Studying in Canada: Are the language requirements high? For domestic students applying for Canadian immigration to attend university, it is necessary to have not only a good overall language score (IELTS/TOEFL) but also strong sub-scores. The sub-scores mentioned here refer to the minimum requirements set by Canadian universities for individual sections of the TOEFL or IELTS exams. Generally, the language requirement for undergraduate applicants in Canada is an IELTS score of 6.5 with no band below 6.0, or a TOEFL score of 90 with no section below 22. Different Canadian universities have varying language requirements; even if the overall score requirement is the same, the sub-score requirements can differ significantly. Understanding the precise admission requirements of a school is helpful for a successful application to a Canadian university.
Taking the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Toronto, and the University of Alberta as examples, although all three universities require an IELTS score of 6.5 for undergraduate applicants, their requirements for individual sub-scores differ greatly. The University of Saskatchewan requires an IELTS sub-score of 6.5, which is a very high requirement! This is because most students who can achieve a 6.5 in all four sub-scores can usually achieve an overall IELTS score of 7.0 or higher. In contrast, the University of Toronto's requirement for sub-scores is more standard, requiring only 6.0, which is the minimum sub-score standard adopted by most Canadian universities. Looking at the University of Alberta, the requirement for individual sub-scores is 5.0, which is essentially no requirement at all, as a student with an overall score of 6.5 usually has sub-scores of 5.5 or higher.
A similar situation occurs with TOEFL sub-scores. The University of British Columbia (UBC), the University of Victoria, and Dalhousie University all require a TOEFL score of 90 for undergraduate applicants. However, UBC requires a minimum sub-score of 22 in listening and reading, and no less than 21 in writing and speaking; the University of Victoria is more lenient, requiring sub-scores of no less than 20 in each section; and Dalhousie University does not require sub-scores at all, as long as the total score reaches 90.
From the above, it is not difficult to see that when domestic students apply to Canadian universities, they should pay attention not only to the school's overall language score requirements but also to the requirements for individual sections. Applying to the right Canadian university with the appropriate scores can increase an applicant's admission rate.
