A 2016 BA Mass Communication graduate (69%) with a 6-year study gap — but continuous work experience throughout — was approved for a Bachelor of Management and International Business at Lambton College, Sarnia. The file shows how to make a long gap a non-issue:
- Reframe the gap as a work record. Six years without study is only a red flag if unexplained. Here, the gap was fully occupied by continuous employment, and the SOP presented it that way.
- Prove the work with income documents, not just letters. On top of the standard one-year fee payment and GIC, the applicant attached the last 3 years of Form 16 showing annual income of ₹8–14 lakh. When asked why not the ITR acknowledgement: 'Form 16 only — I wanted to show the actual income. The acknowledgement only mentions taxable income.' Choose the document that presents your earnings most fully.
- Write the SOP yourself. The applicant spent a week on a self-written SOP and called it 'the best way you can justify your profile' — echoing a consistent pattern across approved gap-and-refusal cases in this corpus.
- Timeline (historical): lodged 11 April → biometrics 18 April → medical updated 12 May → PPR shortly after. About five weeks end to end.
Strong earlier academics (86% in 10th, 78% in 12th) rounded out the picture: a capable student who worked, earned well, and can afford the program.