This was much higher than what I had predicted in previous posts. The primary reason for this was the month-long gap between this and the previous all program draw. This enabled quite a few number of candidates to enter the pool.
However, I must confess, my predictions would have underestimated the cutoff had I taken the month long gap into account. This is because of the following surprising observation:
| CRS Score Range | 5-Aug-20 |
| 601-1200 | 36% |
| 501-600 | 113% |
| 491-500 | 61% |
| 481-490 | 86% |
| 471-480 | 7% |
| 461-470 | 0% |
| 451-460 | -2% |
| 441-450 | 2% |
The above chart is the percentage growth in number of candidates from previous draw by CRS score range. I did not see this coming - significant increase in high-scoring candidates! This could be due to following reasons: job offers in Canada (LMIA exempt intra company transfers, included, which may receive points for Canadian experience as well), Canadian students, provincial nominations, etc.
Also, in mid-scoring candidates (441-471), growth was dramatically low. In fact, for candidates in the range of 451-470, there was virtually no growth! In other words, upward mobility in these groups was next to negligible (which is what I had predicted in previous posts). This implies that COVID restrictions are still preventing folks from entering the pool, retaking IELTS and obtaining ECAs.
I envision the trend of one all program draw per month during COVID "era". This could mean that cut off scores will continue to drop but not by much before they stabilize. Or, this rogue phenomenon (boost in high scoring candidates) discontinues, in which case we may see a steep decline in cut off score.
All in all, folks with CRS score of 461-465, start thinking about Job offers and provincial nominations. Folks with CRS scores of 465 and higher may also consider researching alternatives as a good option but you can still wait till another draw to confirm the trend I've highlighted before changing any sort of direction.
