Stats: 3,182,473 members, 7,917,483 topics. Date: Sunday, 11 August 2024 at 08:17 AM |
Nairaland Forum / Thesoj's Profile / Thesoj's Posts
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Assume that it will be shared. Damisa03: |
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KayPapi: KayPapi:Congrats on your TRV. I would say that the advice you were given was valid for most people, you just happen to be a good exception. Your TRV approval once again demonstrates that while there are general guidelines, VOs make exceptions in certain cases depending on the applicant's ability to convince him/her (or depending on the VO's mood). Every application is different. Also keep in mind that the VO might have viewed your app positively for other reasons, e.g. you went to school in the UK and came back to Naija, you wrote an extremely convincing SOP, you have enough financial/professional/family ties to Naija, etc. Another candidate a year ago was also approved with a similar profile as you, check out her profile summary here, she too was going for a PGC after a Masters in the UK; she is also going to the same school as you are. Cheers. |
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Hmm... I wouldn't recommend for anyone (particularly undergraduate applicants) to go to Canada without access to funds that cover AT LEAST one year. You WILL suffer. While there are schools like uWaterloo that have very lengthy co-ops that enable the student to make enough money to pay a good fraction of your fees (assuming your course is in a highly-paid hot area like computer science), this is very uncommon. Even with uWaterloo, undergraduate applicants in particular NEED to make sure that they have at least one year's worth of tuition and room and board. It WILL be an extremely difficult life in every way if you plan to go to Canada with little to zero funds, especially for an undergraduate in his/her teenage years or very early twenties. I speak from experience here, as I know several friends that tried this when we were undergrads... most did badly in school (one now works as a plumber, and it wasn't by choice... he couldn't get a decent job... I'm not joking), some were kicked out of school (two got deported as they were now illegal in the country); only a few were able to do it successfully (maybe 15%.. but these were the ones who had family or family friends around to bail them out or take them in if they were in the worst dire straits). Also, don't forget that Canada is a very cold country. So if you ever end up getting stranded without a place to stay on a cold day, or if you can't afford to buy very good cold weather clothing, or if you are hungry, YOU WILL BE ROYALLY SCREWED and your health could be in serious danger. Please no undergraduate applicant should plan going to Canada without at least enough funds for the first year. I'd recommend making sure your sponsor can at least afford 75% of your total expenses for each year of your study, or at least 75% of what you need for your first two years. If you are are going to a place like uWaterloo's co-op program AND you are studying a hot course like computer science, then maybe (and I still am reluctant to say this) only having one year's worth of funds might work. But do not try it otherwise. cc: Teeewhyy Riddeek: 7 Likes |
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Unfortunately, this is just too common. I have at different times received SOPs with paragraphs that were exactly identical to a previous SOP that I had read before. This sort of intellectual laziness and dishonesty is indeed heartbreaking. Btw, I'm sure that some VOs have denied applications because they noticed the applicant's SOP had paragraphs that were word-for-word identical to SOPs that they had read before. I once read an SOP that exactly copied three paragraphs from one of the SOP samples posted on this thread in the past. Osemigho: |
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What questions to answer in your SOP to the visa officer (not necessarily in this order): 1. Introduce yourself and course of study in Canada 2. Why do you wish to study in Canada in the program for which you have been accepted? 3. What is your overall educational goal and overall career goal? 4. What have you been doing (by way of employment/professional development) since the completion of your undergraduate studies and now? 5. How will this program enhance your employment opportunities in your country of residence/citizenship? (i.e. how will your skill be valuable to the Nigerian market?), i.e. briefly explain the impact of your course on your future career and your home country 6. Why are you not pursuing a similar program in your country of residence? 7. Why PGD and not MSc? (if PGD) The key reason why you are writing this letter is to demonstrate to the embassy that your purpose of visiting Canada is genuine, and that you will come back to Naija after your studies. It has to be very persuasive. Btw, the embassy knows that you might not come back to Naija... they are not idiots... what they need to be convinced about is that you would freely come back to Nigeria if you cannot legally stay in Canada anymore. To convince the VO (visa officer): 1. you will need to be specific about what it is your Canada education would help you do once you come back to Naija. Just saying that you will come back home not convincing 2. you need to be specific about what it is about that program or its curriculum that would help you achieve your stated goals 3. you need to be specific about what it is you have done that makes you a credible applicant Basically, you need to emphasize on what you have done and exactly what you will do when you return to Nigeria (be very clear and unambiguous about this). PS: I extracted some of the above keypoints from various sources on the internet, primarily page 4 of this CIC form for another country. Also, @yemdogg goes into excellent detail on how to write a good SOP for the VO, read this post of his very carefully. 20 Likes 7 Shares |
