A Complete Overview about McCall MacBain Scholarship!

Each year several international students dream of studying abroad but cannot fulfill their dream because of the high tuition fees and living expenses. When you plan to study abroad the total expense turns out to be too high.

The cost includes tuition fees, rent costs, meals, transport, stationary, and all other miscellaneous expenses. This all sums up to a large amount that is unaffordable for many middle-class students. The tuition fees and living cost is even higher in English-speaking countries like the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia.

Canada has emerged as one of the most popular counties among international students. This is due to its safe environment and world-class research facilities. There are several scholarships available for international students that fund the entire or a part of their studies. McCall MacBain Scholarship is one such scholarship that has helped thousands of students. 

In this blog, we will discuss all the important details regarding this scholarship. 

What is the McCall MacBain Scholarship? And Why Should You Apply for it?

You may or may not have heard of this scholarship. First, let us get a basic idea of what this scholarship is and what does it aim to provide. Scholarships are of many types, some will cover a part of your studies, while some may cover just your living and travel expenses.

Even other scholarships cover your tuition fees. However, there are only a few scholarships that cover the entire expense of your studies. The whole cost refers to your travel cost from your country to Canada, your tuition fees, living expense, etc. 

The good thing about the McCall MacBain Scholarship is that this is awarded to only those students who are applying to one of the graduate programs at McGill University. This is a benefit as this narrow downs the competition. Most scholarships are open to all students and do not depend on the university they are applying to.

This benefit may turn out negatively for you if your preferred degree program is not offered by the McGill university. However, the chances of this are very less as McGill University is one of the most prestigious universities in Canada. It has been ranked among some of the best research institutions in the world. 

Another benefit of McGill University is that it offers a variety of Master’s programs. For example, if it offers a Master’s program which includes thesis submission and is thus research-based, then most probably it also offers the same program in a non-thesis way; i.e. not research-based. The students of McGill University also have many employment opportunities after their studies. 

Expenses Covered in the McCall MacBain Scholarship!

The scholarship offers full expense coverage to 30 selected students and 100 entrance awards. The entrance award refers to financial help from CAD 10,000 to 20,000. The coverage of the full scholarship given to 30 students is as below:

• Your entire tuition fee will be covered. This will also include any other fees the university does not count under tutin fees. The tuition fees are valued for different graduate programs but the scholarship remains the same, i.e. it still covers all your tuition fees, whatever it may be. 
• You will also be given a living stipend of CAD 2000 every month. This will help you to pay rent and meal costs. The average living cost of living in Montreal is CAD 2,500 per month. So the living stipend will cover almost 80% of your living cost. 
• A one-time moving cost to Montreal is also included in the benefits of the McCall MacBain Scholarship. This includes the travel ticket cost from your home country to Montreal. 

Eligibility for the McCall MacBain Scholarship!

The eligibility criteria for the scholarship are as below. You need to meet only ONE of these points.

• You can apply for the scholarship if you are a student and you will obtain your undergraduate degree by August 2024. Note that this date is for the applicants who will apply in 2023. If you will apply in 2024 then your undergraduate degree should be completed by August 2025. 
• You can also apply if you have already earned your bachelor’s degree. However, you must have earned your degree in the last five years. This means before January 2018.
• If you do not meet the above criteria then you should have a bachelor’s degree older than five years and you should be at most 30 years. 

The eligibility criteria for the McCall MacBain Scholarship seem simple but this is not the case. The criteria have been set like this to allow an equal chance for all the candidates. The above-given criteria are for eligibility for the scholarship. 

You also need to get admission to one of the master’s programs at McGill University as this scholarship is available to only the students who have been admitted to McGill University. 

Read More: Universities in Canada Without Application Fee 2023

Eligibility Criteria for McGill University

To secure your eligibility in the McCall MacBain Scholarship, you will first have to be eligible for a master’s program at McGill University. Thus you need to know the eligibility criteria for the master’s program at McGill University. 

To be accepted in McGill University you will have to follow some extra steps in addition to just meeting the eligibility criteria. You will first have to select a topic for your Master’s program, and then if you are eligible for the general master’s program you will have to contact any professor from your desired program with whom your research interest aligns. If the professor accepts you as a student and allows your application to move further, only then you can apply for the program. 

The general eligibility requirements for a master’s program at McGill University are as below:

• You should have a bachelor’s degree in a field closely related to your choice of master’s program. Many students are confused about whether they require a 3 years bachelor’s degree or a 4-year. This requirement varies for some courses, ut usually for McGill applications, if your university has a NAAC accreditation of above A then you require just a 3 years bachelors degree. If your university ranks below A then you must have a 4 years bachelor’s program.
• You should have a minimum CGPA of 3.0 out of 4. This is equivalent to more than 70% in the Indian scoring system. Note that this is the minimum eligibility criteria, securing 70% marks won’t mean you will be guaranteed admission in your preferred program. The higher your CGPA the more your chances of getting accepted. 
• The last eligibility criterion for the master’s program at McGill University is English proficiency. You must have excellent English proficiency to study at McGill as the language of conduct is English. If you have a bachelor’s program conducted in English from a recognized foreign university then you are exempted from submitting English test scores. 

In the above point, we mentioned that you are exempted from showing proof of English proficiency if you have a bachelors from a recognized foreign university. Now the question arises that how to check if one’s university comes under-recognized foreign universities. 

You can check this on the WHED portal.

How to Check the WHED Portal?

The WHED portal is the site where you can check whether your university is recognized as a foreign university with English conduct. To check this, follow the steps given below:

• Visit Website 
• Click on the search bar present in the top right corner.
• Choose the country in which your university is. You select from the dropdown menu or type the keyword. 
• Then you will have a dropdown menu or list of the universities that are recognized in the country you selected above.
• Click on your university and check the language of instruction. 
• If the language of instruction of your university as mentioned on the portal is English then you will be exempted from taking an English proficiency test. 

Application Deadlines for the McCall MacBain Scholarship

You need to keep the deadline for the application in mind. Most scholarships have a deadline after the application to universities, but for this scholarship the deadlines are different. You will first have to apply for the scholarship and then apply to the program of your choice at McGill University. 

Apply for the scholarship until August 24, 2023, if you are an international student, and until September 27, 2023, if you are a student from the United States or Canada.

The application time for the scholarship is as below:

• June to September 2023- Apply period for McCall MacBain Scholarship
• October to December 2023- Apply period for the McGill masters program

Conclusion

A scholarship is the best way to study abroad if you are unable to support your studies financially. The McCall MacBain Scholarship offers 30 fully funded and 100 entrance awards. 

The eligibility criteria for the scholarship are discussed in detail in this blog. Note that the application for the scholarship is entirely online. You should visit only the official website for the application. If you have any specific doubts then you can always contact the given email on the website of the scholarship.

By securing the best marks in your bachelor’s and developing your overall personality you can increase your chances of getting this prestigious scholarship. All the best for your application! For more future updates about scholarship stay connected with Course Mentor.

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