Apsara

Written by Apsara Alim, Insurance Analyst, TD

Bachelor of Commerce, Saint Mary's University

©PBSCU This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. This license allows you to use, share and modify the document for noncommercial purposes only as long as it is redistributed under the same license and attribution to this work is made according to the license rules. We request that you cite the original writer’s name and the group’s name in all cases.

MY CANADIAN STORY

USA??? UK??? Australia??? ----- Naahhhh! It was always only CANADA!

OVERVIEW: I come from a middle class family, but the class could not hold back my parents dream. They admitted me to an English medium school. They dream of me going to Canada for higher education and they started saving since I was 9! My whole family was against the idea of sending a 17 year old GIRL abroad alone. But my parents saw the potential in me!

THE STRUGGLE: I applied to many universities, but I came to Sobey School of Business because it is a top ranked AASCB accredited business school of Saint Mary’s University in one of the beautiful Atlantic province of Canada. Moreover, the tuition and living cost of SMU was within my parent’s budget. I applied to SMU through an agent. They helped me to apply to the university, but not with my visa. They just handed me a checklist and told me to apply for the visa after I gather all the documents listed on the checklist. Guess what? I was in a big trouble!

What is Affidavit? What is Police Clearance Certificate? What is a Sponsor? How do I send money to my university? How do I show ties to my country? Should I apply for on campus housing? I did not have the answer! I was just 17! My father and I went to three lawyers but we did not find them trustworthy. How I got the visa is a different story.

TWENTY 17: At the moment, I am in 3rd year of my Bachelor of Commerce degree. Currently, I have three on campus job and I work for seven societies! I have made many connections in the last four years and I hope to find a good job after I graduate. I still have my scholarship. So basically, my parents just paid for my plane fare and for my 1st year living expense.

PBSCU: I wish I knew about the existence of PBSCU back in 2013. I wish back then I had the option of posting in PBSCU so that I could get my answers. I did not know about this group until April 2017. I did not get any help but I wanted to help people. I want to thank আবদুল্লাহ আল মারুফ Bhaiya for making me one of the moderators of PBSCU and for letting me help people. I don't want any of you to go through the struggle that I faced. So keep posting your queries and keep adding your friends. We have 50+ k members and its increasing every day! Thank You for reading! :)