What should be my CGPA to avail funding for higher studies in Canada?

I am a member of a group called Prospective Bangladeshi Students for Canadian universities. Few days ago they have, published a list of around 20+ students who got funding. I have gone through their profile and extract some valuable information. Hope this will give you a better idea about getting funding in Canada.

CGPA :

This will break a lot of peoples heart but there are few exceptions too.
The average CGPA was 3.75 and the median was 3.79. 
So if your CGPA is above 3.70 you are way ahead of the race.

Do you want to know the number of publication you should have to avail funding?
See this post!

TOEFL IELTS Vocabulary Fun - Post 02

<--- See TOEFL Vocabulary Fun - Post 01

These words are frequently found on TOEFL and IELTS tests. I have provided useful meaning and Memory tricks to memorizing them. Learn them, Above all practice!

Vocabulary Fun!

berate

Definition:

(verb) censure severely or angrily; to scold; rebuke:

Example:

He berated them in public.

Memory Trick:

His friends berated(criticized) him for showing them b-rated movie.

"Why you litter ....!" Homer scolded his son

biased

Definition:

(adj) favoring one person or side over another;having or showing bias or prejudice.

Example:

They gave us a biased report on immigration trends.

Memory trick:

Look at the word bi - means both as ed ( a cartoon character) who is always Biased towards his friends.

Ed is always biased towards his best friends EDD and EDDY!

bitterly

Definitions:

(adj)

1.having a harsh, disagreeably acrid taste, like that of aspirin, quinine, wormwood, or aloes.

2.producing one of the four basic taste sensations; not sour, sweet, or salt.

3.hard to bear; grievous; distressful: a bitter sorrow.

4.causing pain; piercing; stinging: a bitter chill.

5.characterized by intense antagonism or hostility: bitter hatred.

6.hard to admit or accept: a bitter lesson.

7.resentful or cynical: bitter words.

Examples:

- she complained bitterly.

- he was bitterly disappointed

- it was bitterly cold

Bitter cold

Memory Trick:
Just think of Bitter Coffee or think as Bit of Tar (Black substance found from petroleum). it looks ugly and unbearable to watch on the garage floor. 

Bitter coffee!

bulk

Definition:

(noun)

1. magnitude in three dimensions: a ship of great bulk.

2. the greater part; main mass or body: The bulk of the debt was paid.

3. goods or cargo not in packages or boxes, usually transported in large volume, as grain, coal, or petroleum.

4. (of paper, cardboard, yarn, etc.) thickness, especially in relation to weight.

Example:

- the bulk of the work is finished

- it is cheaper to buy it in bulk

- The parcel bulked in the sack

Memory Tricks:

bulk sounds like HULK. Hope you know this BIG guy!

HULK!

bureaucratic

Definition

(adj) of or relating to or resembling a bureaucrat or bureaucracy (especially of a government or government department)

Example:

- his bureaucratic behavior annoyed his colleagues.

- a bureaucratic nightmare.

Memory tricks:

Look at the word Bureau Sound like government offices like National Bureau of Statistics, Bureau of National Health Insurance etc and the last part Ratic - someone who is like RAT (work without understanding)

Logo of a bureau

TOEFL IELTS Reading Exercise 06

This exercise is helpful for both TOEFL and IELTS test takers.

Gases in the air

(Level - Easy)

We hardly ever notice the mixture of gases that surround us. We only realize it if there is a strong wind, or when fog or smog cuts off our view into the distance. Yet we depend on the air in many ways. It provides the oxygen that we breathe. Plants, on which all animals depend for food, could not live without the carbon dioxide in the air. And it is a barrier, hundreds of miles deep, protecting us from the burning ultra-violet rays of the sun. Fast-moving pieces of stone called meteoroids are burnt up when they enter the atmosphere from space, before they can reach the ground. And cosmic rays, which are made up of fragments of atoms traveling from distant parts of space, are slowed down before they can do damage.

