About Canada:
Canada is a country blessed with amazing beauty. It is the world’s second largest country by area. The Canadians are proud of their land and respect their natural environment. Canada is endowed with mountains such as the famous Rockies, the largest coastline on earth, the Great Lakes and several natural forests that have been developed into National Parks. Canadian cities are safe, modern and are highly cosmopolitan. There are 4 seasons; they being more distinct in the regions close to the US border. Temperatures experiences sub-zero temperatures in winters to as high as 40 degree Celsius at the height of summer. Spring and fall are far more moderate.
Canada is a bilingual country with English and French being the official languages. There is much to see and do in the form of public festivals and events that are held by the local government as well as the local communities. World-class theater, music, restaurants, cultural and sporting events (including cricket) can be enjoyed here year-round.
Canada has consistently been ranked among the top 3 countries to live in by the United Nations. Also, the Human Development Index survey consistently ranked Canada number one for a variety of reasons including its excellent education systems, high quality health care, low incidence of crime and clean environment. Popular cities are Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.
Why Study in Canada:
Work during your Study in Canada
Education in Canada is under the complete jurisdiction of the provinces and the states and as such there is no federal education system in Canada. Public education in Canada is free up to and including secondary school (i.e. up to the 12th grade), in all the provinces. The Canadian education system in divided into Universities, University Colleges, Community Colleges and Career Colleges & Technical Institutes, offering a plethora of study options to International Students. A substantial number of university graduates go to college upon completion of their degree in order to attain vocational skills needed for employment.
The College system: Colleges work very closely with business and industry to ensure that their programs are relevant to the changing workplace and to the needs of employers. Canadian college programs offer diverse options in the technical and professional fields including: business, agriculture, food, health, social services, broadcasting and journalism, hospitality management, design, technology, sciences, information technology, engineering, environment, languages and arts.
The University System: Canadian universities prepare graduates with the ability to think critically, to be adaptive to emerging technologies, to become leaders in professional fields and to seek solutions in research. From small liberal arts teaching schools to larger research-intensive universities, you can begin your bachelor studies and continue to earn the highest qualification which is a PhD. Highly innovative research takes place in the fields of health, nanotechnology, biotechnology, high-performance computing, environmental technologies and renewable fuels. The university sector is the 2nd largest performer of research in Canada after the private sector. With only 0.5% of the global population, Canada produces 2.8% of global scientific research.
Certificate: A certificate is awarded upon successful completion of a program which is usually one year in duration.
Diploma: A diploma can either be 1 or 2 years in length.
Advanced Diploma: It is a 3 years program which sometimes may lead to a Bachelor’s Degree.
Bachelor’s Degree: A bachelor’s degree is awarded by Universities or Community Colleges after three to four years of full-time study
Post Graduate Diplomas / Certificates: It leads to a Master’s Degree. These programs have work terms which provide full-time opportunities to gain practical experience along with theoretical studies known as co-ops. A typical co-op term lasts 12 to 17 weeks. The pre-requisites to participate in these programs is a Bachelors Degree of 3 or 4 years duration. These can be done after 15 years of education.
Master’s Degree: Graduates, who have an interest in further learning and research and for those who want to broaden their career possibilities, can pursue a Master’s degree. Ideally it is for 2 years duration.
PhD: Highest qualification awarded on completion of four to seven years of study in a particular stream or specialization. It also comprises some coursework, but mainly evaluated on unique research and the thesis submitted.
The application procedure for Canada requires the following steps:
Step 1 – Research: The students should do their research on the universities or their colleges that they wish to apply to along with the programs that they are interested in applying for.
We at AM Consulting counsel you to understand your careers goals and aspirations and accordingly design a custom roadmap for you. We will then help you in shortlisting of the courses and the universities that you should apply to, based on a number of factors. We make our students apply to a minimum of 8-10 universities, dividing them into AMBITIOUS, MODERATE and SAFE options.
Step 2 – Taking the Required Tests: Each program in Canada will require the student to give certain tests in order to be considered for admission. Students need to give the GRE for Master’s and the GMAT for the MBA programs along with English language tests such as the IELTS or the TOEFL. Students need to start preparing for these exams well in advance as many a times; they might have to give additional attempts of the exams for improving their scores. The students will then to report their scores to the Universities that we wish to apply to by paying a small fee.