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You are welcome. I can't share SOPs whatsoever due to plagiarism risks -- I also can't share anyone else's SOP as it would be a violation of their trust and privacy. Hmm... I learned how to write SOPs when I was applying to grad school, and I have also had the opportunity to help review dozens of SOPs. But I am so busy these days that it is hard to find time to review SOPs because to do it well I have to invest time and concentration. My advice for you is to go online and read up on how to write a good SOP. The main thing is you need to make sure that your content is organized into paragraphs that flow smoothly into each other. You also first need to have a plan of what you want to write before doing so. There are also a lot of posts on this thread (both this part and previous parts) that mention what you need to address in your SOP to CIC. hustla: |
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Yeah I think you have enough to demonstrate to a VO that your pursuit of an IT course is in line with your previous study & experience. BUT you still need to make sure that your SOP clearly and unambiguously emphasizes these IT courses you have taken. You should make it clear that you spent nine months studying these courses (and in the SOP, you should make it clear that the certificates are attached), emphasizing what you gained from them and how they helped further shape your desire to pursue study/work/career in this area. Also, when you fill the CIC Study Permit application form (IMM1294E), you should include the study period for these IT courses under the "Education" section or under the "Employment/Activity" section (whichever makes more sense); I make this suggestion so that the VO doesn't think that you are jumping from mass comm to IT (in case the VO doesn't read your SOP closely). I am a big fan of intelligently building redundancy into your TRV application. Do also make it crystal clear to the VO how the IT program in Canada would give you more knowledge than the courses you studied in India. Your phrase "I believe communication is key to managing people in IT, Mass communication could come in handy then" is not convincing because mass communication has nothing to do with managing people (it is more related to things like broadcasting, news writing/editing, etc). So make sure the way you link mass communication to your future career/aspirations in a way that makes sense, otherwise you risk compromising your own application. hustla: 6 Likes |
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Actually it is quite possible to convince the VO about your intended switch but this requires a high burden of proof from you to show that the career switch is indeed genuine and not random or arbitrary. It would be easier to make this case if you either have professional experience in the new field that you are switching to, or if you have informal experience (with proof) demonstrating your desire to pursue the new field. Even with all the evidence, you will also need to write an extremely passionate and convincing statement of purpose. There are people on this forum that have done what you are trying to do. But keep in mind that it is a high risk proposition that you should undertake only if you are confident of why you are making the switch, and only if you also have evidence and compelling reasons to do so. Additionally, you would need to be able to communicate this information clearly and intelligently in your SOP to CIC. If you don't feel confident about your ability to convince the VO of the switch, then this is also an indicator that you yourself might not even be sure of why you are making the switch to that specific course. After all, if you haven't truly explored the new field (with evidence to show the VO), how would you know if you would like it once you start classes? This is why VOs are strict with these sort of course switches. VOs are open-minded subjective human beings, you can convince them if your reasons make sense. However the burden of proof is quite high in some cases, and this is one of them. But it is very doable. You just have to be honest with yourself as to whether your reasons for switching to the new course are credible. hustla: 2 Likes |
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Lol. Btw, no be me dey ghost you o. Osemigho: |
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I think it's because of the recession and the steep devaluation of the Naira. The VOs are probably keeping this in mind and are therefore much stricter than they've been before. I also surmise that there are Nigerian students in Canada now having a difficult time paying school fees (due to the significant devaluation of the Naira over the last year and half), VOs are probably taking this into account (those guys are not idiots) and thus are less flexible on this issue. Osemigho: |
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This is a tough question... What field of study are you going for? At first glance, I would have suggested you take the UVic admission (because of the co-op), but on second glance I remember that UofT is one of the top universities in the world. Do you have a full scholarship to both schools? If so, then I'd go with UofT; a degree from UofT will give your resume a massive credibility. The only case in which I'd choose UVic is if the Victoria/Vancouver area has many more economic opportunities in your field of study or if it is very hard to get a job in your field of study (the UVic co-op gives you a leg into getting a job shortly after graduation). Btw, take my advice with a grain of salt... lol Osemigho: |
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Here are two relevant old posts (here and here) of mine discussing the topic of university world rankings. MagnaB: 3 Likes |
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This guy you are always making sense ![]() Folaroyal: 2 Likes |
