A family member with a moderate IELTS score (6.5 overall) and a comp-sci background was weighing a Canadian study permit while bringing a spouse and two children.
What group members advised:- Consider a college diploma over a master's if admission needs to be more accessible. With a mid-range IELTS score, a diploma program was suggested as having more relaxed admission norms and offering more school choice than pursuing a master's in computer science directly.
- Bringing dependents (including children) doesn't automatically sink an application. While group members noted that applications with multiple dependents do see higher refusal rates as a category, they also pointed to real cases where applicants with more than one child were still approved — so family size alone isn't disqualifying if the rest of the file (funds, ties, program fit) is solid.
The practical takeaway: a diploma-level program can be a more realistic entry point for a moderate IELTS score, and having children along doesn't rule out approval — it raises the bar on the rest of the application (funds, home-country ties, and program justification).