Most Googled questions: SFU edition

Is Simon Fraser University . . . [fill in the blank/your question here]

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Photo of the Academic Quadrangle at SFU
PHOTO: Ujjwal Arora / Unsplash

By: Hailey Miller, Staff Writer

We all love a good, ol’ fashioned game of the most searched questions on the web. Tap into all things SFU and prepare yourself for your next university trivia night. Here are SFU’s Most Googled Questions to curb your curiosity, according to very accurate and highly credible searches on the World Wide Web

What is Simon Fraser University known for?

Well, Google’s top answer is that we use “research and innovation with impact,” according to the university’s website. We’re also first “in Canada for entrepreneurial spirit,” and second in the world, overall. According to a Google result from Maclean’s magazine, our computer science program is top notch.

What is Simon Fraser University ranked in Canada?

Do we even rank? Oh, wait, yeah, we do. SFU comes in hot at number one for the most comprehensive university in Canada. What does “comprehensive” mean, you ask? Honestly, we’re aren’t sure either, it’s a bit of a mystery wrapped around a veil of vagueness. But hey! Still number one, vagueness and all. We’re also ranked 11th overall, according to Maclean’s if that means anything to you. We’re also Canada’s top university for global innovation.

What does Simon Fraser University specialize in?

Right off the bat, Google only says, “arts and sciences, education, and business administration,” which isn’t necessarily wrong, but they’re excluding a lot of other programs because we’ve got so much more to offer than that. Don’t forget the contemporary arts (including music and sound, dance, film, theatre and performance, production and design, and visual arts), the social sciences, communication, interactive arts, a plethora of sciences, a vast languages department, and about every other topic for a major and minor under the sun. Take your pick from various programs and degrees, bachelors or masters, and even post-graduate diplomas and certificates. You name it, we’ve got it. Except nursing, and social work, and architecture and . . . the list goes on.

What is Simon Fraser University’s acceptance rate?

As if any student around campus would even know this, so good thing there’s trusty old Google to give you a reliable answer. Good luck getting in! The acceptance rate is about 59%, according to Leverage Edu — which isn’t too shabby.

How good is Simon Fraser University?

Good for what? Social life? Not at all — more on that later. Good at instilling dread and fear on its students with its overimposing brutalist architecture? Probably the best in the world. Academics? Well . . . that depends who you ask. Some students say it’s great, some say it’s not so great, and others are in the middle with a mediocre response. Google says it’s great regarding the aforementioned ranks, but overall, the verdict says it’s a boring university, though the academic standards are good, so at least the majority of us are getting by just fine.

How much is tuition at Simon Fraser University?

The first tuition answer to pop up is about $3,500 CAD for domestic students per semester, and over $15,000 CAD for international students per semester. Too expensive, if you ask me. Of course, that cost varies depending on course and student fees, how many credits you’re taking each semester, what level courses you’re enrolled in (100, 200, 300, or 400 levels for undergrads, and 500–800 for graduate courses and programs). 

Where is Simon Fraser University located?

The simple answer is three campuses altogether including Burnaby, Surrey, and Harbour Centre in Vancouver. If you’re looking for a more complex, sophisticated answer, that would be three plus a handful of satellite campuses all in Vancouver, which include the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Woodward’s, 611 Alexander Street Visual Arts Studio, Segal Graduate School of Business, 312 Main, Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, and VentureLabs.

When was Simon Fraser University founded?

Come on, you’re an SFU student, you should know this! But if you didn’t know, time for a history lesson! If you really must take to Google for this one, the answer is 1965 (but the sophisticated scholar in me didn’t need the web for that one). If my math is correct, that means the university will be celebrating its 60th anniversary next year (and so will The Peak!). Wow, all those math courses that I never took really paid off.

What’s the social life like at SFU?

Um, seriously lacking, if you ask me . . . and Google says the same. It pales in comparison to UBC (I’m sorry to say), and even though the website hypes up hundreds of clubs, every student review and thread online agrees that SFU’s social life is seriously lacking. Personally, I think we’re somewhere in between. Coming from a previous post-secondary school with absolutely zero social life and party scene whatsoever, I think SFU is doing a better job, even if it may seem mediocre to most.

Why is Simon Fraser University in the NCAA?

Your guess is as good as mine. Despite SFU’s decision to axe the football program and the fact that facilities like the Aquatic Centre and Climbing Wall have been closed due to renovations since 2023 — we’re still the only university in Canada to be included in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. But with the precedent of many sports teams being cut, or facing the threat of being cut, alongside the lack of funding, this status might not last long. Despite this search, there’s really no solid answer as to why SFU is part of the NCAA, so I guess Google has failed us on that one. That’s a first.

Is Simon Fraser University public or private?

Please, we’re public. No Google search needed, but I promise you the web says the same. I’m smarter than Google, OK? As if the blatantly obvious “public research university” that’s plastered across the top of the screen upon the first result of a quick Google search doesn’t do it justice for you, every single other link as you scroll down the Google page says exactly the same.

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