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LONG POST ALERT RANT AHEAD I would like to request that anyone who PMs me should please not ask questions that can be answered by doing a thirty-second Google search. This is extremely frustrating! 17 Likes 1 Share |
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You are welcome. If both of you had masters admissions, then I wouldn't be as skeptical about applying together. The fact that both of you are going for PGC, given the ease of admission, may incorrectly suggest to the VO that you are just planning to abscond and possibly not even study when you reach Canada. As I mentioned earlier, take this with a grain of salt. Sammiejokes: |
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Sammiejokes:Hmm... take this with a grain of salt but if I were the VO, your chances of approval will crash once I notice that you are applying together as a married couple. I would immediately wonder how convenient it is for both of you to realize that you want to do PGCs in Canada at the exact same time. I really would consider your application(s) to just be a ploy for both of you to leave Nigeria. Take this with a grain of salt though. You know yourselves better than I do. Sammiejokes:Of course. You can do whatever you want as long as you have the right documentation and funds. Approval is another story. Sammiejokes:This is the big elephant in the room. Yes, you will look like you are both escaping. Once again, please take this with a grain of salt. I don't know anything about you and it is possible that applying as a couple is the best scenario for you. The information I am providing is based on zero knowledge of you and your spouse/fiance. Sammiejokes:If you have compelling reasons to apply together, then do so. If you have compelling reasons to apply separately, then fire on. If you apply as a couple, then each of you should have compelling reasons that alleviate the VO's concerns that you are both just trying to run away from Nigeria. You each need to be very convincing. This advice is also valid if you apply separately. Another option is for one of you to go to Canada and after resuming school (or after obtaining the TRV), apply for an SOWP for the other partner. Many people on here have done this. |
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Thanks for the compliments bro. michV: |
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Yes I totally agree with you that people should use Google to supplement this thread. I also concur that it is pretty easy to follow an active moniker. Unfortunately, many on the visitors to the Travel section are lazy and want to be spoonfed, and this is sad; I have little to zero patience for lazy people. Having said that, it is also true that @Seun can do a better job with the Travel section; particularly with having a "thread summary page" that can be accessed from anywhere inside a thread. Such a summary page would be maintained by @Justwise and/or he could nominate an active participant to jointly (or independently) manage it. michV: |
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Please post your question on here directly, unless it is confidential. FYI, I unfortunately can't read or review documents (SOP, sponsorship letter, etc) at this time. I am extremely busy with a lot on my plate. Kennyanderson: |
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@Seun, while some of us have taken it upon ourselves (I and @richcasey in particular) to summarize the key points of this thread, I think that the current forum format makes it incredibly difficult for most users to efficiently extract the most useful information when it comes to the Travel (education specifically) section. This issue is endemic with the USA, German, & Canada student visa threads (and probably all the other student visa threads too). I used to hate Nairaland (too many tribalists & excessive celebrity news lol) until I found the Travel section, and it is solely because of this section that I initially started visiting Nairaland. I think you run a risk of losing users because the volume of posts in sections such as this can be intimidating to users who don't have the time (or data) to read hundreds to thousands of pages to find the one or two bits of information that they need (I had to read at least 2500 pages in order to be able to summarize most of the important points). I suggest you consider a feature that makes it easy for users to view the keypoints of a given thread; that feature might be a tab that can be accessed from any given page in the thread. Reddit does it this way and this would really help NL as well. I surmise that you will have a competitor site (at least for the Travel section) really soon if this "ease of use" issue isn't addressed at some point in the near future. PS: Newbies, don't bother reading from Part 1; that's unreasonable and unrealistic. If anything, read one of the parts (Part 7 and later) and you should be fine, read more than one section if you are a "complex" applicant. Or take a look at the summary posts (linked in the first sentence). Seun: 8 Likes |
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To answer your question, yes, it's a 99% chance that it is approved. Do you mind sharing how you got his job? Did you just apply online? Or did you have a contact there? Oroscope: |
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CannyZionist: I don't know much about either school, but I can tell you that if you are anything like me, you would absolutely love Montreal. Also, while French is the city's first language, almost everyone there also speaks very good English. It is essentially a fully bilingual city. Additionally, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to learn French within your first year or second year, if you want. Montreal also is a city where it's very easy to make new friends, especially as a young person (the city has at least four universities, or even more). PS: I don't live in Montreal but I've visited and have friends there. |
