International Students' real time guide on what to consider before, after studying in Canada

Disclaimer: This isn't another 3rd party "visa consultant" website article available online. This article was written by a student with experience in Canada. I understand what students go through as I am an international student too and I thought I should help other students who plan on studying in Canada by sharing important information that I believe every student must know!

Hello readers!

First things first. If you're a student who is planning on studying in Canada I wanna point out a few things. Now, if you're a student from India, China, Sri Lanka, Malaysia or any other country this is for you..

I know for a fact that there aren't much information available to students who would want to study in Canada as an international student. Why do I know this? Because I suffered browsing for information I need to know before coming here but never found what I wanna know.

Lets be real. Canada is the worlds' second largest country and there are ten provinces. Ontario, Quebec, British Colombia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island. There's a lot to choose from right? For an international student it'd be difficult to choose a college so I recommend to do a little research on each province, about the weather, population, What each province is famous for (Eg: Alberta: Oil production). 

The famous student destination is Ontario in Canada. There are a lot of Colleges, Schools and Universities in Toronto, Oshawa, Hamilton, Ottawa, Windsor, Waterloo, etc. Ontario is a multicultural province and you could find a lot of Asians from India, China, Korea, Somalia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Arab and just people all over the world. One reason for this is the weather. Ontario isn't as cold as Alberta or Manitoba so most of the Asians prefer Ontario. 

What are the things I need to know before applying to a College/ University in Canada? 

The first thing a student does to come to Canada is apply for a College and get an offer letter or an acceptance letter. We all wanna plan out everything flawlessly without getting confused right? Yup, that's right. But unfortunately, understanding the requirements for a college or a University can be confusing for an Asian student because of the way it's presented. The first thought that comes to our mind when we look at the requirements needed by a College or a University is "where do I stand?". 

Canadian Equivalencies (Requirements):

The high school equivalencies differ from a country to country with the Canadian education system. Each province in Canada has their own education system, meaning each province follows their own curriculum. For example, the education system in Ontario is governed by Ministry of education, Ontario, Education in Alberta is governed  by Alberta Education, Education in British Columbia is governed by Ministry of Education- Province of British Columbia- Government of B.C. Each province in Canada follows a sequence in each education level. For a fact I know countries like China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka follow the Ordinary and Advanced level of education (O/L & A/L).

For example, if a specific college in Alberta asks for ELA (English Language Arts) 30-1 or ELA 30-2, the number 30 represents the level of education which is year 12 (Advanced level A/L) and -1 (pronounced dash 1) and -2 represent how challenging the subject is. For example 30-1 may consist advanced content which is suitable for university entrance and 30-2 may consist ordinary content suitable for college entrance however this is not the same scenario for every subject which has a -1 or -2 it will sometimes be -1 would be advanced and -2 would be ordinary. Math 30-1 and 30-2 are equal to year 12 pure math and applied math.

Similarly, Math 15 is equal to year 10 math (15 denotes year 10) and Math 25 is equal to year 11 (25 denotes year 11) and 30 represents year 12 in all subjects. Please note that this is the Alberta version of the curriculum.

Each province follows a different sequence for example Math 30-1 in Alberta is Pre Calculus 12 in British Columbia, Pre Calculus Mathematics 40S in Manitoba, Pre Calculus 12-A and 12B in New Brunswick, Mathematics 12/Advanced mathematics 12 in Nova Scotia, MHF4U or MDM4U in Ontario.

I know it's a bit confusing to understand at a glance, not knowing where you exactly stand with your current level of education from your country..that is why there are other options!

What are the best options available for me when applying to a college as an international student?

 Academic Upgrading/ College Preparation:

There are fortunately a few options available. According to my opinion I believe that applying to a college would be best when you're coming to Canada for the first time as an international student. Why do I say this? For starters, let's say you wanna follow a bachelors' degree but you do not think you're qualified or have the required qualifications for it. Well, there's an option called "Academic upgrading"or "College preparation" in most colleges around Canada. This is the most important point of this article. I want all the international students to know there's an option offered by colleges which prepares students for their higher education. Academic upgrading is a short course which is equivalent to a high school diploma but not a high school diploma. 

