An applicant from India (B.Tech 2014, PGDM 2018, IELTS 7.0 with no band below 6.5, 4 years as a business analyst) received passport request just 5 days after applying non-SDS for a 1-year graduate certificate in digital health at an Ontario college. This is a 2022 timeline — treat the processing speed as historical, but the file-building approach remains instructive.
- SDS-eligible, chose non-SDS anyway. Watching this group's reported processing times, the applicant concluded non-SDS was moving faster at that moment and filed non-SDS despite qualifying for SDS. Lesson: eligibility for a stream doesn't obligate you to use it; compare current processing realities.
- Over-documented the finances. Even in the non-SDS stream, the file included full first-year fee payment (with receipts), a GIC deposit, a CA certificate, bank statements, and complete salary/work-experience proof — effectively an SDS-strength financial file in a non-SDS application. Self-sponsorship was declared openly in the SOP.
- 'Ghost update' decoded. A member explained the term: you receive an email saying there's an update on your application, but nothing visibly changes in the account. It commonly precedes movement on the file.
- Declare consistently. One member questioned whether including a GIC while filing non-SDS could look inconsistent; the discussion's takeaway is to present the GIC simply as one more financial proof and keep every declaration in the form and SOP consistent with the documents attached.