Vancouver International Universities Fair offers options for high school students and those thinking of graduate school

Update: This event has been cancelled due to COVID-19.

The fifth annual Vancouver International Universities Fair is going to be larger than ever. Presented by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, it’s expected to draw more than 200 universities, according to one of the cochairs, Kel McDowell.

“We have a number of different countries that have expressed interest this year,” McDowell, associate director of university counselling at West Point Grey Academy, told the Straight by phone. “Australia, for example, is sending four universities. We’ve got three from Switzerland, two from Italy, and we even got one from Poland.”

That’s in addition to Canadian universities and academic institutions in the U.K. and United States.

This year’s Vancouver International Universities Fair takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. on April 19 at the Vancouver Convention Centre East. It will offer graduate-school opportunities for anyone who’s interested in pursuing a master’s or PhD in another country.

Last year, between 4,500 and 5,000 people attended the Vancouver event, which is intended to present postsecondary options to prospec­tive students. There are more than 90 cities around the world that hold these events, but Vancouver is the only Canadian city.

McDowell pointed out that, traditionally, the spring fair has been geared toward secondary students, mostly from grades 9 to 11. That’s because by that time, most students in Grade 12 know where they’ll be attending college or university.

“What we’ve noticed is Grade 9s are sort of exploring,” he said. “They walk around and are kind of in awe of how many universities there are.”

By the time they reach Grade 10, they often start “window-shopping”, considering possibilities. And by Grade 11, students are very engaged, sometimes showing up with a list of specific questions and schools to check out.

“We encourage the parents to go with the students,” McDowell said.

Although the students will often want to decide if they prefer to study abroad, he noted that parents will also want to have “realistic conversations” at the dinner table.

That can include discussing what the family can afford and what it will be like for the student in another country.

One of the most popular fields of study abroad is law, according to McDowell. That’s because in some countries, such as Australia, it’s possible to go directly into law school rather than first obtain an undergraduate degree.

Then these students can return to Canada and take the bar exam.

He also said that some foreign health-related programs—such as dentistry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and veterinary medicine—attract a fair number of Canadian students.

It’s tougher for those studying abroad to be physicians if they want to work in Canada because it’s sometimes difficult to obtain residency in this country.

In the end, McDowell emphasized, there’s likely a university for everybody, whether it's in Canada or another country.

“You’ve just got to pick and choose the right one for you,” he said.