I have been in the pool since October 2017 with my husband as primary applicant we had a CRS score of 438 until early June where we lost 5 points due to my husbands birthday.
Early in May we realized that express entry was not looking so hopeful and decided to go this route. I was accepted to start studying in September this year but you have to send transcripts and pay the fee before they will send you an official acceptance letter, and as the university is tardy getting back to emails this took longer than expected. It takes 11 weeks to process a study visa in my country and with only 12 weeks till the start of the course this was not a viable option as I think the stress of waiting for that would be too much for any human. Lucky I had the option to defer to the next start of the course which is January 2019. It will be the middle of summer in South Africa and we will land in Canada in the middle of winter, not ideal but it will not deter us from the Canadian dream! I am just waiting for my PCC and then will apply, now with plenty of time to get everything else in order.
From my experience, my advice to anyone looking to go this route. Start looking/applying for programs NOW. The universities in Canada take very long to respond and the process is not as straight forward as it seems. But it will be worth it in the end!
I also have one question,
@vensak if you could possible give me advice. I have started my application on the CIC website and I am given the option to apply for my study visa as well as my husbands open work visa. Should I apply together or do I need to wait till I have received my study visa before applying for his work visa? Thanks in advance