Considering your PG Program in Canada? The country's reputation for its world-class universities, multicultural environment, and comparatively low cost of education and living has led to Canada becoming the third most preferred destination for Indian students after the US and Australia.

A significant number of students opt to study in Canadian colleges rather than universities because of the low cost or because they weren't able to get admission to universities. 

And many of these colleges offer either PG diploma or PG certificate programs instead of master's degrees. However, when it comes to taking an abroad education loan, lenders usually deny funding for such programs (PG diploma and PG certificate). Still, there are some lenders who can offer you loans as per their policies for these programs, it is just that in most cases the branch managers are not aware of it. 

In this article, we'll explore the secured and unsecured education loans for Canada and options for the PG diploma and PG certificates programs in Canada. We will also see some of the infamous 'Canada 2 yrs scam’ to which many of you might fall victims. If you’re not into reading then you can also watch our video on the same topic which is embedded below, this is the 10th episode of our LoanFlix series on youtube.

When do students enroll for a PG Diploma in Canada?

Students who want to pursue a master's degree at a Canadian University must have an excellent GRE or GMAT score as well as job experience, which not many students have.

A PG Diploma or PG certificates program on the other hand is one of the easiest ways to study in Canada for such students who do not have any work experience. This qualification is generally granted to them by Canadian colleges rather than universities. 

Furthermore, because a conventional post-graduate degree course in Canada may be rather expensive, many students prefer to enroll for a PG Diploma in Canada, which is far less expensive.

Some common problems in the education loan process for PG Diploma courses

Now as stated the PG Diploma and certificates courses may cost less but you still need to create a GIC (which is your one-year living expenses) in Canada to be eligible for the Visa process. And for GIC you need around 6-7 lakhs. 

Depending on the college's fee, GIC, additional amount, your requirement will be at least 12-15 lakhs which is still not a small sum for the majority of the students. 

And for such students, education loans are the only option for financing PG Diploma and certificate courses in Canada. However, when it comes to an education loan for PG Diploma and certificates courses in Canada, many students have a tough time convincing lenders to grant them a Canada education loan.

This problem arises due to the fact that a lot of bank officials are unaware of the fact that education loans can be granted to students to fund their PG Diplomas in Canada. Furthermore, because a PG Diploma and certificates courses are exclusively offered by Canadian colleges, most Indian lenders do not consider it a mainstream education. And the small-duration courses offered by these colleges are given little importance as compared to full-time postgraduate courses in universities. So what can be done?

Unsecured Loans for PG Level Programs

An unsecured education loan is a loan without collateral. Here your Financial co-applicants income is the most prominent deciding factor, as lenders are not taking any collateral. With strong financial co-applicant lenders can stay assured about repayment, if for any reason a student fails to repay the loan amount. 

Things to keep in mind about unsecured loans for PG level programs-

• Public banks can offer you only up to 7.5 lakhs unsecured loans.
• Private banks can offer you up to 20 lakhs unsecured education loan for PG diploma and PG certificate programs in Canada provided it should be from a decent Canadian college.
• NBFCs can offer an unsecured loan for PG diploma and PG certificate programs but this depends on the financial co-applicants income.
• Public banks give students course duration plus 6 months to 1 year as a moratorium period where students need not have to pay anything to banks. Note that, simple interests will be charged but you pay after the moratorium period.
• Private lenders don't give a no-payment moratorium period as they charge full interest or partial interest from day one.

Secured Loans for PG Diploma

You should always prefer public banks over private lenders while opting for a secured education loan as public banks' rate of interest is much lower than those offered by private lenders. Plus you also get a no-payment moratorium period with public banks.

Most of the public banks can offer you an education loan for a PG diploma in Canada but as mentioned above, sometimes the bank's managers are not aware of their policies about funding PG diplomas so, they reject the applications of students. 

Later those students have gone through WeMakeScholars and so managers had to accept their application, which might become an ego thing for managers, so you shouldn't visit banks on your own rather start your loan process from WeMakeScholars, as we talk to banks prior to your visit, and let them know about their policies. 

Since these managers do not process education loans that often, they mostly are not aware of its policies. Note that, it is not a bank manager who sanctions your loan, they accept your application, collect your document and provide it to the respective loan processing department.

Secured Loans for PG certificates

It is a bit difficult to get secured loans for PG certificates program as there are only a very few public banks that offer a secured loan for this program. So if you're trying to get a secured loan for a PG certificate program on your own then there is a 90% chance of banks declining your loan as per their policies.

Note that, WeMakeScholars can also help you in getting a loan for PG certificate programs from the right banks, so you do not have to roam from bank to bank.

Canada 2 Yrs Scam

Though it is not related to loans, it is very important for students going to Canada. So Canada offers you a 3 years work permit/visa if you study there for 2 years which is called 2+3 but if you study there for 1 year, you get only a 1-year work permit/visa. And most of the PG diploma and PG certificate programs are of 1-year. 

So, studying for one year and getting a job permit for only one year is clearly not a very good return on investment as a year of earning won't be enough to even recover the cost of your education. This is why many students want to go for a 2-year program to get a 3-year work permit.

But since many consultancies in India mostly get their commission from this 1-year program, they push students into pursuing these 1-year programs. Consultancies assure students that once their 1-year program gets complete, they'll help them get admission into another 1-year program to get 2+3 which is risky, many times consultancies stop responding, and many times students are not able to get admission into another 1-year program.

Students sometimes come for an education loan for 2 years despite having mentioned one year on their offer letter. In such a case we'll only be able to get you a loan approved for 1 year as per the offer letter. But later if you are luckily able to get admission into another 1-year program then we can extend your education loan for Canada for the second year based on your profile eligibility without you having to come back to India. 

If you are looking for an education loan for Canada for your PG program, then your best chances are with WeMakeScholars, we try our best to get students the best deal they can get. So do reach out to our financial officers by requesting a callback. Our team of financial officers assists you with the entire education loan process until sanction, disbursement, and beyond.