A member asked how to handle a sibling's study-permit application: a 10-year gap since grade 12, an offer from NAIT in hand, and IELTS bands of 5.5, 6, 6, 7. The thread's advice split into gap strategy and test strategy:
- The gap is the bigger risk — justify it fully in the SOP. A member was frank: a 10-year gap after 12th grade is hard to justify, and the file lives or dies on the explanation. The applicant had worked several jobs and completed a one-year certification during the gap — members treated those as exactly the material the SOP must lay out, period by period.
- A strong SOP plus a less-saturated destination was one member's formula — "have a strong SOP and apply for small provinces." (The offer here was from NAIT in Alberta; the general point was about avoiding the most oversubscribed streams.)
- Retake beats recheck. On the 5.5 band, the leaning was to reappear for the exam once more "with hard work and dedication" rather than pay for a recheck — rechecks rarely move a band, while a focused retake can. The family noted practical constraints (limited test providers locally), which is worth planning around early.
- Retake IELTS only if the gap story holds. The thread's combined logic: fix the weakest pillar first. A better band with an unexplained decade still fails; a justified decade with a borderline band has a fighting chance.