A Student Waiting to Go to Canada

[waitingforcanada]

gave up

I realised that this visa processing and my obsession of it was detrimental to my overall health and well being. By spending inordinate amounts of time on this subject I was ignoring other critical aspects of my life.

I was ignoring my workouts and my future in case the visa doesn’t come through.

Hence, in my mind, I have given up on this.

I do not think that the visa will come through in time for my term and I will have no choice but to cancel my program. I will wait until the last possible date though.

[waitingforcanada]

No updates yet on Canada Study Permit

The announcement that IRCC would be processing study permits came about a week ago at this point. However, there have been no reports anywhere about any study permit decision being made on the various fora I am monitoring.

This is a disappointment as the IRCC clearly mentioned that it would be processing study permit applications whilst putting aside other applications. It is going to be a problem for me if I do not get my visa on time. I will have to defer my intake to Sep and perhaps even January if I do not get my visa before the third of May.

I do not understand how the entire world is not giving any priority to the fact that things are yet to happen and the show must go on. It is a pity that IRCC is allowing lives of students to go into limbo for a long time. The world cannot just stop and sit idle during this time, we need to move on and keep doing things.

IRCC must take cognisance of this matter and act on it swiftly for students in May intake of 2020.

[waitingforcanada]

What worked for me in IELTS?

Hi, I’m Prithvi Raj. I took the IELTS twice. General once and Academic once.

My scores are

IELTS GT - Overall 8.5 L 9 R 9 S 8.5 W 7

IELTS AC - Overall 9.0 L 9 R 9 S 8.5 W 8.5

Here are somethings that worked for me and I hope that work for you as well. 

1. I took the Computer Delivered version of IELTS known as CD IELTS.    1. It allows you to edit what you write.    2. Allows you to make the font larger or smaller.    3. Allows you to change the colours for better contrast on the screen.

2. I register for the exam first and only after that do I begin the preparation. Believe me, this works. If you do not have the deadline of the exam, you will never pick up the pace. I registered 7 days in advance for my test. 

3. I found every single official IELTS book I could find and did two full IELTS tests every single day on the seven days leading up to the test. The more recent the better.

4. I believe in contrarian approaches that might sound ridiculous. I find such approaches smart. For example, I do not read the passages in the reading section first. I read the questions first and then look at the passage. 

5. I do not prepare for the IELTS speaking test. I give it extempore. 

6. Getting a high score in IELTS is not the same as being good in English. You may not be great at English and still do well on the test. It is a test there are ways to crack it. Being good at English is always a plus though. 

7. I make it a point not to speak to anyone at the test centre before my test. I usually make conversation happen with people but on the day of test before the test, I make it a point to not speak at all. This keeps you focused on the exam and not on the idiosyncrasies of the people who are coming to take the test. 

8. There are some tricks placed strategically in the first half of the listening section designed to throw you off your guard. If you practice enough like I did, you will master not falling prey to these tricks. 

9. If I did it, you can do it too. Do not believe otherwise, it will become a self fulfilling prophecy.

I can teach you how to do better in IELTS by spending an hour of time with you. It will help you * Understand where you are making mistakes * Increase your IELTS band score by at least 1 band (enough for most people) * Know your strengths and weaknesses (this can make or break your IELTS)

My fee is Rs 1500/hr. By appointment only. Skype/phone. One hour allows me to take a thorough look at your skills and guide you to avoid pitfalls. It will be a thorough analysis of your profile. Every single person who has gone through the session has benefitted, you will too.

Email me at [email protected] if you wish to take up the coaching.

[waitingforcanada]

CD IELTS Experience in Hyderabad

1. There is free car and bike parking available in the cellar for IELTS test takers. Just say IDP and park in the designated slot in Gowra Trinity. I am told there is a limit of 5 cars. A person who didn't know this had taken a ticket and paid 50 Rs/ hour. It was about 5 hours.

  2. There is no need to carry a printout of the email. Only your passport is necessary. I wish they had mentioned this in the email, this would have saved some trouble for people and also saved a ton of paper. 

3. There are lockers available for big bags and small items can be put in numbered pouches that the security guard collects and keeps in his locker. You do not get a token for this, you are only recognized by a tag that is given to you and are supposed to wear. 

4. The test takers are provided with a pencil, a pen, an eraser and a sharpener. There are some sheets with logic credentials available which can be used to take notes if needed. 

