Canada tightens regulations, many universities open doors to recruiting students based on academic records and English

A representative of a Canadian school listens to questions from Vietnamese students.

Scholarship based on academic records

Sharing with Thanh Nien on the sidelines of a recent Canadian study abroad seminar organized by CEI Vietnam, Mr. Jin Liang, Director of International Market Development for East Asia and Southeast Asia at the University of Ottawa, said that to be admitted to the school, candidates need a minimum GPA of 7.5. In some competitive majors, the minimum can increase to 8-8.5 (such as software engineering, business...), even 9.5 (such as computer science).

Mr. Liang added that to be admitted directly to the training program, students need to achieve a minimum IELTS score of 6.5, with a minimum writing score of 6.5. For those who do not meet this requirement, they need to take the school's general English or specialized English courses. And with a GPA of 9 or higher, students can be considered for an excellent scholarship package worth up to 100,000 CAD (1.8 billion VND) for the entire course.

"In addition, the school also has entrance scholarships for Vietnamese people, ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 CAD (90-271 million VND)/year," Mr. Liang informed. Thus, with just a high school transcript and an English certificate, international students can apply and receive a scholarship from the 8th ranked university in Canada (according to the 2025 World University Rankings by Times Higher Education).

Similarly, the University of Toronto, Canada’s number one school, currently only requires international students to submit a high school diploma, academic transcripts, and an English certificate. The academic transcript should be around 8.8 to be competitive. The school also offers full scholarships for domestic and international students, and students must be nominated by their high school, according to Nao Yamamoto, admissions officer for the international program at the University of Toronto.

Trent University representative advises students on the required GPA for admission and scholarship competition

At Trent University, Ms. Cath D'Amico, Executive Director of Global Admissions and Business Strategy, said that applicants must have a GPA of 7 or higher, and depending on the number of applicants, the minimum score can increase to 8.5. Meanwhile, to apply for a scholarship worth up to CAD 34,000/year (VND 616 million), you need a GPA of 8 or higher and do not need to submit information about extracurricular activities or an essay.

Ms. Margaret Cameron, Director of Admissions and International Recruitment at Mount Allison University, said that the school will consider the transcript scores of the 5 subjects in which the applicant achieved the highest results, including mathematics if the applicant wants to study STEM. The average score of these subjects must be 7 or higher and if applying for a scholarship, international students need to share about the extracurricular activities they have participated in, short essays, letters of recommendation, awards...

"In general, our admission requirements are quite simple, just requiring academic transcripts and English certificate scores. And to get a more valuable scholarship, the applicant's academic transcript scores must be as high as possible," Ms. Cameron advised.

Just above average

At colleges, many units told Thanh Nien that they only need a high school diploma, transcript, and English certificate, and do not have high requirements for academic scores. For example, at College of the Rockies, Ms. Sarah Scott, an international recruitment and admissions specialist, said the school requires a minimum of 6-6.5 depending on the major, along with an IELTS score of 6.0 or higher.

Breska Ulhaq, global promotion specialist at Mohawk College, said applicants only need to submit a high school diploma, transcripts, and English certificate. Sault College has similar requirements, according to Fairlane Inso, admissions manager for Southeast Asia and Africa. Inso added that international students can receive scholarships worth CAD 1,000/semester (VND 18 million) and CAD 2,000 (VND 36 million) for the first year if their English scores are high.

Ms. Fairlane Inso, Southeast Asia and Africa regional admissions manager of Sault College, talks with students.

Vancouver Community College’s admissions policy is based on a first-come, first-served basis. Angela Liang, manager of marketing, recruitment and international relations, added that the school will award scholarships worth CAD 2,000-5,000 (VND 36-80 million) to those with outstanding achievements or talent. The same thing happens at Mohawk College, where students will be considered for scholarships after enrolling if they have high grades in class.

Previously, in recent months, the Canadian federal government has continuously tightened regulations related to study permits and work rights, causing confusion for many parents and students in Vietnam. However, according to domestic and foreign study abroad experts, this is not a very negative signal but still opens up many opportunities for Vietnamese students, such as enhancing their learning experience or helping to increase their ability to settle down.

According to a report from IRCC, Canada attracted more than 1 million international students to study in 2023. IRCC statistics also show that the total number of Vietnamese studying in Canada has been on a continuous downward trend, from 21,480 in 2019 to 16,140 in 2022. However, in 2023, Vietnamese students in Canada increased slightly, to 17,175 people and ranked 8th in terms of quantity.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canada-siet-quy-dinh-nhieu-dh-rong-cua-tuyen-sinh-bang-diem-hoc-ba-va-tieng-anh-185241016131956821.htm