An applicant to a university certificate program (Trent University Durham was the example) saw a question about WES evaluation on the application form and worried it was mandatory — WES being both slow and costly. What applicants reported:
- Certificate/diploma admissions rarely demand an ECA. Members who had applied said they had 'never seen any college asking for ECA' for these programs, and one confirmed receiving an offer from the same university without submitting WES.
- A willingness question is not a requirement. The form asked whether the applicant was ready to provide a WES evaluation — group experience read this as a formality/on-request clause, not a document checklist item.
- Don't start WES preemptively. Because the evaluation is time-consuming and expensive, the practical takeaway was to wait until the institution explicitly requests it. (One member had done WES earlier anyway and still hadn't needed to submit it.)
- When unsure, ask admissions directly. Since requirements vary by institution and program, a quick email to the admissions office beats paying for an evaluation you may never use.
Note: this is about
college admission. An ECA is still required for Express Entry/PR applications — don't confuse the two contexts.