Experience Report (final report) Index: Before Canada

• Visa • Flight • Contact to people from the U of A

Arrival and living in Edmonton

• The first days • Accommodation • Insurance • Canadian bank account • City of Edmonton

At the university

• Studying • Courses • Recreational activities on campus

Hello,

My name is Laura Farsch and I’m one of the Bachelor-Plus students who studied at the

University of Alberta in Edmonton for two terms. I hope this report will help the next

students who are coming to Edmonton in the future during their preparations for a year

abroad in Canada.

All should start with the application for this program called “Bachelor Plus”. If you are

chosen: Congratulations! An exciting year full of new experiences, challenges and great

adventures is waiting for you. Be prepared to study hard, to go through a tough winter

and to explore an amazing country with breathtaking nature and awesome people.

Before Canada

There are several things to consider before you start your trip to Canada. But if you don’t

wait until the last minute all will work fine. Don’t panic and calm down!

Besides, there are a lot of things which cannot be managed from Germany or at least it is

much easier to organize them in Canada than from Germany.

Visa

To study in Canada, as an international exchange student, for a period longer than 6

months, you must have a study permit to gain access to this country. You can apply for it

online on the following website: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index-can.asp. Just to

inform you, the Canadian Embassy changed its location from Berlin to Vienna. Don’t be

confused that you have to send your application there.

The online application is a very easy and comfortable way to receive your study permit.

But be aware that the application takes time to complete; expect it to take a few hours.

They will ask you several questions and you must provide a lot of information about

yourself as well as about your financial situation.

Proofs which are required are confined to: a biometric photo, a copy of your (valid!)

passport, your admission at the Canadian University and a proof about your financial

support (this can be provided by Ms. Stadler). You don’t need a police certificate if you

apply for the study permit online.

A huge benefit of this online application is as you complete it, your account will save

your settings and you can update, complete or check your application statues at any time.

It takes 3-4 weeks of processing, so you should finish your application at least 6-8 weeks

before you are going to fly to Canada.

In addition to this time-consuming process of the visa application, the study permit costs

125$.

Flight

Two general rules; the earlier the flight is booked the cheaper it will be and a one-way

ticket is much more expensive than a return ticket. On long-distance flights it is very

risky to hope for cheap last-minute flights. Normally, they get more expensive the longer

you wait. Usually, there is no difference between prices you can find on the internet

compared to prices which travel bureaus offer.

If you cannot decide between a one-way or return ticket you might want to take a look at

the charges One-way tickets sometimes cost up to 1000€. However, if you decide to buy

this kind of ticket, you can decide later when you wish to return. This might be

beneficial.

Even though it is a difficult decision to choose a return date beforehand, I chose this

option. You still have the possibility to rebook your return flight for a booking fee

between 120 and 170€ (it depends on the current tax and fuel fees). My flight cost 868€

(booked at the beginning of April) plus the fees for the rebook of 170€ at a later date.

Contact to people from the U of A

If you have any questions concerning the matriculation at the U of A, the enrollment in

courses or some general questions during your preparations, don’t hesitate to contact the

following persons: Pamela Minty (Pamela.Minty@ales.ualberta.ca), she is the student

advisor responsible for international students at the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and

Environmental Sciences. Or Alex Drummond (alex.drummond@ualberta.ca), he is from

the Alberta School of Forest Science and Management & Department of Renewable

Resources and a coordinator of the international exchange programs. He can answer all

your questions, too.

Arrival and Living in Edmonton

The fist days

To avoid unnecessary stress, I would recommend arriving in Edmonton a week before

classes at the U of A start, so that you can organize yourself in the new city, as well as to

look for a place to live during your time in Edmonton. For the first couple of days the HI-

hostel (http://www.hihostels.ca/westerncanada/1404/HI-Edmonton.hostel) provides an

adequate temporary accommodation. There is a nice atmosphere and it is located close to

the University.

In the following days you should look for a permanent accommodation, get health care

insurance, open a Canadian bank account, and explore the U of A Campus.

Accommodation

In general, there are two options: on- or off-campus. I applied for an accommodation on

campus (http://www.residence.ualberta.ca/) but they couldn’t offer me a room. Therefore,

I had to look for another place to stay, when I arrived in Edmonton. Renting spaces

(http://www.rentingspaces.ca/index.htm) as well as Kijiji (http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/) are

helpful websites to search for accommodations.

