1)VFS only provides a diploma, not a degree and it would work anywhere in the world, for the most part. Though mostly studios would look at your portfolio.
2)VFS has a housing facility, but it’s easy enough to find places. It’s a little harder near the game design campus, but most housing exists within a short bus ride or walk.
1)I’d say it’s worth going to as long as you’re willing to put in the effort yourself. Even seasoned animators improve based on exposure to the people here and feedback from the instructors.
2)I’m a part scholarship student. They gave me one term for free in both the foundation and 3d programs that I took(am taking). It wasn’t too hard for me to get it, just submitted some work I did and your reel may help you. They do have scolarship periods though so call your respective counselor.
3)Collaborations are doable though not advisable as a main focus as each person will have a huge workload and won’t be able to dedicate time. He can do your final but it’s probably not inn his best interest to do it as his final(as a side project maybe though) as Sound design students can ask professional studios for permissions to videos.
4)Some people travel. 3D people don’t really. Too little time.
5)Yeah getting work is hard, but it all depends on your final portfolio.
Oh okay thanks! 
Haha you’re the one that gave me hope that there was a chance I could get a scholarship when you replied in the past pages. Haha before you commented, I was thinking that there was no hope ):
I really wish to travel, I guess I’ll just have to reach early and do the travelling before school starts. Where’s good to go visit and have fun? I heard Seattle is only a 3hr drive away, it that true?
I don’t know if we’ll get a car tho, it’s starting to seem completely unnecessary.
Btw, how’s the weather there all year? I hope it’s not too cold 
Was there anything there that you didnt expect and it came as a complete surprise to you that you can well, let me know of so I can prepare?
For traveling, I haven’t really done any. There are term breaks of about 4 days and a couple 2 week long holidays throughout the year so you can travel then too.
Seattle is about 3hrs away and you can easily get to Victoria and the rest of Vancouver Island in that time too.
A car is probably unnecessary. Vancouver is tiny and it’s one bus rie to get to most places, but a car could be nice to go out further.
The weather here is sunny for half the year and then abysmally rainy for the rest. It rarely snows but last year, when I was in foundation, it snowed like crazy and they had their hottest summer ever. I didn’t expect that so had to get snow boots and a table fan. But that was a freak year I hear.
THis year has been pretty nice overall.
umm be prepared for a lot of work is all I can say. It’s a lot piled on an once and can get overwhelming for some.
Don’t bother with a car. It’ll cost you a fortune to park it downtown. Use the money that you would waste on parking, gas, insurance, etc to live closer to the school (like, within 10 min walking distance). You won’t regret it.
If you want to explore, rent a car. But, I agree that during the course, you won’t have time to go far. I think there are scheduled breaks and such during the course. You can drive from Vancouver to San Diego in about 24 hours if you push it. (I’ve managed to do it in 21 hours once, so essentially, you can go anywhere if you have the time.)
Don’t bother with a car because parking is expensive. I had a car and drove to school everyday because I am a local Vancouverite and I lived at home so I didn’t have to pay rent. I had to put myself on the waiting list 6 months beforehand for a monthly-parking spot (at a nearby commercial parking lot) to ensure I get a space when school starts. I paid $96 per month which is already CHEAP for downtown parking. Many lots run at >$200 a month and have huge waiting lists of people waiting for a spot. Most of street parking is metered at $2 an hour or so and you can only park for limited hours so that is not ideal for sometimes you have to stay late.
As for traveling, you may IF you can find time during term breaks and IF you are not totally burned out by the term, which is rare. Seattle is slightly over 3 hrs away, but you need to cross the border which means you and all your potential classmates traveling with you would need valid visitor’s visas and that may limit your travel choices to within Canadian borders. :rolleyes:
Oh thanks so much guys!
I guess I’ll really have to find somewhere near the school to stay in!
I’ll be going in during August (2011). What season is it in August? Fall?
