Hosting nearly half a million international students, Canada is one of the top choices for higher education because of its globally renowned universities and affordable tuition fees. Because of its excellent quality of life, career prospects, and immigration opportunities, Canada has become a top choice among Indian students.
Buzzing with attractive benefits, Canada is becoming an uber-popular destination for a growing number of international students every year. There are an increasing number of factors behind the demand for Canadian education, such as:
Canadian universities have a strong reputation for their excellent academic performance and high graduate employability rate. Today they match the standards set by major educational institutions in the USA. According to the Canadian government, two out of every five academic professors at the university level have at least one international degree. This means you will have the opportunity to study under a diverse international faculty and gain top skills in the field of your choice.
Most Canadian universities offer foundational, undergraduate, and postgraduate courses across many streams. The Canadian Education system, much like the US education system, encourages cross-disciplinary studies, which give you the opportunity to develop versatile skills across multiple subjects. The culture in Canadian universities will help you improve vital skills like communication, teamwork, and leadership.
As an international student, you have to factor in your budget when it comes to studying abroad. Fortunately, living and studying in Canada is more affordable than in the US and UK. Here’s a comparative look at the average cost of living and studying in the US, UK, and Canada:
| Parameter | USA | UK | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Tuition Fee per year | $20,000 to $45,000 | $14,130 to $38,400 | $9354 to $17,989 per year |
| Average Cost of Living per year | $10,000 to $25,000 | $17,200 | $10,793 per year |
On top of this, qualified students can also apply for scholarships to lower their educational expenses. Alternatively, students can work part-time for about 20 hours per week on campus or outside. You can even get up to 3 years of post-study work permit, depending on your program duration.
The affordability factor of Canada does not translate to a lower quality of life. In fact, Canada is consistently rated as one of the safest countries to live in due to its low crime rate. Parents of international students say that Canada gives them a lot of assurance because they don’t need to worry about the safety of their children. When it comes to quality of life, Canada continues to top the charts with the three major Canadian student cities – Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. Students find Canadian universities largely welcoming, culturally diverse, absolutely affordable, and full of career prospects after graduation.
To top that, the student-friendly government policies cover everything from healthcare to security. As an international student, you are guaranteed the same rights as any other citizen. One of the main attractions of Canada is the inexpensive medical insurance, which is very different from any other study destination.
Canadians are some of the most culturally rich and inclusive bunch of people you can meet. With over 50% of Canadians speaking non-English native languages and coming from over 250 ethnicities, Canada is no stranger to embracing different cultures. You will soon meet a multicultural crowd that accepts people from different geographies and makes a real effort to integrate other cultures.
Canada has a rich culture and celebrates a wide range of festivals and carnivals. For example, the Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival celebrates the Caribbean, the Calgary Stampede honors the original western culture, Folklorama Festival celebrates all ethnicities and people from various backgrounds come together to share their cultural art, music, folk dances, cuisine, etc. and Diwali and Pongal celebrations bring Indian culture to the people of Canada. Many Indians call Canada a home away from home because Indian culture is significantly represented now.
Canada invites people to study and settle in the country. The Post-Graduation Work Permit allows you to build your career in Canada immediately after graduating. The usual length of a PGWP is the same as your course duration, and the maximum is three years. To be eligible to apply for a PGWP, your course duration needs to be a minimum of eight months.
Keep in mind that a physical presence of three years is required to apply for citizenship. In addition, you can gain citizenship even sooner upon presenting your three-year work experience through PGWP after you finish your course. It is also easy to gain permanent citizenship as you can apply for the Express Entry program after your PGWP. On an average, it takes 15 months to get citizenship.
Canada has become an ideal destination for higher education, sought by many prospective international students. This is largely because of the Canadian Ministry of Education’s focus on increasing the number of foreign students and ranking on the global universities lists. International students from all over the world are welcome in Canada. The educational plans encourage foreign students to pursue jobs during their Bachelor’s or Master’s studies and remain in the country for work opportunities after graduation.
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Date Published: May-27-2022