Be aware that you have to pay much more for your monthly lease compared to Germany

and the money from your scholarship will not cover all the costs. 500-700$ monthly rent

is standard especially if you are looking for a room close to the University. This is

another important point to consider in your apartment hunting. Remember that it is

getting very cold in the winter and depending on the weather conditions it is favourable

to have a short walking distance to the University (public transit is not the best in

Edmonton but okay).

Insurance

Even if you have insurance from home which covers all services abroad, the University

of Alberta will charge you for the U of A Health Insurance Plan (UAHIP). All

international students who are less than 12 months in the country must obtain coverage

through this plan. The UAHIP cost is 38$ per month for single students.

Nevertheless, there is a possibility to get out of this plan if you can receive insurance

cover through the Alberta Health Care Insurance, which is for free. Usually, as

international student, you must have a valid study permit for at least 12 months to be

eligible for Alberta Health Care. If your study permit isn’t valid for 12 months (as it was

in my case) just indicate in your insurance application that you will extent your study

permit and then it should work.

For further questions, you can either ask Alex Drummond, he is also familiar with this.

Or the International Office on Campus can answer questions concerning the whole

insurance subject, too. Also, feel free to contact me, as I would be happy to answer any

questions.

Bank account

Although you can pay almost everything with credit card (Master and Visa is generally

accepted) I decided to open a bank account with a Canadian bank. I chose the CIBC bank

because they don’t charge you for opening a bank account or additional service fees. It is

also the closest bank to campus. I found this a good way to avoid frequent international

fees which I have had to pay by using my Mastercard. If you will also decide to open a

Canadian bank account, consider that there are transferring fees to transfer money from

Germany to Canada. I would recommend transferring a large amount of money to avoid

further expenses for international transactions.

City of Edmonton (climate, living costs, public transit)

Edmonton is the capital city of the Western Canadian province Alberta and has

approximately 1 Million citizens. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River

with a beautiful River Valley which offers a lot of opportunities to do sports like running,

walking, cross-country skiing, biking... etc.

The fall can be warm and sunny but during the 6-month winter it’s getting very cold. So

be excited for a wonderful autumn but also bring warm winter clothes. Or you can buy

them here. The Mountain Equipment Co-op (called MEC:

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ContentPrimary/Services/Stores/Edmonton.jsp) is a very nice

place to get really good outdoor clothes for adequate prices. The first snow usually falls

at November and stays until the end of March. The temperatures may change very

quickly. On the one day it can be +8°C and on the next -20°C. So check them frequently

if you leave the house. Especially, for outdoor activities!

As well as the high accommodation prices, you will also have high costs of living.

Groceries are much more expensive than in Germany. Depending on the individual

person you should calculate up to 350$ per months for living costs. If you are looking for

some products from home, there is a nice German Food Store on Whyte Avenue called

K&K.

The public transit in Edmonton consists of a tram and a bus system. Until now, the tram

system has just one tram line from North to South and it is called LRT. To reach the rest

of the city you have to take the bus. As a student you own the ONEcard (your student ID)

with the U-pass in terms of a sticker on the student ID. The U-pass is your bus and LRT

ticket and allows you free access to the whole Edmonton Public Transit System.

As a student in Edmonton you will get also familiar with Whyte Avenue really fast.

Whyte Avenue is a large avenue with a lot of bars, restaurants, shops, pubs, clubs (visit

the country clubs in any case!), and also some grocery stores. It is a nice place for

spending free evenings there and for hanging out with some friends.

At the University

The biggest difference between the University of Freiburg and the University of Alberta

is the U of A Campus. Instead of having the University buildings spread over the whole

city (as it is in Freiburg), the University of Alberta has a huge campus where all academic

buildings are located. To get familiar with the campus it might be helpful to participate in

the orientation week which is offered by the international office on campus and takes

place a week before classes start. Also the official U of A website (www.ualberta.ca)

provides maps and further helpful tools so that you don’t get lost on campus.

Studying

First of all, you should know that studying at a Canadian university is busier than at your

home university. The workload per course is much higher and will require more than

only a final exam at the end of your lectures, as you know it from Freiburg. In Canada

students have to write assignments, term papers, lab reports, quizzes and mid-terms

during the semester and a final-term at the end. Of course, not every class requires all of

these examinations. Mostly, it is a combination of few of them. Some classes also have a

lab (laboratory) in addition to the lecture. It is designed to get some practical application

of the content which is covered in the lecture. And you also get marked for attendance

and participation in class.

