Study In Canada

Canada is roughly the same size as the United States (3.8 million square miles), but only has 1/10 the people (34.6 million). It’s three times the size of Mexico, with 1/3 the people. Canada’s standard of living in 2015, as measured by GDP per capita, was $45,900, lower than the United States ($56,300) but higher than Mexico ($18,500). The northern half is so cold for so much of the year that the ground remains permanently frozen. As a result, 90% of the people live within 100 miles of the US border. Canada has been ranked by the UN as one of the best places in the world to live. MTV Cities in Canada are very popular which stand for Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Education in Canada is both publicly and privately funded thus leaving the parents to choose the institution of their choice for their children. It is controlled by the Provincial governments like we have state board for every state with a bit of Federal say in it. The Canadian academic year typically runs from September through to June every year. The country is justifiably proud of its universities and colleges. Students from all over the world come to Canada for their tertiary education, and Canadian degrees are recognized everywhere.

The institutions are categorize into the following – 1) Universities, 2) University Colleges, 3) Community College and 4) Career Colleges. Universities and Community Colleges are very famous among the Indian student community.

Universities typically offer:

• Eng – Master of Engineering – Degrees that require coursework and a project, with the coursework being the major component.
• MASc – Master of Applied Science – Degrees that require coursework and a thesis, with thesis being the major component. Typically takes 2 years to complete and students can apply for scholarships for these degrees.

Community Colleges typically offer:

• Post Secondary Diplomas – 2 years in duration
• Advance Diplomas – 3 years in duration
• Graduate Certificates/Post Graduate Diplomas – 1 or 2 years in duration

Every year, Canada invites around 250,000 – 300,000 international students to study in Canada and upon graduation students are eligible to apply for Post Graduation Work Permit for up to 3 years. While on PGWP, certain conditions being met they can also apply for Permanent Residency as well.

It is a joint pilot project designed by the ACCC (Association of Canadian Community Colleges in Canada) in Canada and CIC (Citizenship Immigration Canada) offices in India to give the study permits to Canada the much needed push to compete effectively with other countries like Australia, New Zealand, UK and USA. It was originally launched in April 2009 and for the first intake that followed this date that is September 2009, 18 colleges that signed the SPP program recruited close to 4000 students. It is, therefore, extremely successful and the result is it is still open for India even in 2016.

List of all institutions participating in the SPP Program can be found by clicking the link below

The documentation part is also easy under SPP Program and the visa approval chances very high. A student typically applying under SPP has to have the following..

• Good academics – no gaps in between and more than first division marks in preferred
• Not more than 2 or 3 years after graduation, student would be applying for a study permit to Canada.
• Student should justify the Canadian High Commission with cross verifiable documents proof as to what he/she has been doing since graduation.
• Only IELTS is the English Competency Exam that is accepted and the minimum score has to be 6.0 bands with no band less than 5.5. Some cases, profiles with experience and students applying to Health programs usually, students are advised to have an IELTS score of 6.5 bands with nothing less than 6.
• Student has to pay the 1st semester tuition fee to the college and one year living expenses i.e., CND 10,230 to the Scotia Bank and obtain Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) to be able to apply for Study Permit under SPP Category.
• Student has to undergo Medical test for visa at designated medical practitioners.
• Canadian High Commission in Bangalore and Delhi usually take 15 to 20 days for processing applications in SPP category.
• Visa success rate in SPP category is usually high and hence we recommend students to choose to apply under SPP category.

Admission intakes – Sep, Jan and May (Community Colleges) I University – Sep & Jan.

• Students are left with 90 days of visa after course completion in Canada.
• Students have to apply for Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) in Canada before 3 months / 90 days of graduating from the college. You just need to submit the course completion/graduating certificate and application fee. 2.5/4GPA is must for PGWP.
• 1 yr programs lead to 1 yr PGWP and 2 yrs programs lead to 3 yrs PGWP.
• Curricular Practical Training: This type of employment is an integral part of an established curriculum and occurs prior to the completion of a degree program. It requires the approval of the DSO in SEVIS and on Form I-20. An EAD is not required.
• Students in PGWP are exempted from LIMA (Labour Impact Market Assessment) to work full time in Canada.

• Students typically applying for Masters has to have a good score in undergraduation (preferably 65% and above), GRE score (preferably 285 and above) and IELTS of 6 bands overall and above. Students interested in MBA should have GMAT Score (preferably 500 and above)
• Students typically applying for Undergraduation has to have a good score in +2/Intermediate (preferably 65% and above), SAT (preferably 1200 and above) and IELTS of 6 bands overall