Fall Intake or Spring Intake: Which round should I Apply in?

If you need a couple of months of a break to put all your application in place, then, by all means, go for it. Take your own time, and apply for the spring intake.

A great GRE /GMAT score coupled with a strong application is the gateway to your dream university. Sometimes, waiting a while and preparing to perfect your GMAT/GRE and application is worth it, especially if it lands you into your dream college. In this case, rather than losing out on a year and waiting for the next session, the spring intake can prove to be a viable option.

What are the advantages of applying for the Fall season?

• In certain universities, you can’t apply for internships until you’ve completed two semesters, so if you started your MS in the spring, you might be out of luck.
• Some institutions begin teaching fundamental courses in the fall and advanced courses in the spring, so it would be better to start with the basics and work your way up.
• Fall admissions are substantially higher than Spring admissions. Therefore you may have a reasonable chance of getting in even if your GRE score is low.
• Spring Admissions are not available at all universities.
  During the Fall season, the number of sources of financial aid is much higher.

What are the advantages of applying for the Spring season?

• Because fewer students may apply for Spring applications, your chances of being accepted may be better.
• After completing your undergrad examinations, you can begin your MS programme in the spring rather than waiting for admissions to open up in the fall.

Which season should you apply for?

Candidates applying for courses in the United States may often choose a semester based on their convenience rather than the advantages of enrolling in that semester. This is owing to the time-consuming procedures required in applying for admission.

As a result, most candidates will choose to pursue their higher education abroad, which will need them to wait for their results and original certificates. The time it takes for candidates to receive these documents varies from nation to country and even from institution to institution within a country. The delay in processing their results will, in turn, create a delay in visa registration.

Most candidates prefer to apply for the Fall semester because it saves them a year and helps them spend more time on campus getting to know the place and adjusting to the surroundings before their summer break. However, while this is the ideal situation, most candidates will be unable to attend the Fall semester. Instead, they will enrol for the Spring semester, by which time all of their paperwork will be finished, and they will be ready to go without worry.

Another issue to consider is that, while all institutions accept applications in the Fall semester, a small number of universities do not accept applications in the Spring semester. Therefore, candidates interested in specific courses at specific universities should check to see if the courses are offered in the Spring semester. If the Spring semester is available, candidates will have enough time to prepare for exams such as the SAT, GRE, TOEFL, or IELTS in accordance with their needs.

Let’s compare the spring and fall intakes:

1. University

You must first determine whether your preferred school accept applications for both seasons. For the Spring semester, a large number of top 100 colleges have no admissions openings. It’s also not easy to determine which universities have varied intakes and which don’t, as university websites resemble a convoluted maze.

Therefore, if you want to apply for the Spring semester, you need to conduct an extensive study to determine the available intakes. This should be done before you start preparing for examinations like the IELTS, TOEFL, or GMAT. This early judgement will assist you in determining whether you have sufficient time to prepare for the examinations.

2. Application procedure

You have to fill out an application online and submit the other application materials, such as letters of recommendation, GMAT/GRE, TOEFL/IELTS scores, college transcripts and admission essays /Statement of Purpose, just like people do in Fall intake. Hence there are limited differences in this regard when it comes to these two sessions.

3. Acceptance Rate

Many institutions have set admissions quotas for each semester. Because the class sizes are substantially greater for the Fall Intake, you might have a better chance of being accepted. If your profile is exceptional, you will have a better chance of being accepted into the Spring Intake.

4. Internships opportunities

In many cases, universities are flexible enough to allow you to complete your entire degree in 3 semesters, which means you can get a job or internship much earlier. You also get to save some money since you won’t be paying any tuition fees for the additional semester.

5. Assistantship

Because the academic year begins with the Fall semester, students will have greater options to get on-campus jobs and internships, particularly research-based courses. Many professors start their research at the beginning of the academic year and do not hire new assistants until the middle. During the Fall semester, there will undoubtedly be additional opportunities to work as research assistants or teaching assistants.

6. Graduation

Universities sometimes allow you to finish your post-graduate degree in three semesters. If you can achieve that, you’ll be able to start earning money sooner. However, suppose you will enrol in the fall semester. In that case, it will be simpler to graduate in three semesters because you will complete your coursework by the following Spring semester and will still have a few months before campus recruitment begins. You could apply for an internship or other part-time employment during those months.

7. Visa

You may have heard rumours that it is easier to get a student visa during a fall intake. But these have no ground as your chances of getting a visa to depend on your overall profile, not the intake you apply in. Further, once you get admission from a school, it is rare to have your VISA rejected, no matter when you use it. Just make sure you take care of all the respective formalities required.

11. Weather

This doesn’t seem to be a deal-breaker, but it’s something to think about. Temperatures can be extreme depending on where you want to study. If you plan to study in a state like California or Florida, where there is sunshine every day of the year, you will most likely be fine. However, if your desired university is located in the northern portion of the country and you arrive in January, you will be greeted by a mound of snow as soon as you enter the country.

12. Student Transfers

What if you were unable to gain admission to the university of your choice and were forced to settle for a lesser institution? Yes, once you’ve been accepted into a university, you have the opportunity to transfer to another. While the specifics of how to do so are outside the scope of this blog, you must know that the entire process could take many months. Therefore, in that scenario, you’d be better off going in the fall because if everything goes well, you’ll be able to transfer to another university the following semester.

13. Readiness

The majority of students apply for the autumn semester because they have completed their undergraduate studies by then. But, it is not always true, and students may require more time to settle in. There’s no point rushing your applications if you don’t think you’ll be ready to start classes in September.