Here's how it works:

Lets say there's a guy named Bob and he wants to follow the Bachelor of Science degree at a specific college and the requirements are 60% in Math 30-1,ELA 30-1, Biology 30, Chem 30 and he has no idea whether he meets the requirements or not but he applies to the college. What the college does is it evaluates Bobs' academic transcripts and tells him this: "Hi Bob Alfredo, we've evaluated your transcripts and here are your results: you've 50% in Math 25, 60% in ELA 30-1, 50% in Biology 30 and 65% in Chem 30. Unfortunately you do not meet the required requirements for the Bachelor of science program (because he has 50% in Math 25, 50% in Biology 30) would you consider academic upgrading?" and Bob says YES. So the college accepts him for college preparation and he could complete the missing requirements math 30-1 and biology 30 through academic upgrading and meet the full requirements for the B.Sc in a semester and then follow the bachelor of science next semester after he's done. 

Just note that College preparation is mostly available in Colleges and some universities too. Following a college preparation program at a college is cost effective, efficient and reasonable. The tuition fees of Universities are high when compared to colleges. Getting into a college is easier than getting into a University. Most of the colleges have University transfer programs. You could follow a four year Bachelor degree program at a college by completing the first 2 years or 3 years at a college and the other 2 years or the last year at the university. The College preparation program is for the students who do not meet the basic entrance requirements for a college program. It is not for students who meet the full requirements.

You could learn more about college preparation in 

Alberta from here: Academic Upgrading- Alberta.ca.

British Colombia: Adult Upgrading

Ontario: Adult learning, Ontario

Virtual high School!:

Complete a high school diploma in a virtual high school! Sounds awesome right? According to my knowledge there are a lot of ongoing high school diploma offering virtual schools around Canada but mostly in Ontario. The Ontario virtual schools offer the OSSD which is Ontario Secondary School Diploma. note that, even though it says diploma it is not a diploma which would be equivalent to a first year of a bachelors degree at a college or a university. It's simply the year 12 high school diploma. You cannot physically obtain a study visa through a virtual school. You could complete the high school diploma at your home country and apply to a college. The tuition fees would be much lesser in virtual high school programs.

However I believe it's a bit risky since we've no idea who's behind the screen no matter what the websites of these virtual schools say. And also we've no idea what the protocols of virtual high schools and how they work with the ministry of education. So unless you're a student who is well informed about it and confirmed that it is 100% legit just be aware that you're risking your money.

What should I be aware of when choosing a College/ University in Canada?

1.) It is important to know whether the college or the university you're planning on studying    is under the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada) list of designated learning institutes. You could check your college from here: Designated learning institutes list- Canada.ca (Secondary schools are already under the list) only universities or colleges under this list are allowed for international students to apply for a study visa! 

2.) Accreditation! Whenever choosing a course make sure it has full accreditation, An accredited course is a course which has met the national standards provided by the ministry of education (this could change from province to province) so the course would be nationally recognised and registered. Following a non accredited program would make it hard to get a job in the long run as most employers hire employees with qualifications from accredited programs. Search more about this!!

3.) Public Colleges and Universities! Both private and public colleges are great but there are some things we should consider. Public colleges are cheaper than private colleges (but not so much with international student tuition fees) it would be the same in both sometimes.  Accommodation is cheaper in public schools when compared to private schools. The most important thing is 90% of the public colleges offer PGWP after graduation rather than private colleges. (Don't know what PGWP is? Scroll down and it will be below this section). 

4.) Most of the colleges/universities encourage students to apply online without applying through an agent. Applying through an agent does not guarantee that the student would get an acceptance letter or a study visa. Students can easily apply online. Everything is in the college/university website. Some provinces have a province wide online application service systems such as ApplyAlberta for province of Alberta or OntarioColleges.ca for province of Ontario. Students can create an account, choose which institution they want to study and apply. (Most of the colleges and universities are participated in this system) This ensures the security of the student and the college/university. Most colleges and universities charge a fee for applying. 

5.) Processing times! Most of the colleges and universities have 3 semester intakes per year, winter (January start), Spring (May start), Fall (September start). Majority of courses and programs start in the Fall intake and it is the most commonly preferred intake for international students (Varies from college to college). The competition in the Fall intake is higher than in the other intakes so apply as early as possible. Normally colleges and universities take upto 4 weeks to process international applications but it may take longer than this (depends on the college/uni). The visa process takes time too (Varies from country to country) so apply as early as possible.

