A member with a 3-year bachelor's and a master's degree found their CRS score lower than expected (404) after WES evaluated their combined education as equivalent to only a bachelor's degree, costing them CRS points.
What the thread suggested:- Double-check whether you actually submitted both your bachelor's and master's transcripts for WES evaluation. A member with an identical profile (3-year bachelor's + 2-year master's) reported that when both were properly submitted, WES correctly evaluated it as bachelor's (4-year equivalent) plus a 1-year postgraduate diploma — which is a better CRS outcome than a bachelor's-only evaluation.
- If your report shows less than expected, it may be a submission or documentation issue rather than a hard WES rule — re-check what was actually sent for assessment before accepting the lower equivalency as final.
- On raising CLB scores through Canadian exposure: members cautioned that while speaking/listening improve naturally through immersion, reading and writing require deliberate effort (e.g., reading multiple books a month) — don't assume 2 years in Canada alone will lift your overall band without active work on the weaker sections.
Takeaway: if your ECA evaluation seems to have shortchanged you, verify exactly which transcripts were submitted before accepting the result — and if you're banking on time in Canada to raise your CLB, target deliberate practice on reading/writing specifically, not just passive immersion.