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How I enrolled in undergraduate education in Canada



0. Introduction


Hello, dear readers Habr!
In this topic, I will tell you about how my main goal and, concurrently, my dream came true: to enter the University of Canada after a Russian secondary school. This topic will be useful both for students of grades 10-11 and their parents who want to send their child to study abroad. I will try to fully describe all costs, underwater and surface stones, the subtleties of the process of entering, obtaining a Canadian visa, flight and accommodation by example.
Topic for the convenience of sharing. Enjoy reading!

1. Choosing a country and university


Starting around 5th grade, I dreamed of studying abroad. In grade 10, it's time to choose a country. Among the available English-language options clearly identified the following:


After reviewing the many sites of various universities from the “Top Universities in the world” list, I discovered that Canada is boasting about McGill University, University of Toronto, and University of British Columbia; in England there are Oxford University and Cambridge University; and the United States shines with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
I noticed the following: in the USA, training is 2 times more expensive than in England; in England, training is 2 times more expensive than in Canada.
Since I am financially limited, Canada was chosen. Canadian legislation allows sending documents to an unlimited number of Canadian universities (for comparison, in Russia it is allowed to send the Unified State Exam results to only 5 universities). The only "but" is the need to make non-refundable fees for submitting an application ($ 150-200 per share). Accordingly, I decided to try 3-4 universities at once. Guided by Google, the desire to become a programmer and the list of “Top Universities in Canada” , I chose the following universities as potential goals:
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2. Admission


A very nice feature of admission in Canada: everything (except for sending documents) is done online on the websites of universities. All you need is to go to the section “Undergraduate admissions” on the site, where the detailed instructions for admission are located.
All the universities I have selected require the following from an ordinary Russian student:


Here are the first pitfalls! Admission is to begin at the very beginning of grade 11 (September-October), since the reception of applications begins in the fall, and the certificate is issued only after the end of grade 11 and the passing of the USE. But that's okay. Once again, diving into the websites of universities, I found that there was a way out of this situation. You can send to universities the final grade for the first half of the 11th grade, by attaching to it the final grade for grade 9 and 10. This certificate of grades can be easily obtained from the class teacher or the school reception.
However, there are certain rules for submitting documents:


How to satisfy language requirements: they have their own for each university, but TOEFL is accepted everywhere - a test of knowledge of the English language. I passed it in Tyumen for about $ 100. When registering for the test, you can specify up to 4 recipients of the results. I entered the admissions addresses of selected universities. Your task is to pay and pass the exam. The organizers will do the rest for you. You need to pass at least 90 out of 120 points. I passed on 97.
Paying from an alpha-bank plastic card as for a regular purchase in the online store for $ 150-200 for a university, after waiting half a year, collecting the necessary documents, I sent them to the offices of admissions offices using the well-known EMS Russia (about 2-4 weeks).
UBC and York responded almost immediately: I was enrolled, but with the expectation of final grades (certificate). McGill refused me. Having carefully analyzed everything, I did not find any particular reason for refusal. I wrote an email to them, they say, what a disgrace this is going on, to which they replied with an apology and crediting me with the expectation of all the same final ratings.
From now on, having spent about $ 800 I was credited to the top 3 universities in Canada.
Next, I conducted a financial analysis of training in all universities. Prices (for the year of study) bite:


The price includes: accommodation (8 months - for the duration of the training, the hostel), 3 meals a day, books, gadgets for training (for example: iClicker), various student contributions, the training itself. In other words, all in order to learn and not think about anything other than study.
McGill, unfortunately, was eliminated as too expensive. York is eliminated due to insufficient diploma value. UBC was chosen as the most optimal university.
Time passed and the school year ended. To obtain a certificate, it was necessary to pass the exam in Russian and mathematics at least for a minimum score. I additionally passed English, and as a result I got 240 points (a good result). Certificate received, transferred, certified by the school, sent by mail to UBC.
It seems that you can already buy tickets, but it was not there! About the Canadian visa, I forgot!

3. Getting a Canadian visa


I’ll say right away: I started filing on June 13, the medical examination took place on July 13, I received a visa on August 16. Total about 2 months.
On the website of the Canadian embassy it is written: Do not buy plane tickets before obtaining a visa. I bought tickets on August 16 using the website of Vnukovo Airport.
To obtain a bachelor's degree in Canada, we will need a visa called “Study Permit”. It is issued for the full term of study, the number of entries and exits from Canada is unlimited.
I sent the documents to the consulate through Pony Express. It went to the consular fees and courier services about $ 200. Everything was fast, except for one “but”: during the visa processing, I moved from Nizhnevartovsk to Tyumen, notified Pony Express about this, and the international passport eventually flew to Nizhnevartovsk anyway. He quarreled with Pony for a long time, and finally received his passport only on August 24 in Tyumen.
The medical examination was completed in Yekaterinburg, I paid about $ 180 for it. Again, all documents are sent to the doctor.

4. Buying tickets


Oh, tickets to Vancouver! Oh, why are you so expensive?
I bought a round-trip ticket using the website of Vnukovo Airport. Why back and forth? It's funny, but it came out cheaper: about $ 1,500.
I fly to Vancouver from Tyumen via Moscow, Geneva and Zurich. Total flight time is about 40 hours.

5. Nice buns


Due to the fact that I have all the top five certificates and the fact that I finished school with a gold medal, I became a member of the Outstanding International Student Award program - a one-time stipend of $ 2500. It is paid in 2 stages: half in the first semester and half in the second.

6. Entertaining arithmetic


How much money has all gone?

And how much more will leave?

Subtract $ 2500 - OIS Award.
Total: $ 24,580 per year for studying in Canada at the University of British Columbia.
In addition: you can pay monthly for the hostel; tuition passes in two stages: September 5 and January 15; There is the possibility of earning directly at the university: about $ 500 per month.

7. Conclusion


Thank you for reading to the end!
Wrote this topic in a coffee shop in Domodedovo, waiting for a flight to Geneva. I hope the information will be useful to someone.
Ready to answer all your questions in the comments.

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/150553/

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