How to survive in toronto as an international student ?

[Sahadat Sayem]

A piece of advise :- manage your study finances here... you r going for study for 2 years not to work. finish your study first. don't jeopardize your career. then you have 3 years of work permit in which you can pay all your debts by working full time and that's what i call THE PAYBACK TIME...

And as @ mead said you can manage ur living expenses only with part time job not tuition fees...

thnx a lot buddy...ur advice is really important one...can u give me any info abt minimum income monthly after comlpeting my 2 years of masters?

 

[viperD]

thnx a lot buddy...ur advice is really important one...can u give me any info abt minimum income monthly after comlpeting my 2 years of masters?

Bro i am in the same situation in which you are... still applying visa.... dont know about the income but i will make sure you will break even the tuition fees...
and everything is depends upon the individual potential.. have to work hard. So best of luck

 

[Sahadat Sayem]

Bro i am in the same situation in which you are... still applying visa.... dont know about the income but i will make sure you will break even the tuition fees...
and everything is depends upon the individual potential.. have to work hard. So best of luck

thnx a lot buddy... u r trying for which country and for which college/university?

 

[viperD]

thnx a lot buddy... u r trying for which country and for which college/university?

Canada itself... In centennial college...!

 

[Sahadat Sayem]

Canada itself... In centennial college...!

in which subject? how much is ur tuition fees?

 

[Undercover]

From all my research and talking to people. as others have pointed out. Its best to rely on part time jobs only for living expenses. Heed that advise

 

[itstime]

From all my research and talking to people. as others have pointed out. Its best to rely on part time jobs only for living expenses. Heed that advise

agreed.

I'm paying $13k for tuition per year. A part-time job durig semester won't cover that.

Also, for visa purposes you need to show you have money to cover the first year tuition and living expenses.

 

[just_do_it]

A typical student job pays minimum wage, around 8-10$/ hour. So if you find a job that pays you 10$/ hr for your max 20 hrs per week, you are looking at $200 a week and $800 a month. After taxes, that leaves you with around $550-ish at the end. That probably wont be enough to cover your rent and food.

also consider that getting that part time job is not so easy, especially if you are:
1. a new comer to canada
2. your english is not as good
3. you have no real world work experience
Also, you will be competing with tons of other students. So dont expect to get a job the same day you land. You could very well go months when looking for your first job.

If you work more hours, then you would not be studying. So what would be the point of paying all that tution if you are not going to get an education.

The easiest way to manage finances is to get into a program that offers co-op. On your co-op work terms, you can make better than minimum wage working full time and save enough to pay part of you tution fee in the following semesters.

There's a reason why you are supposed to prove you have the financial means to pay for your education when applying for a visa as working while studying is not a very easy thing to do. Even domestic canadian students can barely pay their tution while working part time.

I would suggest figuring out your financial situation before coming here so you dont have to rely upon work, atleast for the duration of your studies. You can always work with your PGWP and pay back if you borrow money from a bank as a student loan.

P.S. savings interest rates a pretty shiite at the moment. Dont expect anything better than 1.5%-2%

 

[itstime]

A typical student job pays minimum wage, around 8-10$/ hour. So if you find a job that pays you 10$/ hr for your max 20 hrs per week, you are looking at $200 a week and $800 a month. After taxes, that leaves you with around $550-ish at the end. That probably wont be enough to cover your rent and food.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't minimum wage $10.25/hr? Anyone paying under that would be breaking the law.

Also, students get tax credits.

 

[elokuu]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't minimum wage $10.25/hr? Anyone paying under that would be breaking the law.

Also, students get tax credits.

If this discussion is only about Ontario, then yes. If we're talking more generally, it depends on the province. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_Canada#Minimum_wage_levels_by_jurisdiction

 

[Relica]

you will need help paying your fees, part time does not pay well in Toronto.

 

[just_do_it]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't minimum wage $10.25/hr? Anyone paying under that would be breaking the law.

Also, students get tax credits.

Minimum wage differs by province but my example considered $10/hr. Not sure how another 25 cents would make a big difference.

As for tax credits, sure you get them but unless your income is substantial, you dont get to use them.

the only thing you would get back when you file taxes is part of the taxes you paid as income tax (total tax deducted from your pay includes EI, CPP, Income tax). So you might get some of it back but again its not a lot. You may also get GST credit @$54/ month but again, not a lot.

Your tution and education credits will be really helpful when you start working full time as you pay a bigger portion in income taxes and you can get a big chunk of it back. But still not enough to pay your tution + living expenses while you are a student.

so i would not rely on work for paying your entire tution.

 

[scylla]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't minimum wage $10.25/hr? Anyone paying under that would be breaking the law.

It's not $10.25 for all jobs.

If you are working a job where you serve liquor (e.g. bartender, waiter in a restaurant) then the minimum wage is $8.90.

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/info/minimumwage/

 

[Sahadat Sayem]

A typical student job pays minimum wage, around 8-10$/ hour. So if you find a job that pays you 10$/ hr for your max 20 hrs per week, you are looking at $200 a week and $800 a month. After taxes, that leaves you with around $550-ish at the end. That probably wont be enough to cover your rent and food.

also consider that getting that part time job is not so easy, especially if you are:
1. a new comer to canada
2. your english is not as good
3. you have no real world work experience
Also, you will be competing with tons of other students. So dont expect to get a job the same day you land. You could very well go months when looking for your first job.

If you work more hours, then you would not be studying. So what would be the point of paying all that tution if you are not going to get an education.

The easiest way to manage finances is to get into a program that offers co-op. On your co-op work terms, you can make better than minimum wage working full time and save enough to pay part of you tution fee in the following semesters.

There's a reason why you are supposed to prove you have the financial means to pay for your education when applying for a visa as working while studying is not a very easy thing to do. Even domestic canadian students can barely pay their tution while working part time.

I would suggest figuring out your financial situation before coming here so you dont have to rely upon work, atleast for the duration of your studies. You can always work with your PGWP and pay back if you borrow money from a bank as a student loan.

P.S. savings interest rates a pretty shiite at the moment. Dont expect anything better than 1.5%-2%

thnx a lot for ur suggestion . Can u give some idea about co op pro. as i m not familiar with this . is it equivalent to masters? brief idea will be much appreciated.

thank u

 

[just_do_it]

thnx a lot for ur suggestion . Can u give some idea about co op pro. as i m not familiar with this . is it equivalent to masters? brief idea will be much appreciated.

thank u

do a quick search on co-op. This topic has been beaten to death , revived to life and beaten up again (multiple times).