1. In my opinion an ideal SOP, should be 2 pages. I would suggest u to limit it to max of 3 pages if u really have to explain things to the CIC officer, .
2. As far as I did a recent application for my Wife, a Scotiabank Student GIC(given only to Indian student) and 1st sem fees were noted as some of the major requirements for all Indian student. I would suggest you to check CIC website or talk to some consultants or talk to VFS for more information on this ( As far as i researched,due to past fraudulent activities that occurred from India, they have made this a requirement for Indian students). As far as I know Scotiabank GIC replaces the liquid cash requirement. Ur bank loan is another thing, u may go for 50lakhs loan but the only thing u will receive from the bank is a loan approval letter for ur loan amt ( the problem in this is for banks like SBI and other national banks, ur semester fees are released primarily based on ur marks and other bank terms before the start of a sem , this is not a credibility factor for CIC. The question asked is what if u dont perform well and u dont get ur loan released, u will become a burden to Canada,henceforth the Scotia GIC serves as a credibility factor to take care of ur living expenses, arnd 800CAD will be deposited every month fr ur expenses through a 1yr GIC). U have to check with the college on paying one semester fees (as far as i know the college will accept ur payment,eventhough it is a conditional offer, the money will just be credited into ur student number. Most of the colleges will fully refund the money if u havent registered and u were not successful in getting ur SP, check ur college websites international section or send them an email)
3. I came to Canada on SP (Study permit) in 2008 and now they call the initial application process for a study permit as SPP (Student Partnership program,The Canada in India Student Partners Program (SPP) is a joint pilot project between Citizenship and Immigration Canada's visa offices in India and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC)).
4. I was awarded the best project award for my final year project in my university and I also had some certificates I had attained for few seminars. I submitted all these things to increase my credibility as a student.
Since I helped my wife to submit a Study permit application from India recently(2015), I am aware of the requirements and changes in the new application process. If ur going for a bank loan, I suggest u to go through HDFC, simple process but takes long time (not a big difference in the rates compared to nationalized banks and also HDFC gets u a cheque for the complete loan amount as one cheque with Scotiabank. Saves time,hazzle and other unwanted transaction charges).
