Back in the Philippines, I've heard from Immigration Agencies saying that studying here is not that hard. That you will just go to school about 3 days a week and the rest is free time and you can spend on working (as long as you don't exceed the 20 hours per week allowable working hours for international student). It sounded so easy and manageable until I came here in NBCC and experienced the reality of studying here.
I don't know if this is true for other colleges in Canada but for NBCC, they take studying so seriously. They don't spoon-feed information, you have to do a lot of research on your own and they give lots of assignments! Most of my after-school hours are spent doing assignments and projects that's why I preferred to find a part-time job on weekends.
Classes in NBCC is whole day from Monday to Friday starting 8:30am til 3:30pm or 4:30pm. The schedule per subject was only given to us on the first day of class. We were just told to arrive in school at 8:30am. There were staff who met us at the entrance to guide us on where we should be going. There is no really class on the first day of school. This is a day where the school welcomes its students by having us gathered in the gym for a short program and giving us free lunch. After this short program, we have to go to our classrooms where we will meet our teachers and our class schedule will be given.
Regarding NBCC Moncton tuition payments, this what I experienced:
After they sent me an email confirming that I got accepted in the program that I applied, they asked me to deposit $500 before they can give me the official Letter of Acceptance (LOA). I paid via credit card through a link that they gave together with the confirmation email. This $500 deposit is deducted from the total tuition fee. (Latest tuition fees can be found in nbcc.ca website.)
NBCC was considerate regarding tuition fee payment. They have flexible payment term. Based on my experience, I didn't pay the full year or even the full semester tuition fee. On the first week of class, I went to the Student Services office and asked if I can pay my tuition by installment. They have this option but you will be charged with "late payment fee" which is around $125. I am not sure of the exact value now. But bottom line, you can pay by installment like every 2 weeks or monthly for an additional small fee. You just have to go to Student Services once you are here. It is not only me who did this kind of tuition fee payment term. Almost all of my classmates, who are 9 out of 10 international students, did the same too.
Regarding Moncton, it is a small and laid back city. We only have one shopping mall here but there are several other small shops. There are many grocery stores too. And we have two movie houses (Cineplex in Moncton and Dieppe). A small city but it has everything you need already. Living cost here is cheaper compared to big cities. Below is my estimated cost of living per month while I was a student:
Unlimited bus pass for students* - $40 (this is sold at NBCC student union office) Accommodation - average of $400 per room Mobile - $40 Groceries - $150 (estimate)
Minimum wage: $11 per hour
Regarding buses, there is only one bus company that runs in Moncton which is Codiac Transpo. I am not sure if this is worth noting but I find transportation here very different from our transportation back home where if we transfer bus/"jeep", we have to pay again and the farther your route, the higher the fare. Here, regardless of how far and how many bus transfers you take on your route, you only have to pay one time the entire one-way. Just ask for a transfer pass upon entering your first bus. Fare is also the same regardless of how near or far you are going. Latest bus fare, schedule and routes can be found in this link.
Disclaimer: What I am writing here is based on my experience last Fall 2017 to Winter 2018. Processes/Standards and values might have changed now.
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