In the fall intake, the academic year typically commences in August (the first term is from August to December), while for the spring intake, the entry is in January, where the first term is from January to May.
The admit rate in the fall intake can vary from that in the spring.
Every year, approximately 90,000 Indian students go to the US for a postgraduate degree. While this number decreased last year to about 85,000 due to COVID-19, a majority of Indian students seeking a foreign education at the postgraduate level still flock to the US. The US offers two different admissions cycles for aspiring postgraduate students, known as the fall and spring intakes. In the fall intake, the academic year typically commences in August (the first term is from August to December), while for the spring intake, the entry is in January, where the first term is from January to May. While many universities in the US offer the option to apply for a fall or spring entry, this deferred entry option is not as common for other higher education destinations.
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As an undergraduate student thinking about applying for a postgraduate degree in the US, it is important to consider the spring versus the fall intake.
1. Deadlines:
The application deadline for a fall entry varies from a spring entry. For students applying in the fall, the deadline is usually anywhere between December and February while students applying for the spring term usually have deadlines from August to October.
This means that if you are in the last year of your undergraduate programme and are aspiring to start graduate school in the fall, you will be juggling finals and application work simultaneously. As deadlines will coincide with your examinations, you will have to be on top of not just your college work, but also ensure that you have prepared the application form, taken the required testing (many graduate schools in the US require the GRE/GMAT), created an impactful resume and have practised for interviews too.
Applying in the spring means that you can dedicate time to your finals and then start working on your applications. This extra time can ensure improved test scores, better application essays (as you have the time to focus on this solely) as well as a strong undergraduate GPA that will enhance your application to postgraduate programmes.
2. Admit rates:
The admit rate in the fall intake can vary from that in the spring.
At some universities, such as Northeastern University, the spring intake is considered to be less competitive whereas at other universities the class size is small and therefore it becomes more competitive to be admitted in the spring. For instance, USC Viterbi School of Engineering offers two intakes for some of its programmes. While the admit rate for the fall intake is 23-25 per cent, it is even lower for the spring intake.
On the other hand, universities such as New York University, admits the same number of students in the fall and spring, so it makes no difference whether you apply in fall or spring as they essentially admit two full classes in the year.
In most cases though, universities tend to admit the largest cohort in the fall and only have limited seats in the spring, so waiting to apply might not always be in your best interest.
3. Course offerings:
Usually, programmes that start in the fall offer the core course requirements in the first semester, along with a few electives. The more advanced courses are available in the spring semester. However, the programmes that have both intakes may have limited core courses in the spring. This means that you may have to wait till your second semester to take specific classes. One particular course is the MA Teaching at Duke University, which usually offers more course options in the fall as compared to the spring.
Alternatively, there are some programmes that are offered only in the spring. For example, Carnegie Mellon University's Engineering and Technology Innovation Management (ETIM) and Columbia University’s MS in Operations Research and MS in Industrial Engineering only have a spring intake as of this writing.
4. Social life and on-campus internships:
A bulk of club recruitments and on-campus job opportunities are filled at the start of the fall semester and this could mean fewer opportunities for students entering campus in the spring. The same could apply for housing, all of which can play a role in your choice.
It is also important to check with the university’s admissions team to see whether they have a minimum requirement for months spent on campus before applying for an internship. At some universities, such as University of Michigan Ann Arbor, you must have a minimum of nine months on campus before you are eligible for internship opportunities under the Curricular Practical Training rules.
For job opportunities after graduation, most universities that offer spring intakes ensure that the same recruitment opportunities are available to the entire cohort, regardless of their enrollment time frame. At Ohio State University and the University of California, Berkeley for example, recruitment fairs happen twice a year where participating companies hire the same number of students in both rounds.
5. Weather:
While this might not seem like a point to consider, the weather can impact your transition to a new country. Starting in the fall, when the weather gets colder and colder (which you might not be used to) can be more challenging than starting in the spring, when the winter is already at its peak and the semester only gets warmer.
6. Other global destinations:
In the US, the most common intake is in the fall; however, several institutions do offer the spring intake. In countries such as the UK, Canada and other European countries, only a few institutions offer the spring intake. In Australia and New Zealand on the other hand, February is considered the fall intake while the July intake is considered the spring intake. Both intakes are equally popular and there is absolutely no difference in applying for either intake in Australia and New Zealand.
When thinking about pursuing a master’s degree make sure you have considered which entry point makes the most sense for you.
Author Bio:
Tripti Singh is an educational psychologist and postgraduate services manager with The Red Pen. She has over a decade of counseling experience, helping students with their applications for graduate studies to universities in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
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