5. At the computer, you will be given separate login credentials for each section. You need to use these to login for each section. You have a choice of using a standard font, large font or extra large font. I chose large because it made it easier to read. You also have a choice of changing the colours of the font and the background. I chose the yellow and black option. You can choose the one that makes you feel comfortable. When you choose an option, you can see how it looks and decide on which one you like. Black and yellow was easiest to read to read for me. 

6. Unlike regular IELTS, there is no extra time provided in the listening section to transfer answers. I originally thought that this would make it difficult but in practice, it was no trouble at all. 

7. In reading, I had a lot of time left over, something like 35 minutes. My strategy was something where I only read the questions and then searched for the answers. I wished that this time could have been utilized for writing. 

8. I never took the paper IELTS, however, I have taken the TOEFL twice before and the benefits of a computer based test are clear. Writing can be edited and checked multiple times. If you are a fast typer, it is extremely easy for you. This does not mean your essay automatically gets better but at least you can check and retype things that you felt were bad. 

9. One additional thing I forgot to mention was that I chose the large font size instead of regular for better readability and also chose yellow and black as the screen options. This was extremely helpful as it allowed less strain on the eyes. 10. For the 7 days before the test, I did 2 IELTS full tests everyday from the official books. I got everything online. If you look, you will find them too. Only the official books. 11. One important thing to remember is to first register for the test and then begin preparation. The deadline will make you work like a maniac which you won’t if you do not have a deadline.  My IELTS Scores General Overall 8.5 L 9 R 9 S 8.5 W 7 Academic Overall 9 L 9 R 9 S 8.5 W 8.5

[waitingforcanada]

Do NOT start your Program Online w/o a Study Permit

My college got back to me with a detailed response to my query.

My query was * Can we take classes online from our home country? If yes, please provide a official reference of the same. * How does it impact the PGWP if we take online classes in the following cases.    * In case we already have a study permit/study visa    * In case we do not have a study permit/visa yet

They made everything very clear and have sorted out any ambiguity in this regard * Yes, we can take classes online from our home country from any college in Canada. They also provided a reference. * In case we have a study permit, we can take classes online up to 50% of the course duration and still be eligible for the same PGWP. * In case we do not have a study permit, we may receive a reduced PGWP proportional to the duration of the course we have studied in Canada. This is still not clear but we have to prepare for the worst. * IRCC will not give any special consideration to the people that already started classes online in anticipation of the visa. The visa officer will have the same consideration as usual. * My college recommended that if I want a PGWP, I should not start classes online from my home country without a study permit approved. They said “DO NOT RISK IT”.

Basically, Covid-19 has screwed all of us and we are facing the brunt from all authorities worldwide.

[waitingforcanada]

a sigh of relief

No, it is not what you’re thinking. I am yet to receive the visa, but I have something to sigh about and that is what I’m sharing.

Reports from various sources have claimed that in the past three days, there have been some visa approvals. This shows that the April 8th announcement by the govt of Canada is being followed. They are processing student visas.

In my case, I have the following options. In case I do not get my visa by May 3rd (the last date to withdraw from the course). I can * Withdraw from the course for a full refund of tuition * Show my student visa refusal and get my tuition deposit back minus a small admin fee By May 3rd, I’m pretty sure that everything will come back to normalcy and I can carry on with my activities.

My course is online and I do not have to go to Canada for the first semester. This is a boon as I will be saving a ton of money in living expenses which I would have otherwise spent. I also get to finish up some errands back home which will take a month or two longer than expected due to the lockdown.

This is definitely a breather that is helping me. I can now wait until May 3rd without any issue. I am positive that my visa will come through in that time.

[waitingforcanada]

The Visa Limbo

I applied for my Canada study visa on the 19th of March. I finished all the formalities before that such as biometrics and medicals and that was the end of it.

My college is hell bent on asking me to register for my classes by 15th April. The classes actually start on 4th May, and I do not have a visa in my hand as on 10th April. In addition to this, it is Easter weekend for Canadians and they have four days off from Friday through Monday.

Happy Easter everyone.

Now I and several thousand other students who are in dire need of a visa to begin their classes online from their home country are stuck in complete limbo. Neither the visa authorities (IRCC) nor the colleges or anyone else who could take action is worried about us, the poor May 2020 intake students.

Yes, this is the middle of a pandemic and everything has gone haywire but nobody seems to be concerned that this pandemic will subside and the show must go on. We cannot just delete five months from our lives and assume that nothing happened.

There is nobody to reach out to, nobody who is accountable for this. Time and monies of international students are going to go down the drain and nothing is being done by any of the people who have the power to do something.