Study abroad intakes for International students

Meaning of study abroad intakes

What is a study intake? It means when a student is permitted to take admitted to a college. Due to the huge pile of students applying for universities abroad, the intakes provided by international universities are a minimum of two. The purpose is to accommodate as many students as possible while keeping the process difficult at the same time.

Types of intakes

The popular intakes for studying abroad are Spring Intake (September) and Fall intake (January). Some universities also provide Summer intake, which starts in May. The intakes are also known to be called semesters or terms. It is ideal to check the website of a university to see which intake they are looking for.

What is it about the multiple intakes?

The foremost reason for the multiple intakes is the thousands of applications received by a university, so practically it is not possible to make room for every student in one take. Secondly, there could be situations and constraints due to which an applicant might have missed an intake, so he could always try in the next intake.

Differentiation of January & September intake

Parameters	January (Spring)	September (Fall)
1. Courses	Limited choice of courses	Wide range of courses
2. University options	Only fewer universities to apply from	Variety of universities in the catalog
3. Acceptance rate (AR)	Due to less competition, not many students apply here so AR is quite high	Severe competition is present due to the ever-increasing number of applications. AR is minimal
4. Scholarship options	Fewer scholarships left as most of them had been availed	Better scholarship and networking options
5. Internship opportunities	Internship criteria are not met and students face difficult conditions to find an internship	Applying for internships is simplified as 9 months of education stand completed before they apply
6. Post-study work options	Limited job options	High job options due to the peak season of university placement

The top abroad universities for September(Fall) intake are:-

King's College, London
Boston University
Stanford University, California
Washington State University, Washington
University of Illinois, Illinois
Queen’s University, Canada
George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

The top abroad universities for January (Spring) intake are:-

University of Houston
Oklahoma State University
University of Alabama
IMD Business School
Erasmus University Rotterdam
HEC Paris
Birmingham State University, UK

Study intakes in Canada – The main intakes take place in the month of September and January. Canada has ample job opportunities so look out for your desired intake.

Study intakes in Australia – The primary intake in Australia is in the month of February and the secondary intake starts in July when most courses and scholarships are offered. Some universities offer intake in November also for master's programs.

Intakes in the UK – September is the main intake for international students whereas January is the secondary intake (due to having limited university options).

How to decide on the intake?

The international students prefer to go for the September intake because of the ample opportunities but it is also advisable to opt for January or May courses if you need time with your application. Some notable points to keep note of are: