enough to be able to visit this dream ski destination for a weekend. Although my friend and I did not ski, there were still a lot of fun winter activities we did to enjoy the snow, including tubing for hours. If I had been given more time, I would have done a road trip to Banff and really explored the area and lakes. It would have been surreal to see the lakes all beautiful and blue in the summer instead of frozen during the time I was there. I did get to visit Banff for a day during which we took a gondola up the mountains, visited the town and a mostly frozen Lake Louise (I had hoped it would be turquoise blue like what you see online but it was still frozen in mid May) road tripped more in BC and flown to Yellowknife to see the Northern Lights like my friend did.

5. The People

The people I met during my time in Canada were so friendly and helpful. Whether it came to asking random strangers on the street for directions or befriending the Canadian girl sat next to me in Leadership class who ended up becoming one of my best friends and travel buddy for Italy the next year, Canadians are in general some of the kindest people you will meet. I was in Canada for the first time and did not know anyone there apart from my aunt, uncle and cousins who lived in Alberta, a different province to where I was studying (British Columbia).

I had the option of signing up for the Buddy Programme through the Gustavson School of Business (UVic) which I thought was a great idea. I was paired with a local “buddy” who would help me settle in, answer questions, etc. I found out who it was two months before I flew to Canada and it was great connecting with someone doing similar courses to me and local to the area. She also had a connection to the UK and lived some of her childhood there, like me. I met her at the airport when I arrived, she picked me up and we went for my first meal in Victoria, my fave, a delicious brunch. Two years ago, we even had a reunion in London after having stayed in touch every now and then. With another friend I met at UVic, we are planning to have another fun trip together like Italy 2018. 

Through the university, I met some amazing people from all over the world who were also studying abroad in Canada. We had students from Japan, France, India, Brazil, Germany, Sweden, Singapore and more. It was a great experience connecting with everyone and forming these friendships through a shared, unique experience that had brought us all together. I am so grateful for the people, the friendships and the memories. 

What’s important to you when deciding where to study abroad and which of the five reasons I’ve shared is your favourite? Let me know in the comments and also drop any questions you may have about my experience at UVic! I look forward to sharing more from my time there.

If you enjoyed reading this blog post, make sure to share it with friends and anyone who might be considering studying abroad or visiting Canada!

With love, Wania <3

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