Haha sorry if it’s a stupid question, Singapore is summer all year round. Since I’ll enroll during August 29th, I guess I’ll graduate around then the year after. That would kinda mean that the summer break won’t be much for me since it’s August 22nd - August 26th right? Haha.
(Oh wait, does that mean August is in Summer?? lol!)
Btw, is it troublesome to get a visitor’s visa? I really want to head to Seattle to visit my cousin (:
Another 20 min and you are in Tijuana :D, Vancouver its gonna be close to my city at least, actually my parents are driving me there, going in a month, from now, 28 June my first day
nope, its easy, unless you want to commit acts of genocide on US soil…
you’ll find out what i mean when you get the visa app form
can any one of VFS graduate tell what are the chances of international student to get job or work permit after studing at vfs is over . i know about the permanent residency rules of canada but i m asking what if i only need work permit or job in good company in canda and i know its depend on my showreel though what if my showreel is impressive enough .It just i heard that international student have very few changes to get into to get job over canada.So was keen to know about it
it’s very difficult. nearly impossible if you don’t have prior work experience, because the company that is sponsoring you for the work visa has to prove to the government that there is no one in canada capable of doing the job better than you, i’ve only heard of 1 case where a person without experience was offered a job (max wahyudi) and even that took a couple of months…
it’s a lot easier if you’ve had atleast a year of full time work experience in the same field
I have no idea about how high/low the chances are.
Let’s just say that I haven’t heard of any international student in my class or the class before and class after me get a work permit, other than those with PR.
That depends on a lot of factors though and may or may not relate to the actual chances. But I’m guessing that “impressive enough” is maybe not enough, perhaps “extremely impressive” is closer to what you need. Big companies have better resources to offer work permit applications, and there’s just not that many big companies in Vancouver. Satellite branches of big companies don’t really count because they run on limited budget.
It’s possible but not easy. Took quite a bit of time for my company to get the visa and not without hiccups. The chances are slim though, I have to agree with others.
My advisor made it seem pretty easy
"Work permit — if you have a job offer (minimum one year ), theres no problems to change your status from Study permit to Work permit and our Student Service center will help you through the stage… dont worry about that ! I always tell my students, the only thing you need to concentrate is your learning attitude, how to learn the most within this one year. This is the only thing you can control… "
It’s true that with a job offer you can request a work permit but it takes weeks and companies usually need people to start right away. Also they get some tax discount if they hire more Canadians so especially for junior positions it’s hard. There are special cases like working holidays (if your country is part of the program) or IT work permit (if you have 2 years of previous experience, they’re taking it away on September though).
In the end, it is possible but really hard, I’ve seen a lot of people with awesome demo reels having trouble with this.
work permit is necessary or same deal to get, for every nationality?
im both American and Mexican
yes it’s necessary - Americans need a work permit for Ca - I think there’s some different rules though under the North American Free Trade Agreement than for other nationalities… I might be wrong however - just check out the Canadian Gov websites, they explain it all very well.
Sigh that sucks.
I have a feeling I’ll like it there more then I like it here. Oh wells.
Anyway… I’ve just finished and sent in my application for the 3D animation course next year august. Super excited, yay!
Considering I already know basic 3D and stuff…should I start brainstorming on awesome demoreel ideas already?
whats IT work permit ? to have work experience in related to animation field or to be related to IT field.Well if work experience count than i have it as flash freelancer (for 2 years) plus i have good knowledge of 3d and have some good work under my shelf. If its related to IT, i am already a computer science engineer.I even had a talk with counselor of VFS,they said i might not have any trouble regarding work permit with that much qualification and experience though but ya even they won’t guarantee that (no institute will i know that).Studying in VFS really means alot to me but i was even looking for some experience there which could help me grow if i come back to my country.so i was looking for some graduate advice but i guess i get all the review i needed so far. i guess i better look at PR if not work permit though.Thanks anyways