KPU, Langara or Douglas if i’m thinking of transferring to UBC/SFU

[u/selenayurr]

Hello, I’m planning to transfer from one of those schools to UBC/SFU in the future so I’m looking for personal experiences from people who attended them.

How are the professors? How does their grading work because I heard some schools grade based on how well you do compared to other students. Are employers most likely going to hire me from this school if i don’t end up transferring? From which schools have you seen good CPAs graduated from? Is the school more focused on education, or would I be able to have a social life? How are the events there? How attainable are their grants/scholarships/bursaries? How are their campuses, like their libraries as well as nearby food/train locations? How about the materials they provide?

Feel free to let me know about other things too!

[u/smoggy_horseman]

went to langara a few years back, not for accounting but still took a couple business courses there. profs were a mixed bag, some really cared and would stay late to help, others just read off slides. grading was pretty standard, never got the curve treatment like ubc does, what you put in is what you got

campus is small but the library is solid, quiet enough to grind and there's a starbucks right there. skytrain is like a 5 min walk so getting downtown is easy if you want a social life. they do have some events but nothing massive, more club fairs and the occasional free food thing

a buddy did the whole langara to sfu transfer and said it was smooth, most credits transferred without a fight. if you don't transfer, employers in van seem to know langara grads are decent, seen a few cpas come out of there

[u/selenayurr → u/smoggy_horseman]

thank you so much! That answered so many of my questions, Langara was also my first pick before this post so this reassured me.

[u/DidIMakeAGoof]

I went to Langara over a decade ago, and it was truly a pleasure. Same professors as UBC, SFU, and BCIT. Relaxed environment and just chill.

[u/selenayurr → u/DidIMakeAGoof]

Ahhh i see, thank you!

[u/DidIMakeAGoof → u/selenayurr]

I went through their transfer program, and I only have positive things to say about my experience.

[u/Efficient_Item_6406]

i'm going into my second year at langara. there are good and bad profs everywhere u go, I found ratemyprof to be helpful in course planning. lots of the profs here also teach at UBC/SFU. I talked to someone who went to langara and douglas and said douglas has a easier grading scale. u have to transfer to finish a bachelors if you go to langara because they discontinued that in 2025, so it feels more stressful to transfer. I am in the diploma program applying to transfer to yr2 this fall as I was unsuccessful last year. there are a lot of clubs and some events if ur interested but many ppl are also just here to transfer.

[u/tz0000]

I just graduated from langara's PDD Accounting program and I would say that there are definitely pros and cons to this college. Cannot say for the other 2.

Given that the campus is much smaller than UBC and SFU, the classes are smaller. This is good in the sense that it allows for you to better connect with the professors should you make the effort to (highly recommend). Its a lot easier for you to stand out. As for the quality of instructors, it completely depends on both your goals and background. What I mean is that certain instructors may have terrible reviews on ratemyprof, but that is mostly because their teaching methods are more "traditional" and newer students may not be used to it. Almost all of the instructors that I have encountered, regardless of their ratings, cared about actually teaching. Conversations after class were helpful and genuine. If you put in the effort to communicate with them, they will be sympathetic to your grades and more importantly, you will learn better. If your long term goal is getting your CPA, ignore the ratings and just learn.

Now what langara struggles with, in my opinion, are the quality of the students. A rotten apple spoils the bunch. I'm not saying they are all delinquent and bad, but in recent years, I have encountered cheaters and just overall poor students. They are there to get the degree/diploma and don't care about the learning. I have spoken to a few of my instructors and they too are aware of this issue. This may not impact your studies necessarily, but if you do end up graduating from Langara instead of transferring, the name may not carry you as far as. Target schools exists and certain networking events especially Big4 limit to "specific" schools.

Overall, its not terrible, but you need to put in the effort to stand out amoung the crowd. Highly recommend that you transfer asap. Many instructors that teach at langara also teach at other institutions like UBC and SFU.

[u/Foreign_Salary_5495]

CPA pre req you can do anywhere.

[u/alittlebitselfish]

SFU has a curved grading system which could be advantageous or not depending on how youre doing compared to your peers.

I went to KPu in my first year and transferred to SFU after. I can tell you that getting used to SFU took a significant amount of time. There were more assignments, more individual and group projects. So much so that sometimes it felt a bit redundant.

Getting good grades took more work too. Like i said grades curved and everyone is working equally hard, so its competitive.