Gundeep

Your admission to a Canadian University depends on various factors. Your IELTS score and work experience represent just two of the many items that will help weigh your case.

• Predominantly you UG percentage will be considered against the average of your university. Most universities in Canada will have a column wherein you can enter the grade of the University topper. It allows the Canadian University to look at your performance in a relative percentile manner. For instance - many of my Maharashtrian peers in university had scored in the 60% to 65% range during their undergrad, and the topper had secured around 69% for that stream. That would put their percentile score well into the 90s.
• Canadian Universities require an English language test no doubt. IELTS is accepted, and so is TOEFL (this was valid until 2014 as far as I can be sure of). I had written TOEFL for my admission back in 2012. GRE is NOT mandatory in any of the major Universities. Many of them do not even have a section to upload GRE scores. But they accept scores if you believe that you have scored well and feel that it will help add an advantage to your profile while pitting you against other international applicants.
• Your letters of recommendation need to be crisp and varied enough to outline different aspects of your personality and work profile. I had 3 of them, and I sat with my recommender to work out what he/she wanted to enlist and how we could arrive at the right balance. Trust me when I tell you, a strong LOR will do wonders for your admission and funding chances.
• The statement of purpose is VERY often overlooked as a generic essay. Please spend a LOT of time drafting a good SOP. Each university will word your SOP question different. I had applied to 6 schools totally in the US and Canada, and each of my SOPs was a slightly different version. The University of Pennsylvania wanted three separate (short) essays, each talking about various aspects of what I wanted to do and what I had done so far. The University of Ottawa (which I finally chose) required a more explanatory note of why they should take me. Thus, your SOP can easily offset your UG grades. I had scored low during my 2nd year (I had topped in my first year) and I had an honest account of how I lost interest in studying and did not take it seriously as I felt the lessons weren’t up to the mark. I did not lie. I did not fabricate some “family difficulty” story (many do that. A friend in the admissions office told me countless tales of such occurrences). Be honest and direct. Canadians LOVE real people!
• Extracurricular activities, social work, internships, and so forth add value to your profile. Your experience of 4 years will help a lot as long as it is relevant to your study field.
• Finally, think carefully over what course you want to do and where. If your overall mark is less because you are not proficient in, say, VLSI design, it won’t be a big issue as long as you want to study optical electronics and have scored well in that field. Each university if prominent for specific areas of study. Take your time and choose. Please do not rush into picking some random university to gain an entry into Canada. There is enough opportunity for everyone. Make yourself stand out better by focussing a little during application.

Hopefully, you get into the university of your choice! Canada is a fantastic place to live in! The people will kill you with kindness.

To be precise, why IELTS score matters? 
So that the university knows that you can understand and comprehend the education and can communicate effectively with the teachers and the natives.

Why do we need a good IELTS score? 
The better the score, the better chances of getting selected by a good university.