Sunday 20 March 2016

Apply to SPP Colleges for quick and easy Canada Student Visa

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SPP (The Student Partners Program) was developed in partnership between the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). It is an arrangement between selected Canadian educational institutions and Canadian High Commission in India to provide quick and easy study visa for the prospective students of participating institutions in Canada.

The main objective of this program is to increase the number of Canadian student visa issued to Indian students and to make the admissions-visa process more efficient. 

Request More Information: Zenith Abroad offers exciting and unrivalled services, for more information on our various services, contact our Counsellor on phone 011 45060102 on all working days between 9.30 AM and 6 PM (IST) or, email us at info@zenithabroad.com with your full details, for more information.

As a student you do not have to apply for the SPP separately; you need to apply to a participating college and if your application meets the specific criteria, you may be considered under the program. It is recommended that you submit your application at least three months before the beginning of the academic course.

You need to undergo a compulsory medical examination before submitting your visa application by visiting one of the Designated Medical Practitioners (DMP) in India. See the complete list of the physician’s on DMP panel.

Working in Canada under SPP

Work permit/visa is open to all international students, who have successfully graduated from any of the accredited university/college in Canada. They could be the SPP colleges or non-SPP colleges. The work visa has its own different requirements which every student has to qualify in order to work in Canada.
According to the current Canadian work visa regulations, those with course duration of two years or more will get a ‘Post Study work permit’ for the same duration (maximum 3 years). On the other hand, those with course duration of one year or less are eligible for work permit equal to the duration of the course.

Eligibility Criteria

As mentioned above, you need to fulfill the eligibility criteria for your application to be considered under the SPP. Here are the eligibility criteria:

For Undergraduate Degrees -

  • Overall IELTS score of 6.0 with no band less than 5.5 issued in the past two years.
  • Study gap of no more than two years, with some exceptions made for students with excellent grades and a three year gap.
  • The program applied for must be complimentary and should add value to the previous education.
  • Student should have an overall minimum score of 50% in their more recently completed diploma or degree.  
  • Proof of tuition payment for one semester or one year (as asked by the SPP institution).
  • The purchase of a special Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from Scotia Bank, in the amount of $10,000 CAD to cover living expenses for your first year in Canada.
  • If you have previously been refused Canadian student visa, you are not eligible to apply under SPP.

For Post Graduate Degrees -

  • Overall IELTS Score of 6.5 with no band less than 6.0 issued in the past 24 months.
  • Study gap of no more than 5 years, with some exceptions made for students with excellent grades and a six year gap.
  • Program must be complimentary and value added to their previous education.
  • Student should have a minimum Second Class of C level with an overall minimum score of 50% in their more recently completed diploma or degree.
  • Proof of tuition payment for one semester or one year (as asked by the SPP institution).
  • The purchase of a special Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from Scotia Bank, in the amount of $10,000 CAD to cover living expenses for your first year in Canada.
  • You should have graduated with not more than eight backlogs in your previous degree.
  • If you have previously been refused Canadian student visa, you are not eligible to apply under SPP.