1. It is obvious in the passage that we ----.

A) nearly are not aware of the combination of gases in nature
B) do not depend on the air due to its complexities
C) are unconscious that there is strong wind around us
D) have no inclinations to learn something more about air
E) notice the advantages of the mixture of gases


2. It is stated in the passage that air ----.

A) provides us with carbon dioxide
B) enables the plants to get enough oxygen to breathe
C) is vital both for human beings and plants
D) makes it difficult to protect us from ultra-violet rays of the sun
E) has the cosmic rays which are made up of fragments of atoms which damage the atmosphere


3. Meteoroids ----.

A) cannot reach the ground as theyare
B) are made of pieces of atoms
C) have great power to protect us from cosmic rays
D) damage the ground
E) travel from distant parts of space




1. A  2. C  3.A

Try All Of My TOEFL Reading Exercises

TOEFL IELTS Reading Exercise 04

This exercise is helpful for both TOEFL and IELTS test takers.

Edna Ferber
(Level - Hard)

1      Edna Ferber (1887-1968) was a popular American novelist in the first half of the twentieth century. She embarked on her career by working as a newspaper reporter in Wisconsin and soon began writing novels. Her first novel, Dawn O’Hara, the Girl Who Laughed, was published in 1911, when she was only twenty-four years old.

2     Her big break came with the novel So Big (1924), which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Literature. The main conflict in the novel is between a mother who places a high value on hard work and honor and a son who repudiates his mother’s values, instead preferring the easier path to fortune and celebrity. Like many of Ferber’s novels, this novel features a tenacious female protagonist with strong character who struggles to deal with ethical dilemmas about the importance of status and money.

3      Probably the best known of Ferber’s novels was Show Boat (1926), which tells the story of a Southern woman married to a charismatic but irresponsible man who leaves her with a daughter she must take great pains to support. In 1927, the novel was made into a musical that has endured to the present.

4     Other well-known novels by Ferber include Cimarron (1930) and Giant (1952), both of which were made into movies. These were epic novels about the settlement and growth of the West, centering on strong female lead characters who marry men lacking the same strength of character.

1. The phrase embarked on in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to:
a) took a trip to
b) started out on
c) improved upon
d) had an opinion about

2. The word break in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by:
a) rupture
b) revelation
c) opportunity

3. The word places in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by
a) locates
b) puts
c) recites
d) positions

4. The word repudiates in 2 is closest in meaning to
a) refuses to accept
b) lives up to
c) tries to understand
d) makes the best of

5. The word protagonist in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
a) arch enemy
b) voracious reader
c) skilled worker
d) lead character

6. The phrase take great pains in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:
a) work diligently
b) recognize hurtfully
c) accept unequivocally
d) hurt agonizingly

7. The word endured in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
a) lasted
b) tested
c) waited
d) limited

8. The word epic in paragraph 4 could best be replaced by
a) lengthy narrative
b) detailed non-fictional
c) emotionally romantic
d) rousing Western

9. The phrase centering on in paragraph 4 could be replaced by
a) circling around
b) pointing to
c) focusing on
d) arranging for
d) rest

Answer key: 1.B 2.C 3.B 4.A 5.D 6.A 7.A 8.A 9.C


More Exercises:
TOEFL reading Exercise 05

TOEFL iBT - Minimum Score Maximum Benefit!

When explaining the Score of TOEFL iBT one can simply point out that "THE MORE THE BETTER".
I will not get into that rather I will talk about the MINIMUM Score that you should achieve to get the MAXIMUM output ( i mean that will be accepted by almost all the university).

First lets look at the score explanation. Hope you know that in TOEFL iBT the maximum score that you can have in any section is 30. There are 4 sections. So the Total mark is 120.
Look below the Score interpretation of TOEFL-

Now the question is what is the minimum score I should get to get the maximum benefit?
ITS SIMPLE -

1. Reading skills - 22 (High)
2. Speaking Skills - 20 (Fair) 
(If you want to become TA you need 26 or higher)
3. Listening Skills - 22 (High)
4. Writing Skills - 20 (Fair) 
(If you are into research you need 24 or higher)

{Total - 84 only for maximum benefit and 

94 for best score race!}

Well with these score you can apply almost anywhere. But If you are targeting Top 100 universities of the world simply target 100+ (with higher individual section requirement!) . I have seen asking score ranging from 79 to 107!
Feel free to ask me any question regarding this score issue!