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The land of the maple leaf, Canada has been a welcoming abode  for Indians over several decades. But today its amity has extended to our student community which has shown a 40% rise in enrollment numbers in maple land this year. “Canada is a very welcoming country. This year 4600 Indian students have been accepted by Canadian Universities, over last year’s count of 3200. By 2015, the plan is to take this number up to 15,000,” informed Maria Mathai, director, Canadian Education Center (India), an agency supported by the government of  Canada. According to Mathai,  Indians are flocking to Canada’s prestigious universities and institutes  to pursue postgraduate diplomas and degrees in areas like business, engineering, computer science and IT, hospitality and tourism as also animation. All thanks to some changes in rules that will make student life simpler.

What to expect?
For the 2010 January intake there are several changes in rules for international students. Firstly, students are being encouraged to apply for education loans to fund their education. Secondly, they have been recommended to apply with IELTS (International English Language Testing System) scores. The third and the most crucial change is that students graduating from eligible programmes at Canadian post-secondary institutions will get an open work permit of three years even without having a job offer on hand and without restriction on type of employment. This move is aimed at solving Canada’s labour shortage problem. Students will be able to meet the requirements of obtaining a permanent residency under the recently launched Canadian Experience Class with just their Canadian degrees and work experience in hand. What remains constant as the last few years are the costs. The living costs are constant at 4 to 4.5 lakh for one year of stay while the academic costs for most courses are at 4- 4.5 lakhs per year. The plus point is that International students are required to show funds for just one year which are around Rs9lakh, taking the above into consideration. “This has definitely made Canada a more attractive education destination,” said Mathai.

Last year, following problems involving false documentation, several Indian students received visa rejections. To avoid this; Canadian immigration has started a pilot project to enable genuine students to obtain visas within just seven to ten days. Those who want to benefit from such schemes must use bonafide, reputable immigration agencies with excellent track records; choose the right courses at the right educational establishments,     be truthful at all times and show genuine documentation. If the application is rejected because of fraudulent documentation, the chances of reversing a refused visa are very slim.

In Canada, most of the institutions are public institutions. Even private institutions, which have been set up have to get provincial accreditation. So, the students, before applying for colleges, should check whether their institutes are listed on the Canadian government website.

Get Ready
Students who have applied for visa, payed their fees and booked their hostel/ off campus accommodation four months in advance can take an easy breath. Maria advised that the last one month should be spent wisely on travel arrangements, packing clothes and other necessities to ensure a smooth transition into life abroad.

In January, the hottest regions in Canada will record temperatures between zero and five degrees celsius while the coldest regions like Toronto will be freezing at temperatures well below zero degrees celsius. For those under prepared; this can mean big trouble.

“Students should seek advice from the buddies/ mentors assigned to them. They should
arrange for a costlier airport pickup (50-100 canadian dollars) over a bus ride(30- to 50 canadian dollars). This will ensure they don’t have to battle the cold on arrival in Canada,” she said.

Students should take along good quality woolen socks, caps, gloves, water resistant shoes to survive the snow. Basic winter coats can be purchased in Canada on arrival, as the Indian ones won’t be very helpful. In Canada, unlike in India one can’t purchase medicines over the counter without prescriptions. Students should be well organised in their packing. To feel at home and personalise their hostel rooms., students can pack in memoirs like family photographs, favourite music, movies.

Life on Campus
Every Canadian university ensures 10% international students on campus. This will means that apart from living with other nationalities, Indian students will have to learn the way of life of the Canadians.” Canadians are very informal people. Students should not be shy; instead they should smile and introduce themselves to natives,” said Mathai. “Students shouldn’t compare Americans with Canadians to avoid hurting their sensibilities,” she added. Topics to be avoided on first contact are money, salary, religion, and politics.

Good topics of conversation are: work, studies, the weather (a good opener), one’s house, vacations, sports (especially hockey, American football, baseball, water sports and, increasingly, soccer/football) and other leisure activities. The food, the accent, the way of life will be very different; students should be prepared to adjust and live in harmony. Beyond academics, students must ensure their safety at all times. Every university has a safe walk programme. With just a phone call, students can call for volunteers who can escort them from and to any location on campus at nights. Those staying outside should behave responsibly and stay away from crime ridden areas.

While living in university dorms, students will get a brief introduction of the timings and rules of the dorm. “Indian pressure cookers tend to scare foreigners. Students should avoid setting off smoke detectors  while  preparing Indian cuisine. Elaborate cooking should be avoided,” advised Mathai.”Rest assured students will learn everything else once they are on campus,” she added.

Taking up jobs in the library, clubs or shops on campus or assisting faculty can help students earn around 8 canadian dollars an hour for 20 hours a week. It will also help them get a snapshot into Canadian campus life. “Students who have chosen Bachelor’s or Master’s programmes with co-op which is a work term of one semester (three months), also get the chance of working full time during their study,” informed Mathai adding that getting into such programmes is very competitive and only students with good grades will find success.