6.) Scams! Has any agency or a person ever told you they can guarantee you the study visa if you applied through it or them? Well, that's a lie nobody can guarantee any kind of visa to anyone. Visa process will either be done online by the IRCC website or through VFS GLOBAL by paper. I have heard a lot of agencies say "The visa documents are submitted by the specific school in Canada and the documents are submitted from Canada so you'll for sure get the visa" this is a SCAM!! If you live in India your documents will get submitted to the high commission in India not the high commission in Canada because you're a citizen of India.

7.) Virtual School fraud. Virtual schools cannot provide study visas to international students. They may issue an acceptance letter but they're not eligible to obtain study visas for students. As a matter of fact there are a lot of scams and misleading programs going on in Toronto. Before you apply or accept a school/college/university be aware. Make sure it is legit. Go through the website to check whether it is an online school or not.

Can I work while studying?

Yes absolutely! You get 20 hours per week to work while studying in a post secondary institution but not a secondary school (there are some exceptions for schools in Quebec) . You could read more on this from here Studying and working in Canada as a student. Just note that there are two options called working on campus and off campus in the link make sure to go through all that! 

I'd like to say during the period you're studying don't get carried away with working. Try to balance both work and education although education should always come first. If you get absent for a long time it could affect your visa!

Can international students apply for a work permit while still remaining in Canada?

PGWP:

Yes, in order to work in Canada everyone is required to have a legit valid work permit. But you cannot work full time with a student permit. You need to get a work permit. There is an option called PGWP (post graduate work permit) for students. Students who are enrolled in a diploma, degree program in a post secondary institution that is 2 years long or more can apply to get a work permit that is valid for 3 years after graduation.

Just remember that not every post secondary institution under the Designated learning Institutions list or all the college/university programs are eligible for this. Your post secondary institution should be eligible for the PGWP. You can read all about this from here: Post graduate work permit. So if you're planning on working after studying I recommend selecting a participating secondary institution for the PGWP.

If you're already following a program at a non eligible post secondary institution and would like to know whether you can apply for a work permit check out: Other types of work permits.

Can international students apply for the Permanent Residence after obtaining a Work Permit?

Express entry system

Students who have studied in Canada and worked in Canada with a valid work permit may be eligible to apply for PR. There is an easy way for this. Most of the students who plan on coming to Canada may already know the Express entry system! Well, it might be a bit confusing to know what, where, how you should apply. The express entry system is a point based program where you receive one or more points on the study, work experience, skills you've. Express entry system has 3 options available as Federal skilled worker program, Federal skilled Trades program and Canadian experience class. So which one suits you? 

Federal skilled worker program is for people who have work experience outside of Canada and would like to apply for PR. 

Federal skilled trades program is for skilled workers who want to become permanent residents based on being qualified in a skilled trade.

Canadian experience class program for workers who have work experience in Canada and would like to apply for PR.

I'd be explaining briefly about the Canadian experience class program because I personally believe it'd suit international students. So if a student would want to apply for PR he/she should have 1 year of skilled work experience in Canada from the last 3 years that he/she has worked. What exactly is "skilled work"? A skilled worker is someone who has special training, skills and ability in their work and knowledge that has obtained by attending a school or a university. In Canada skilled work has several categories under the National Occupational Classification (NOC):

Skill type 0, Skill level A, Skill level B, Skill level C, Skill level D. You can find about this from here: National Occupational Classification. Only the skill type 0, skill level A and skill level B are considered as skilled jobs. So make sure you're following a course that offers jobs related to these skill types 0, A or B if you plan on applying for PR. Why is it important to know this? Because it increases your eligibility by adding more points to your application. You can check the ranking system of the express entry system from here:Comprehensive ranking system. You can also compare all the 3 programs of the express entry system from here: Comparison table and choose what suits you the best!

My advice is that if you're planning on obtaining the PR then carefully choose a college which offers the PGWP and a course relating to that. plan your future!

I think you should know this too!

Before applying to any school/college/university make sure they're legit. Search about it more and be informed as tuition fees for international students are very high! Always email the college/university if you have any questions. 

When choosing accommodation I think it's best to choose accommodation at the college because you're coming to Canada for the first time and you're all alone and you'd probably get homesick.

It is very important to know about the visa processes and the college processes so research and be informed.

The sole purpose of me sharing these information is because 1.) There aren't much information available for international students 2.) To keep everyone away from Scams that are going on!

I'm a student in Canada! Please email me at sandrasams090@gmail.com or leave a question below in the comment section if you have any questions. I would answer within 24 hours!