My tips for all who wish to join Canadian Universities as a graduate student (Pharmaceutical Sciences/related) WITH funding:
For this Fall, I got admitted to U of T (Ph.D.), UBC (M.Sc.), U of A (M.Sc.) and McGill (M.Sc.). So I am sharing my experiences.
These are my personal views, there MAY BE EXCEPTIONS AND OTHER VIEWS ALSO.
- University of Alberta, University of Calgary and UBC:
a) Background preparation: get IELTS >7.0, CGPA>3.5, A/O-Level (added advantage).[Don't get excited about minimum criteria, Indians/Chinese/Egyptians have an CGPA>3.5 and most private/public uni students in BD now have CGPA>3.5].
b) Select 10 potent professors, read their stuff and mail them.
c) Be honest about what you know about research and discuss your desires.
d) Don't show them more than 3/4 papers, cause this will raise question about your country's ethical practices about research.
e) Try for M.Sc. rather Ph.D. (Cause Professors there like to take M.Sc. students, Don't worry! if you have the potential you can convert it to Ph.D. easily).
f) Never mail professors multiple times in a series. REMEMBER: these mails are read by the Professors himself/herself or by graduate students. If they see same mails 3/4 times they will just put you in SPAM list.
g) Get a good recommendation letter from someone who has good research background (papers are available in Pubmed). REMEMBER: If you get a recommendation letter from the most powerful man in DU, it will not matter! Professors just put the name in Pubmed and search for the authenticity. Do not let them write too much bogus things. Remember they have the same format, your friend is also expert in those bogus things who gets a recommendation from him;) [This advice goes for applying to all Universities].
h) In UA and UBC, Professors are the main thing. So focus on them. [Tuition fess: International ~8,000 CAD$, Canadian/USA citizen: ~5000 CAD$].
i) Funding is moderate here, but less expenses.
j) Publications are not that much important. But it's good to have some.
k) Always apply for FALL i.e. September.
l) REMEMBER: They don't care about your University's name. DU/EWU/NUB it doesn't matter.
m) For those who are doing M.Sc. in UK and Sweden, just apply here! They like Swedish and UK ppl.
n) If you are a PR, have enough money, tell the professor you want to study with self-finance.
Please do no tell lies in any stage, remember, if they ever find out you are a fraud, they will just cut your funding.
- University of Toronto and McGill University:
a) Background preparation: get GRE>1350 (old or eq. new), IELTS >7.5/TOEFL>100, CGPA>3.8, A/O-Level (added advantage). [Don't get excited about minimum criteria, Indians/Chinese/Egyptians have an avg GRE score of >1300].
b) Publish at least 1 paper (for M.Sc.) and 3 paper (for Ph.D.). Remember, here international students compete with USA students to get in. Your paper must be available in Pubmed and should have >1.0 impact.
c) Select 10 potent professors, read their stuff and mail them. They will tell you to apply. Many professors will mail you back asking for to apply. DON'T GET EXCITED, IT'S A RULE BY UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ADMINISTRATION THAT PROFESSORS SHOULD ENCOURAGE FOREIGN STUDENTS TO APPLY. WHY? THERE IS 110$ FEES. SO IT'S A BUSINESS.
d) If you think you not capable enough, then DON'T APPLY HERE. It will be just wastage of money and your time. AND THE GEC reserves copies of your application. So if you think, you can do better in 2013, don't apply for 2012. Don't rush!
e) Be honest about what you know about your research and discuss your desires.
f) In U of T, professors have no power to hire students. You must apply to programs you like. The GEC will rank students. Professors are only allowed to take from that list. NO PERSONAL FAVORITISM WILL BE GIVEN UNLESS YOU ARE CANADIAN/USA CITIZEN. Why??? The professors have to pay 10,000 CAD$/year extra just to take you. Why they should waste their grant money on you!!! [Tuition fess: International ~18,000 CAD$, Canadian/USA citizen: ~8000 CAD$].
g) Try for M.Sc. rather Ph.D. (Cause Professors there like to take M.Sc. students, Don't worry! if you have the potential you can convert it to Ph.D. easily)
h) Funding is very good here so are the expenses.
i) Always apply for FALL i.e. September.
j) REMEMBER: They don't care about your University's name. DU/EWU/NUB/NSU it doesn't matter.
k) There is no self-financed graduate program in Pharmaceutical/Medical Sciences in U of T or McGill.
REMEMBER: PR IN CANADA does not signifies you as a potential candidate, cause Professors think these guys are interested in doing job to earn more money rather than studying. But of course they have advantages of same tuition as Canadian. But those who have done undergraduates, they are in a more suitable place to get the funding.
General Application Guideline:
December: Browse internet and gather the documents
January-March: E-Mail Professors
February-April: Apply and send documents
Now, let me tell you about my credentials or else you will wonder how many MAMUs (;) I have in Canada!
1. CGPA: 4.0 (B.Pharm.) and 4.0 (M.Pharm.)
2. IELTS: 7.0 and 7.5
3. Publications: 8 (International); 4 (available in PubMED right now); first author paper has impact factor of (2.85) [I showed 3 during admission with one paper having impact factor of 3.25]
4. GRE score: 1480
5. Teaching experience: 3.5 years
REMEMBER: It's not good to apply to all places that you have seen some Bangladeshis have got admission. Try which ones suit you the best and apply to those ones. If you apply to High-quality places, with lower background, you will be sorry later on blaming your luck! And this happens!
Finally, best of luck! and in some cases, LUCK is the only thing you need!
______________
Abdullah Al Maruf
Ph.D. Student
University of Toronto
15-10-2011
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