Courses

If you haven’t chosen your courses before you go to Canada, that’s okay. You can

register in courses or drop them during the first two weeks in the semester. So go visit

them and decide after. You can enroll into classes via BearTracks. It is comparable to

Campus Management that we have in Freiburg. It might be helpful if you have a general

idea what you want to take. To find out which forestry or environmental courses are

offered from the U of A visit the homepage of ALES (Faculty of Agricultural, Life &

Environmental Sciences: http://www.ales.ualberta.ca/).

I attended the following courses at the U of A:

Forest Ecosystems

This class was composed of lectures and a lab. The content of the lectures was a little bit

a repetition of what I have already learned at the Biology & Ecology class at the

University of Freiburg. Five Quizzes (spread over the entire semester) and a final-term at

the end was required for the lecture part. Attendance and participation in class was also

recommended. For the lab we started with 3 field trips where we collected data from

three different stands. We had to analyze the data and summarized them in 3 assignments

and a presentation. The experiences I gained in the laboratory were really new for me and

improved my scientific skills.

Harvesting and Transportation

This course provides students with information on harvesting and transportation methods

and technologies in Alberta. Road construction problems and basic engineering soil

properties are the main topics to be addressed. The course doesn’t have a lab. Weekly

reading assignments, homework about harvest problems, a term paper, a mid-term and a

final-term were required to pass this class.

Protected Areas Management and Planning

Concerning the contents, this class deals with the principles and practices of managing

and planning protected areas (Provincial Park and National Park systems as well as forest

recreational systems will be discussed). The final mark is based on your participation in

class, your mid- and final-term mark and a group project concluding with a presentation

about one specific protected area. If you choose to take this class you will enjoy the

lectures as the teacher has a very entertaining way to teach.

Forest Fire Management

Due to the fact that the German forestry doesn’t have to deal with fire disturbance yet, the

content of this course was totally new for me and I gained a lot from this class. The main

three topics of this class were: Fire Fuel, Fire Behaviour and Fire Ecology. The

requirements for this class (except attendance and participation) were: 2 lab reports, 2

assignments, a term paper, a final-term and 5-7 pop quizzes (unannounced quizzes).

Especially the labs where we did some experiments with fire helped a lot to get a better

access to this topic and we had a lot of fun to ‘play’ with fire. Although, I don’t had any

prior knowledge of forest fire management it was no problem to handle this class.

Wood Science and Utilization

This class starts with the macroscopic and microscopic composition of wood and ends

with the utilization of wood and lumber. To successfully pass this course you need to

give a term project presentation, to write weekly quizzes and a final-term. The term

project presentations were deeply interesting and very divers due to the fact that every

student was supposed to choose the topic by themselves. Have fun with this course and

enjoy the lectures if you decide to take this class.

If you have any more questions concerning classes or if you want to know further

specific details, feel free to ask me.

Recreational activities on campus

A huge benefit of your ONEcard is that you have free access to a lot of recreational

facilities. You can use the swimming pool and the Fitness and Lifestyle Centre for free or

rent some badminton equipment. For some more specific activities like Yoga or Pilates

you have to pay a certain amount per term to take part on these courses.

In addition, meetup.com is also a nice address where you can find people and meetings

on all sorts of activities to get in touch with other people and make some friends. This

might be beneficial especially as an international student in a foreign country.

To conclude, I enjoyed my time in Canada and I’m thankful that this program gave me

the opportunity to gain a lot of new and fundamental life experiences. Never hesitate to

contact me if you have further questions to this program or anything else

(laura.farsch@gmail.com). A lot of things are much easier to answer if you have specific

questions and I’m happy to answer them.

Last but not least, I want to thank everybody who made my stay in Canada possible and

helped me with unexpected troubles, especially Prof Spiecker, Marianne Stadler and Mr.

Niethammer. Many thanks!

And I would particularly like to thank Alex Drummond for his aid during my time in

Edmonton.

Appendix:

University of Alberta Campus

ALES Faculty building

City of Edmonton - Downtown

North Saskatchewan River (fall)

Field trip with forest ecosystems class

Rocky Mountains - overlooking Jasper

Bow River at Banff

Emerald Lake –Yoho National Park (British Columbia)