Need anybody's opinion.

[munta_131]

I have applied to University of Toronto, Waterloo and Western Ontario for MEng in Electrical and Computer Engineering. I am an International student with a 3.6 GPA and an 8 in IELTS. I got rejected from Toronto but I am still waiting to hear from Waterloo and Western Ontario. 

 

Its been really bothering me as the decisions should have been out by now. Can anybody let me know what are the chances of me getting accepted or rejected? Thanks

[TakeruK]

The Canadian system is a little bit different. Grad school acceptance is more like a job hire. Although the end of May is a bit late, it's not necessarily the end for sure. Some people get an offer in June after it turns out more people reject offers than anticipated or if extra funding comes up. That said, I would probably guess that it seems more likely like a reject the longer you don't hear from them, at this point, unfortunately.

[munta_131]

But I emailed Waterloo and the coordinator said he is still processing the applications and no results have been out yet. And Western Ontario on the other side is supposed to release acceptances on 30th May for my program. Are my requirements competitive enough Joe? Im just a bit tensed out. Thank you for your response btw  

[TakeruK]

A 3.6 GPA is a decent average so it will be competitive. Most Canadian schools use a cutoff for the IELTS score (i.e. as long as you meet a certain minimum, it will be okay). I don't know anything else about your application so it's not possible for me to guess at your result. I also don't know your field that well either!

[munta_131]

They asked for a minimum 6.5 in IELTS and i have an 8 .. Also a minimum of 3.0 gpa was needed for application .. Getting a rejection from U of T totally demolished my hopes for the other 2 Universities as well.

[TakeruK]

Usually, a minimum GPA means "you need this much to be considered for admission because it is a school-wide requirement", not "minimum you need to have a chance". 

 

I would say that most Canadian students in my field that make it into good programs (e.g. Toronto) will have GPAs around 3.5 to 4.0. Usually it is a lot harder for an international student to get in because you will cost more than a Canadian student, so professors tend to only want to make this investment for students with stronger profiles.

 

Also, don't forget that GPA is only one small component of the application. They care about your research experience and overall fit with the department too. 

 

However, since both Waterloo and Western have not released any results yet, then it's not a big deal that it has taken this long at all. Good luck!

[mizan776]

I don't know about western ontario, but I already have a reject from waterloo in the past. My CGPA was 3.43 in my undergrad. I had applied for September 2011 session. And the rejection letter came in November 2011. It didn't matter much as I had started my post-graduate else where. So better keep following up on them

[munta_131]

Joey, the program i applied to is self funded by me so i dont think funding will be a worry for the professors. When i applied, i was doing my research at the same time so I could not show them any research work or experience. So the only thing thats backing me is my GPA. And the longer its taking, im losing more hope. I think I have to start thinking about next session applications.

[munta_131]

Mizan, did you apply in Electrical and Computer Eng? You got a reply pretty early. I applied 4 months back and still there is nothing. I mailed them a few times and all they could say is, its still processing. And in the website it says I am supposed to get a response within 3 and a half months. Its past that time now :/

[mizan776]

I applied in ECE. And how can the decision be early? I got it in November after the session already started