Quest University (Vancouver, Canada)

Sept 2014

RE: Seeking a college with small classes and great academics

Your description of your son (strong academically, with few extracurriculars) reminds me of my son who is in his third year at Quest University Canada. It's located in a small town outside of Vancouver. Classes are small and discussion based and very rigorous. At Quest you're on a block schedule so you take one class at a time for 3 and a half weeks. Then you have a long weekend before starting the next block. Students work closely with the teachers. Quest is small and all students live on campus but it does not seem to have a big party scene. Lots of students are outdoorsy. It a very accepting and intellectual group of students. Wilma

March 2014

Does anyone go to or know anyone who goes to Quest University in British Columbia? I would love to know both pros and cons of your experience with this school. mirsun

My son is in his second year at Quest University, which is just north of Vancouver. He is really thriving at this small liberal arts college. Classes are on the block system, meaning that he just takes 1 class for 3.5 weeks. Then there's a long weekend before starting on the next one. The classes are very fast paced, with 4 hours of daily class time and at least that much time spent on assignments outside of class. My son is absorbing an enormous amount of material in a deep and meaningful way. The school is small and everyone lives on campus in beautiful new facilities. Because there are only about 600 students, the atmosphere is friendly and people really make and effort to get to know each other. My son is very happy socially and academically. He has found his teachers to be high caliber and making the most of the the block system. As a Berkeley High graduate, I was concerned that Quest would be too small, but that has not been the case at all. One drawback is that the town of Squamish is very small, with not much going on. Some students go into Vancouver for fun. Everyone seems to take advantage of the spectacular natural setting. Feel free to contact me with specific questions. Wilma