Step 3 – Preparing the Documents: Next the students need to put together the following documents for the application process:
AM Consulting specializes in drafting solid SOP’s which have helped our students secure admits into some of the top universities in Canada. You can contact us here to know about our SOP packages.
We at AM Consulting provide assistance in writing LOR’s for our students. You can contact us here to know more about our LOR packages.
Step 4 – Application to the Universities: Application for a Bachelor’s degree is normally done through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC), whereas the application for a Master’s degree is done through the university website. Each application contains the above mentioned documents. Most of the universities will ask for an application fee to be paid while submitting the application. The students will need a credit card for paying it.
Step 5 – Test Score Reporting: After applying to the universities, the student will need to report his or her GRE/GMAT and the IELTS/TOEFL scores to the various universities that they have applied to. The universities ask for the scores to be directly sent to them via the testing authorities. Reporting to each university will require a certain fee to be paid to the testing authorities.
Step 6 – Interviews: Some universities have an additional round wherein they will ask the student to have a Skype interview with one of their faculty members or submit a video interview.
Once an application is done, a student has to wait anywhere between 2-3 months for Canadian universities to give their decisions.
Step 7 – Visa: Upon accepting an offer from a particular university, the next step is to apply for the student visa at the Canadian Consulate in or around your city. The student will need to submit forms, get a health checkup done and pay the required visa application fee. Post this; the student will need to go to the consulate for submitting his or her biometrics.
As part of the visa application process the student needs to show funds in his or her account that will be enough to cover his fees as well as living expenses while in Canada. Alternatively if the student’s parents are funding the education then, the student can also submit an affidavit of financial support.
Student Direct Stream: In June 2018, Canada introduced the ‘Student Direct Stream’ (SDS), a faster and easier visa processing mechanism for students from the following countries:
You can apply if you’re a legal resident in:
The Student Direct Stream (SDS) program replaced the Student Partners Program (SPP) in India. Under the SDS program the processing time for student visas will come down to 45 days from 60 days earlier. The SDS program is available to students opting for post-secondary courses at all Designated Learning Institutes (DLI’s) in Canada.
Under the SDS program all the following criteria have to be met upfront:
The SDS program complements the express entry system as these students will be well placed to continue on the path to permanent residency and Canadian citizenship after completing their studies in Canada. The express entry program for permanent residency is point based and a Canadian education helps garner extra points. An applicant can get 15 points for a post-secondary education program in Canada if it’s 1 to 2 year in duration and 30 points if its duration is 3 years or more.
Next steps are to looking for accommodation around your university, applying for part time jobs at the University; learn some cooking, booking you flights and start preparing for the exciting study abroad journey.
Admission Documents Checklist to STUDY IN CANADA:
GRE: (Graduate Record Examination): The GRE is a standardized computer based test administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). GRE is a requirement for gaining admission into graduate schools in the US. Over half a million individuals take the GRE in over 1,000 test centers in 160 countries every year, and scores are accepted at thousands of graduate programs around the world, for masters as well as doctoral degrees. More than 1,200 business schools around the world accept the GRE, including top-ranked MBA programs as well. It is used to measure a student’s skills such as verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing, and critical thinking. GRE is scored out of a total of 340. The scoring range is between 130-170 for each of the two sections of verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning.
GRE score of a student is used as a data point to compare applicants and it is one of the main benchmarks used by the admission committee of a school for making their decision. A high GRE score can help the student get admission into top universities along with securing financial aid in the form of a research assistantship or a scholarship.
Students can register for the exam online on the ETS website. (https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register/your_ets_account/)
GMAT: (Graduate Management Admission Test): The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a computer adaptive test intended to assess the candidate’s analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal, and reading skills in written English for use in admission to a graduate management program, such as an MBA. The GMAT can be taken up to five times a year. The attempts must be at least 16 days apart. GMAT is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council. More than 7,000 programs at approximately 2,300 graduate business schools around the world accept the GMAT as part of the selection criteria for their programs. Business schools use the test as a criterion for admission into a wide range of graduate management programs, including MBA, Master of Accountancy, Master of Finance programs and others. The total GMAT score ranges from 200 to 800 and measures performance on the quantitative and verbal sections together.
The GMAT score of a student is used as a data point to compare applicants and it is one of the main benchmarks used by the admission committee of a school for making their admission decision. A high GMAT score can help students get admission into top B-Schools around the world as well as help them secure a scholarship.