Below is the current list of participating ACCC members Universities/Colleges –

  1. Algonquin College - Ottawa (Ontario)
  2. Bow Valley College - Calgary (Alberta)
  3. Cambrian College - Greater Sudbury (Ontario)
  4. Camosun College - Victoria (British Columbia)
  5. Centennial College - Toronto (Ontario)
  6. College of New Caledonia - Prince George (British Columbia)
  7. College of the Rockies - Cranbrook (British Columbia)
  8. Conestoga College - Kitchener (Ontario)
  9. Columbia College - Vancouver (British Columbia)
  10. Douglas College - Vancouver (British Columbia)
  11. Durham College - Oshawa (Ontario)
  12. Fanshawe College of Applied Arts & Technology - London (Ontario)
  13. Fleming College - Peterborough (Ontario)
  14. George Brown College - Toronto (Ontario)
  15. Georgian College - North Bay (Ontario)
  16. Humber College - Toronto (Ontario)
  17. Kwantlen Polytechnic University - Surrey (British Columbia)
  18. Langara College - Vancouver (British Columbia)
  19. Lambton College – Sarnia (Ontario)
  20. Loyalist College - Belleville (Ontario)
  21. Medicine Hat College - Calgary (Alberta)
  22. Mohawk College of Applied Arts & Technology - Hamilton (Ontario)
  23. Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology - Waterloo (Ontario)
  24. North Island College - Courtenay (British Columbia)
  25. Northern Alberta Institute of Technology - Edmonton (Alberta)
  26. Northern College - Timmins (Ontario)
  27. Northern Lights College - Dawson Creek (British Columbia)
  28. Okanagan College - Kelowna (British Columbia)
  29. Parkland College - Melville (Saskatchewan)
  30. Red River College of Applied Arts, Science & Technology - Winnipeg (Manitoba)
  31. Saskatchewan Polytechnic - Saskatoon (Saskatchewan)
  32. Selkirk College - Castlegar (British Columbia)
  33. Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology - Toronto (Ontario)
  34. Sheridan College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning - Oakville (Ontario)
  35. St. Clair College of Applied Arts & Technology - Windsor (Ontario)
  36. St. Lawrence College - Kingston (Ontario)
  37. University of the Fraser Valley - Abbotsford (British Columbia)
  38. Vancouver Island University - Nanaimo (British Columbia)
  39. Winnipeg Technical College - Winnipeg (Manitoba)

Request More Information: Zenith Abroad offers exciting and unrivalled services, for more information on our various services, contact our Counselor on phone 011 45060102 on all working days between 9.30 AM and 6 PM (IST) or, email us at info@zenithabroad.com with your full details, for more information.

Thursday 3 March 2016

All About SAT Examination to Study Bachelors in USA !!

Gear up for the change of format in the Scholastic Aptitude Test, for admission to US colleges and universities, starting from 2016. 

Students need to appear for Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in order to apply to various colleges and universities in the US for higher education. The exam aims at testing the logical reasoning and the problem solving skills of the candidates which is a major criterion for admissions to colleges.

The SAT, apart from testing a student’s academic preparedness is also an important step to apply for financial aid and scholarships. The questions majorly focus on testing your knowledge of subjects such as Maths, Science, History, Social Studies, English and Languages.

SAT is conducted 6 times in a year. The next set of these exams are lined up to be conducted in March, May and June this year for which the dates have been released.
There are two types of SAT exams:

SAT General Test/ SAT-I: The general test of 3 hours and 45 minutes includes three sections of multiple choice questions:

  • Writing: The writing test assesses candidate’s knowledge about grammar, usage and word choice. 
  • Reading: It tests candidate’s capability of sentence completion, paragraph reading and reading comprehension.  
  • Mathematics: This test includes Basic Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Probability, Statistics and Data Analysis.

SAT Subject Test (Optional)/ SAT –II: Some Universities or Colleges require or recommend SAT subject Test score with admission application form. SAT subject test is an optional test, but it provides an additional opportunity to candidates to show their capabilities and knowledge about particular subjects to universities and colleges. This test will be important if a candidate is applying for major in any specific subject.
The SAT II is an hour test with multiple choice questions. Candidates are required to select three subjects per sitting from the list of 20 subjects like Chemistry, Physics, Social Studies, German Reading, Spanish Listening, World History, French, Mathematics, Literature, etc. 

SAT Paper Pattern:
  • SAT question paper is divided into 3 sections; critical reading, mathematics, writing.
  • Each section is allotted 800 points making the total attainable score of 2400.
  • Total time allotted: 3 hours and 45 minutes
Frequently Asked Questions about SAT Exam

Question: What is “Good Score in SAT”? 
  • Experts suggest that in order to make it to the Ivy League colleges and any other good colleges in US, a minimum score of 700 in each of the sections and a total of 2400 is considered to a good score. You need to touch a score of 2000 at least for applying to a decent college. There is no specific benchmarking or a cut off set by the colleges however a good score in SAT is an important criterion to strengthen your application to the various colleges in US.
Question:What “Number of attempts” does a candidate get? 
  • It is recommended that you take the test the once but, just in case you are not satisfied with your first performance and if you strongly feel that you can improve upon a certain section in another attempt, then you can retake the test. The SAT however, can be attempted unlimited number of times.