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Congrats! Chrissybaybee: 2 Likes |
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[size=14pt]***IMPORTANT LINKS***[/size] 11 Likes 5 Shares |
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Just make it clear to the VO how biostatistics is just a branch of applied mathematics. Your explanation should be straightfoward especially because the link between these two courses is very clear and direct. TheGreat342: |
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Providing evidence to dispute your assertion is not an attack and neither is it angry. In your post I responded to, you stated nothing about funding or scholarship, and you clearly stated that it is fine if the applicant's proof of funds are up to N2m as long as inflows and outflows are "good". I dispute this because it is incorrect and misleading. Your mention of scholarship funding only came up in your subsequent post where you stated that less than N2m is fine if he has a scholarship. Both posts are mostly inaccurate, and at best vague. To specifically address your second post, less than N2m in the account is sufficient only if the amount not covered by the scholarship is significantly less than N2m. Your posts made a number of blanket statements that I dispute, but there's nothing about my response to your posts that is meant to get you angry. Disagreeing with your post is not an "angry" attack. Igbouwanile: 4 Likes |
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I'm afraid your advice about funds is both incorrect and misleading. According to CIC, at least one year's worth of tuition plus at least $10k CAD for living expenses must be shown the proof of funds document. The inflow and outflow of the account is secondary to that (I would argue this is mostly unimportant, unless there's a lodgement problem). This has been discussed repeatedly on this thread, and I'm honestly surprised at your assertion encouraging the submission of account balances that are much less that the required CIC amount. Your advice is harmful, because it will almost always result in an "insufficient funds" denial. Igbouwanile: 1 Like |
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I wish you had asked your question before you submitted your application. Yes, his closing balance will affect your application but you might be lucky and the VO could still approve your app because your sponsor has a steady job in a stable country. But I don't want to give you false hope... There is concise information all over CIC's website that clearly states that you should show proof of funds of at least your annual tuition plus $10k CAD for living expenses. The $1800 balance on your sponsor's account is excessively low, probably less than one-tenth of the annual funds you are required to show. VOs are generally strict about this, so just hope for the best at this point. RichardNnamdi: |
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You quoted the wrong moniker dude. emperoracro: 4 Likes 1 Share |
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I'm very sorry to hear about your GRE scores. Your Verbal score is in the 59th percentile (you did better than 59% of applicants) and your Quantitative is in the 32nd percentile (you did better than 32% of applicants). Have you considered coming up with a new way to prepare yourself for the test (the Quantitative section in particular) and take it again? If you don't plan to redo the test, then I'd strongly suggest that you don't include it in your application as it may further jeopardize your admission chances. Usually Computer Science/Math/Statistics programs admit students with Quantitative scores above the 60th percentile (score of 155), although the best programs admit students who score above the 80th percentile (score of 161). Also, you don't have to apply to a school that requires the GRE. Hope things get better. Cheers. http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/gre-score-percentiles/ nikenry: 1 Like |
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I get you, man. I agree that is does suck for the moniker in question to have been on this thread for so long yet newbies (like me) showed that his information was wrong. That's the thing with life, and I think we should all embrace it. Experience or age doesn't always prove one to be correct. Bro, the thing is that truth (in itself) doesn't respect authority or status. Truth often appears disrespectful (and revolutionary) especially when the messenger is seen as a newbie or inexperienced. The moniker in question provided a set of wrong information and several people had to disagree with his misinformation as well as his suggestion of using agents. It is healthy for the integrity of the thread when people are quick to point out misinformation. I too am not immune to stating wrong information (though I try as hard as I can not to), and I welcome anyone pointing it out anytime! ManTiger: 4 Likes |
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If he gives his company account, then he definitely should also provide sufficient documents showing that he is both the sole owner of the company and is the person authorized to operate the company account. Does he have a personal account? If he does, that is preferred. The problem with using his company account is the VO may just automatically assume that it is the company that is sponsoring you, which may lead to more questions about why a company is sponsoring you. So if he does decide to use that account, it would be extremely important for him to clarify in his sponsoring letter that he is sponsoring you from the company account because it is a sole-proprietorship and he puts most of his personal funds in his company account. I wish I could respond more eloquently instead of rambling, but I hope you get my drift. Cheers. Anyone else with experience with this should please chime in. Thx. wealth360: 1 Like |
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