Students can register for the GMAT exam here. (https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat/before-the-exam/register-for-the-gmat-exam?__hstc=81503688.591de3dae577f077d9777212e3eebf2c.1550135130962.1550135130962.1550135130962.1&__hssc=81503688.1.1550135130962&__hsfp=3520906242)
IELTS: (International English Language Testing System): The IELTS is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly managed by the British Council and IDP in India. There are two types of IELTS exams.
IELTS Academic: This is taken by students who wish to apply for higher education in countries all around the world. IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian and New Zealand academic institutions, by over 3,000 academic institutions in the United States, and by various professional organizations across the world.
IELTS General: This one is taken by individuals who wish to migrate to countries such as Canada, Australia, UK and New Zealand. It is the only Secure English Language Test approved by UK Visas and Immigration authority for visa customers applying both outside and inside the UK. It also meets requirements for immigration to Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
No minimum score is required to pass the test. The IELTS Test Report Form is issued to all test takers with a score from “band 1” (“non-user”) to “band 9” (“expert user”) and each institution sets a different threshold. The test is administered by the British Council and IDP in India. The cost of taking the exam is Rs 12,650. It can be taken in either the computer delivered or the paper delivered format depending on your city.
You can register for the exam either through the British council website (https://www.britishcouncil.in/exam/ielts) or the IDP website. (https://www.ieltsidpindia.com/)
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): TOEFL is recognized worldwide. It’s a test of how well you can understand and use the English language. The 4 components of the TOEFL test are Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. ETS is the body that handles the TOEFL. It is an exam that is very similar to the IELTS.
You can register for the test here: https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/register/?WT.ac=toeflhome_registerfortest_180910
Tuition Fees: Studying abroad can be expensive, but Canada offers relatively low tuition rates for international students compared to the U.K., Australia and the US. This means you can pursue your studies in a globally recognized program of your choice at one of Canada’s top universities for nearly half of what it would cost to attend a similar program at a private U.S. university, for example. The program fees vary widely depending on the type of course, the duration as well as the University or College.
Estimated Tuition fee (per year):
Universities: CAD$ 12,000 to CAD$ 24,000 annually on an average
Colleges: CAD$ 11,000 to CAD$ 18,000 annually on an average
Living Expenses:
This would include an average for accommodation, travelling & food expenses and occasional move nights. This is purely an average and would vary depending on the lifestyle of the student.
It can be anywhere between CAD $ 10,000 to CAD $ 15,000 per year depending on the lifestyle of the student and also the city that he or she is studying in. For example expenses in Toronto will be higher compared to other Canadian cities.
The costs can be broken down as given below:
University Scholarships in Canada are few in number and hence not easy to find. They rarely cover the full cost of tuition and are available only to international students with exceptional academic achievements. Community and Career Colleges do not usually award scholarships nor do school boards or most private schools. Students must also scour the internet for scholarships available to Indian students through Indian organizations. There are quite a few of such organizations set up by the stalwarts of the Indian corporate sector in order to help deserving students, get a chance to study abroad. For more information kindly get in touch with us here.
In order to be eligible for a post-graduation work permit, you need to study and graduate from a Designated Learning Institution (DLI). You need to make sure that you university or college is a DLI.
The validity of your post-graduation work permit (PGWP) depends on the length of your study program.
International students graduating from a program of 2 years or more in length would be eligible for a 3 year work permit after graduation with no restrictions on the types of employment and no requirement for a job offer.
Students who study a 1 year program are eligible for a 1 year Work Permit.
In order to secure a job, the students need to put themselves out there and network as much as possible with the alumni of the university and also apply on the university’s job portal. Universities in Canada also hold job fairs regularly and the student should use them as a chance to network and apply to their choice of companies. The best way to secure a full time job would be to do an internship and perform well there. This can help the student secure a full time job offer beforehand.
Canada has plenty of job opportunities which enable a student to work and settle down. The entire course curriculum is job oriented and hence as per research, more than 90% of the graduates get employed in less than six months after finishing their studies in Canada.
The most sought after job oriented courses that students are studying in Canada are as follows:
Computer science & engineering graduates and IT professionals are always highly pursued in Canada. IT project managers and software engineers have turned out to be among the top 10 most in-demand occupations in Canada in 2018. Canada’s tech industry brags of 488,000 IT professionals, who work in diverse fields ranging from project management to software development, to data analysis, to information security.