Canada by far has displayed the highest number of immigrating students with a stark rise of 98% international population from 2008 to 2015. Out of the total class strength in Canada, 14% are from abroad and out of that 14%, 10% comes from India itself.
You might still be indecisive with which country to opt for or you are focusing specifically on Canada; either way, these five facts can definitely add more transparency to your thought process.
As per the QS World University Rankings (2019), 3 Canadian universities (University of Toronto, McGill University and University of British Columbia) have made their way to the Top 50 universities; another 10 universities have made it to Top 100-Top 300 universities Also, the QS Higher Education System Strength Rankings (2018) has ranked Canada among the top five countries to provide quality education. The 5 Canadian cities enlisted under QS Best Student Cities in the World (2018) are Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec, and Vancouver.
The Intakes in Canada are more or less the same as the US. The major intake happens in September (Fall) and the other one is in January. There are a few colleges (less in number) that allow May intake. An applicant is expected to start the application process at least 1-1.5 years prior to the deadlines as most universities close their application five to six months before the intake commences. For your information, the September intake closes within the time span of December to January, the previous year, the January intake closes within the time span of August to September the previous year and the May intake closes within the time span of September to November the previous year.
Nonetheless, there are a few universities that allow the application to be submitted until a later period of time like a couple of months before the intake but that is not a very common practice. The application acceptance, as well as the deadline dates, varies from one university to another.
If you are planning to opt for a course right after finishing your school (+2), there are three types of courses, you can opt for: a 2-year Diploma Course, a 3-year Advanced Diploma Course, and a 4-year Bachelor’s Course. Both Canadian colleges and universities offer these courses but for pursuing the bachelor’s course students mostly prefer universities. There are currently 47 Canadian colleges and universities under Student Direct Stream (SDS) (earlier known as SPP) which is a joint initiative specifically designed for Indian students and constitutes streamlined processes of admission and visa. For the diploma and advanced diploma, students have to have a minimum score of 55% (best of 4), 6.0 IELTS with a minimum band of 5.5 in each domain. A study gap of a year is acceptable as long as the student can justify the same. For bachelor’s, students are required to have an overall score of 80% and 6.5 IELTS with a minimum band of 6 in each domain.
Requirements are specific when it comes to postgraduate studies in Canada. 16 years of academic education is compulsory for a Canadian Master’s Degree. Indian students apply for a Graduate Certificate course or a 1-year Post Graduate totally the 16-year requirement of Canada. The basic eligibility criteria include at least 70 to 75% overall score, 6.5 IELTS with minimum bands of 6 in each domain. The duration of diploma/certificate courses is somewhere around 8 months to 1 year with 2 to 3 semesters (each semester = 1 month). For MBA, 15 years of academic education is permissible with 1 year of work experience, which is compulsory. Students have to have an overall score of 70 to 75% with a GMAT of 580 to 600 and a 6.5 IELTS (overall bands).
Canada offers PGWPP to allow students to apply for a work permit once they are done with their degrees. The duration of the course decides the stay back tenure of the students. Students enrolled in an 8-month program get an eventual work permit of 8 months, the ones enrolled in a year’s program get it for 1 year and the ones enrolled in courses with duration of 2 years or more achieve a work permit of 3 years.
Permanent Residency policy of Canada is, however, a little different. The application takes up to two years to be granted and also as per the law of Canadian Immigration PR is granted only to those who have stayed in the country at least for 3 years. So, the best idea is to apply for the PR right in the first year of the course so that it gets granted within a remaining couple of years and also the criteria of a 3-year stay get fulfilled. After getting the PR you can apply for another course but the tuition fee you need to pay will be as per the domestic standards, which is almost 1/4th of the fees paid by the international aspirants.
By Purna Ghosh, Senior Editor
In continuation, you should read some of our other articles, like this one on Resumes and CVs for MS and Ph.D. to Study Abroad to supplement your use of these facts!
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