Popular Intakes in USA

Home to the largest economy, best military, picturesque landscapes and a number of top-ranked universities, the USA is the world superpower full of opportunities for everyone. The USA caters to the highest number of international students all around the world. US universities have been able to maintain the top spots in the world university rankings consistently. There are multiple universities doing intakes in USA. Read this blog further to understand more about the most popular intakes in the USA to find out which is best for you.

Also Read: Study in USA Guide for Indian Students

Intakes in USA

USA universities offer 3 intake options to allow international students to become a part of them. 

Intakes	Duration
Fall Intake	August to December
Spring Intake	January to April
Summer Intake	May to August

Fall Intake

Fall Intakes in USA starts in late August and ends in December/ early January just before the spring semester starts. Fall intake in USA is usually preferred by students especially in India as it matches with the Indian academic sessions. This is one of the most popular intakes in the USA, also known as the primary intake in the USA. All US universities offer a wide range of courses during this intake. In fact, many US universities only accept fall intakes for their admission processes.

Why choose Fall Intake

• Most number of opportunities are available during fall intake in terms of scholarship and networking options as the academic year begins during this time.
• Biggest benefit for a fall intake in USA is the availability of a wide range of courses. All the universities provide more course options during the fall intake in comparison to spring intake.
• As already explained above, the number of opportunities in terms of scholarship is much higher than spring intake.
• Fall intake students will have the opportunity to apply for internships as they can meet the eligibility criteria of enrolling in college minimum 9 months before applying to an internship.
• Fall intake students have more on campus job opportunities as the jobs usually open up during the fall intake only.
• Fall semester is perfect to be associated with a student body or organization as the whole group is generally formed in the beginning, fall intake helps you to show your real potential in order to be associated with a student body.

Universities offering Fall Intakes in USA

• Harvard University
• Stanford University
• California Institute of Technology
• UC Berkeley
• Yale University
• University of Pennsylvania
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Princeton University
• Duke University
• Columbia University

Must Read: MBA in USA without GMAT

Spring Intake

Spring Intakes in USA starts in January and ends around early may. Spring admissions have started to come out as a preference of students as they focus more on the school they enroll in. Generally, the number of applicants for spring intake are less which is definitely an advantage but it also means that not all universities accept students during spring intake. Here are all the benefits that the spring intake can offer you.

Why choose Spring Intake

•  Spring admissions help in a smooth transition i.e. instead of muddling amongst thousands of students, it eases up the pressure of enrolling in a university.
• A spring admission helps you analyze your decision for you to see things from a different perspective and decide what you want for yourself.
• Spring intake offers its scholarly students to complete their degree in a lesser time span.
• Students during the spring semester have an advantage of increased staff support since most of the staff is settled by then.

Universities offering Spring Intakes in USA

• University of Colorado 
• Pace University 
• San Francisco State University 
• Temple University 
• Rutgers University 
• George Mason University 
• University of Arkansas
• University of Connecticut 

 Must Read: Eligibility for MS in USA for Indian Students

Summer Intake

Summer intakes in USA start in May and end in August. The major drawback for summer semester is that it just lasts two months. The number of applicants is really few in number and not many universities accept students during summer semester.

Why choose Summer Intake

• Generally, there are not many advantages of going in for summer semester as no good school offers summer admissions and most students usually prefer fall or spring intakes in USA.
• Enrolling in the summer semester will give you an advantage of applying to on campus jobs before anyone as you will be ahead of regular fall.
• The same goes with internship opportunities. As you are ahead of everyone you can start applying for the internships in the spring term itself.

Universities offering Summer Intakes in USA

• University of Florida
• University of Houston
• New York University
• The University of Texas at Austin
• Mississippi State University
• University of Illinois at Chicago

Check Out: Study in USA for Indian Students After 12th

Which Intake to Choose: Fall vs Spring Intake in USA

Both Fall and Spring intake are some of the most famous intakes in the USA. So, let’s check out the major differences between the two intakes: 

Fall Intake	Spring Intake
You can get more opportunities in terms of scholarships and better networking options with other students as the academic year begins during this time.	Less opportunities are made available at the beginning of the academic year as most of the scholarships and funding have been available at the start of the year.
Universities offer a wide range of options for courses to select in the fall intake	In spring, universities offer a comparatively limited number of courses.
More on-campus opportunities, more research or teacher assistant jobs available during fall intake.	The opportunities to work on campus and as a researcher are slightly less, as you may begin in the middle of the year.
Since the entire social group has been formed since the beginning of the year it is easier for a fall student to lead that specific group.	It would be difficult to demonstrate your real potential as a leader in the spring semester, as a social group is already made.
Fall students can easily apply for internship opportunities because before applying, they easily meet the 9-month criteria.	Spring students face the problem of eligibility for 9 months of intern enrollment with any company as an intern.
With a fall student, more job options are available as the university placement drive begins during that time.	As most of the fall candidates have already been employed by companies, a limited number of job options are available.

Deadlines for Intake in USA

Every intake has a different deadline and so does the type of university. Top universities offer a deadline period of at least 8-12 months before commencing the program. Let’s check out the deadlines for different universities in their intakes:

Fall Intake	Top Universities: November/ December of the previous year A-,B, B+, C grade universities: February/March of the same year C-,D grade universities: June/July of the same year
Spring Intake	Top Universities: March/April of the same year A-,B,B+,C grade universities: July/ August of the same year C-,D grade universities: October/ November
Summer Intake	March

Documents Required

While applying for universities in the USA, you must be cautious regarding all the documents and prepare them beforehand only. Here is a list of all the necessary documents-

• Transcripts of the previous qualifying examination
• Attested marksheet of class 10^th and 12^th
• GRE or GMAT scores
• IELTS, TOEFL or PTE scores
• SOP
• Admission Essay
• 2-3 LORs
• Resume/CV
• Valid Passport
• Degree of the previous qualification
• Latest passport size photographs
• Certificates of extracurricular activities, internships (if any)

Must Read: MBA in USA

FAQs

We hope this blog was able to help in clearing everything regarding intakes in the USA. Still confused how to apply? Get in touch with Leverage Edu experts right now to get assistance in getting admission in your dream university. Sign up for a free session with us now!