Study in Canada with scholarship/Funding.

It is very difficult to write something concrete on 'coming aboard with scholarship' as there are vast varieties of procedures throughout. I would like to share some of my thought based on my experience. It needs to be clear that, I am fully aware of my limitations, and if someone finds this writing redundant, I sincerely apologize and you can 'disregard' this without any hesitation. I am a grad student in a 'middle' university of Canada for 6 years. I would try to say few words based on what I perceive about the mentality of professors while selecting a grad student.

First of all, in Canada, a professor has a lot of power in selecting students. So, it is imperative you convince a professor that, he/she needs you for his/her work. So, the first step would find a professor. It has some pre-step though. First of all, based on your profile you have to select few suitable universities. For universities too higher rank from your profile, you have to work hard to get into and for the university, lower to your profile, you may end up frustrated with the proceeding. So, first of all, you have to select a suitable university. Most of the universities have an IELTS requirement. However, if you attend IELTS and get a 7.0 all band, it should be good enough for all University of Canada. Before start everything I suggest you did with your IELTS.

Now, for university selection, you select few universities matching your profile. However, you also have to check for your interest also. For example, you are interested in working in 'Microwave'. Then you have to choose the university that matches with your profile and also has a strong research group on 'microwave'. Browsing of the website needs to to be methodical. You can bookmark the research groups or professors you liked. Visit the web pages of the professors. Some professors, inform about open positions in their website. Take your time to make a short list and prepare yourself for mailing.

The next step is to communicate with the professors. There is a common mistake most students do, is use a template mail and send to professors only by changing the name of the university. Writing to a mail is pretty crucial. From my experience I suggest few points:

1. In the heading write 'Dear Professor (his/her name)'. This is important because Professor will feel exclusive with the salutation. If you don't mention the name, the professor may feel that you don't have enough time to write down his/her name, means you are not serious about it. Please make sure you are using the right designation also.

2. In the body of the letter first, give a brief intro of yourself. Don't make it too long (it should be in 2/3 short sentences).

3. After the intro, you will briefly explain why you are interested to work under his/her supervision. This part is important because this will reflect your sincerity. Avoid writing general cliches like 'i was so much enthralled with your research ....' or 'it will be dream come true if I would join your group'. Focus on the specific what you like about his/her work area. If possible may provide one or two citations from his/or her work.(Most of the professors has their own webpage with the list of their recently published article).

4.Next paragraph focuses your qualification. Try avoid writing 'i am energetic, enthusiastic blah blah blah'. Remember professor doesn't have a lot time to read your long email. So keep it concise. Be very specific on your expertise related to professor's work. You also can make a small table to highlight your qualification.

5. End of the letter should not be too flattery. With regular salutation, you may end.

After communicating with the professor all you have to do is to wait. Simultaneously you can prepare mail for another professor and the process will keep continuing.

Whenever a professor responds to your mail, that would be your main obstacle. Many professors ask for a skype interview. Prepare yourself very carefully. Most of the professor won't ask you a deep question in your subject field. Rather they will ask about the basics. You have to demonstrate a good understanding of the subject area. I personally recommended making a script for yourself. If you see professor is going out of your scripted track try to bring back. And if you don't know any specific don't hesitate to confess it.

If the professor gives a word after the interview that means your job is 80 percent done. Then you have to go through the official procedure of the uni. Most of the cases you have to write an SOP. You will find a lot of online guides how to write a good SOP. In application, you can mention about your communication with professor.

Another important thing is the reference.Your reference needs to be strong. Don't take reference from professors who don't know much about you. If possible take reference from the professors from the same field of your potential supervisor. In that case, there is a good chance that they know each other and the strong reference would be more effective.

Last of all, if you have 2/3 offers from different places, take some time and think deeply which offer you want to accept. Try to find a student of the universities. In the online community, it is not uncommon. Try to get an idea about research groups. After deciding one offer, you also have to notify the other professor. Professors have an opening to spend on the specific semester. If you notify early there is a good chance that he/she will spend this for someone else. However, if you don't contact it is not good for the professor and not good for the reputation of you and your university and community to that specific professor and his research groups.

Last of all best of luck. Feel free to contact me if you need any help

Amin 02, 
EEE, BUET