Hi All.
This post is for those who are confused about living area and admission after landing. All information is collected from Rossei Vai of this forum. Special thanks to Rossei Vai.
This is how MSc/MASc (thesis based) works in Canada:
- First, you have to impress a CS professor of your research interest. High GPA from Bachelors, good score in IELTS/GRE, a good resume, previous school projects on related research area, work experiences, achievements in CS (programming contest, projects, academic success), recommendation letters from prof/employer etc.
- After a prof accepts to take you as one of his post-grad students, you can apply to that university for Masters admission. Usually, a good student becomes self-sufficient to bear the cost from below sources:
- Research assistance-ship from the Prof
- GA-ship/TA-ship appointed by your Prof on the courses he takes at school (Normally, 1 course/term)
- Provincial grant for grad students. In Ontario, it's called Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). Almost everyone at Masters/Doctoral level gets it.
- Other scholarships (eg. NSERC, QEII GSST)
- Most schools have entrance scholarships which you get automatically if you qualify.
- Other school-specific small bursaries (contact specific school in advance)
- If you still need financial help, there is a Grad Student Association in every school to help you.
- And there is student loan which should be your last resource. In Ontario, it's called OSAP.
- To qualify for all these scholarships/loans, you seriously have to meet all deadlines.
- To continue scholarships from term to term, you need to maintain a healthy CGPA (Usually, over 80%)
- You may have to spend 10-12 hours in the lab
Question:
How much possibility is there to get a student loan/fund for a new immigrant?
It's actually easier to get student loan for new immigrants. Be aware of deadlines though. You should look for full funding for your Masters first.
Question:
Living area in Toronto
GTA (Greater Toronto Area), combined with 5 adjacent regions (25 different municipalities), is the largest, most populous and most diverse metropolitan area of Canada. It's also the economic capital. There are 3 universities and several colleges here. Uni of Toronto is the biggest school in Canada which is good for anything, York Uni is famous for its business schools and Ryerson Uni is an average school. You will find most Bangladeshis in this area as well.
Question:
Should I go for MSc at the starting? (considering loan/fund for MSc)
If you come in Feb, 2017; you may start MSc from Sep, 2017. While you apply for admission, you can certainly try for CS jobs. This is one of the subjects which has no limits if you're confident about your skills.
Question:
Choosing university
Uni of Waterloo (1 hour drive from Toronto), Uni of Toronto (Toronto) and UBC (British Columbia) are the best schools for CS. York (Toronto), Queen's (Kinston, 2.5 hours drive from Toronto) & Carleton (Ottawa) are also very good for CS around your chosen area.
The top schools of Canada which are very good for almost any subject:
- Uni of Toronto (Toronto, ON)
- McGill Uni (Montreal, QC)
- UBC (Vancouver, BC)
- McMaster Uni (Hamilton, ON)
- Queen's Uni (Kingston, ON)
- Uni of Waterloo (Waterloo, ON)
- Western Uni (London, ON)
- Uni of Alberta (Edmonton, AB)
- Uni of Calgary (Calgary, AB)
Question:
Can I get admitted as PR or take loan before landing?
Can I get admitted as PR: Yes
Can I take loan before landing: No
Question:
Do I need IELTS or GRE?
Yes. Having an international background, you will need to prove your English proficiency. So, IELTS (Academic) is perhaps mandatory. GRE may not be mandatory but will definitely help to convince the Prof.
