Very true in regards to the learning experience of smaller classes. Some of my favourite classes (and also one's I learned the most) were
0 people and really discussion based instead of just 2 hours of a professor presenting.
SADLY... (especially in business), the name of your school has a much bigger impact for employers than how much you learned during your degree. There are the stellar students that excel regardless of which school they graduated from, but for many students, the university you graduate from can possibly limit your opportunities.
For example, in BC, one of the world's top management consulting firms only recruits from UBC. McKinsey, one of the top consulting firm along with BCG and Bain, does not host any recruiting events for other post secondary institutions in BC. (
Applying to McKinsey | Canada).
They came to SFU 2-3 years ago to "test the waters" and invited the top 10 students in the business program for a dinner (and extended interviews for select students from the dinner). If I recall correctly, every single student had a 4.0+ GPA (out of 4.33) and only 3-4 made it to the interview and none of which passed that 1st round. After that, they said the calibre of students at SFU was not high enough and they would not be back for at least a few years.
This is just one example, but it shows why I would personally pick UBC (and SFU 2nd) over other options. It opens a lot more doors career wise, and their alumni network is much more established across multiple industries compared to other post secondary institutions in BC. Is it possible for you to bust ass and try to boost your average to the 90's and apply for Sauder/Beedie?
You also mentioned wanting to be a CA... let's just say the big 4 recruit almost twice as many students from UBC than SFU. Also, I believe 90%+ of new hires at the big4 are from UBC DAP, UBC and SFU.... and I assume it must be pretty hard to get hired from other post secondary institutions.