It’s official, I’m flying out to visit my first choice for my M.Sci Materials Science (and maybe PhD) , The University of British Columbia.

So why UBC? The school seems to be a perfect fit for not just me, but Jane as well. If you are saying, “Justin, didn’t you get into Stanford? Why wouldn’t you go to Stanford?”, this list is for you,

1. Dr. Peyman Servati is working on a project that is directly in line with my research interests: embedding  nanowires, nanotubes and quantum dots in polymers, to improve the conversion efficiency and extend the use of solar energy, as a viable clean energy solution.
2. The UBC faculty and staff actually care. Yes, this is important. All the other school’s Ive applied to, in dealing with professors and staff, act as if I exist for the school and the school dosen’t exist for me. I want to work, really hard, in an environment that allows me to learn this type of research in-depth. Grad school in the technical fields (and probably other fields as well) is much more like applying for a job than other people realize. I’m not going to school again because I want to go to classes, I’m going to school because I’ve found something I truly want to spend several years working on with great people.
3. Jane wants to be a midwife and Vancouver is one of a handful of schools in North America with a university level midwife program.
4. Vancouver is a helluva lot cheaper to live in than Stanford.
5. I’ve always wanted to be an international student… ok being an international student in Canada isn’t quite that big of a deal but still…
6. UBC has an amazing campus and is part of ‘Canada’s Ivy League’
7. If I had to pay my own tuition, its only about $6,000 USD/year
8. I’d be in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics
9. If I lived in Vancouver I wouldn’t need to bring my car because the public transit is so good
10. Men’s (and Women’s!) College Hockey, go Thunderbirds!!

Now, take into consideration, all of these things are subject to change once I visit. Maybe I end up thinking that Vancouver is a disgusting city, or that the Pacific Northwest’s fish smells induce nausea but I highly doubt this happens. So as for now, I’d say there is about a 70% chance I end up going to UBC next fall. I’ll fly out next Tuesday because I could get a really cheap ticket. I’m flying from Charlotte to Seattle and will take the Amtrak Cascades train from Seattle to Vancouver. I’ll be taking a ton of pictures along the way! Below is my flight information,