Spring Intake in USA - Everything you need to know!

As the Top Universities in USA have started their application procedures for the Spring Intake students need to know what it is and what they should do before applying for spring intake in US. The students who had already planned for their international studies in USA should know that they should plan their intake in a way that does not hamper any of the processes required to fly for the given intake. 

The general intake is fall and spring intake in US. The fall intake in USA generally starts in the month of August and in September. It varies from university to university as some of them offer fall intake in august and some in September. The spring Intake in USA starts in January and many universities are accepting applications for the Spring Intake in USA 2023 now also.

When we have to appear in any examination we set a timeline for that exam which helps us to complete the syllabus of the exam appearing in the mock test, and then in the final examination likewise students can manage things required before flying in the spring intake also. Students need to prepare themselves for making an application to the university of their choice and also need to choose the intake in which they want to pursue their higher studies in USA. Here is how an Indian student can prepare for spring intake and what the timeline to start preparing for this is.

 The things students need to do before applying to the USA Universities with spring intake are mentioned below. Here we will discuss the things by taking an example of the spring 2023 intake in USA.

• Research for the University and its intake – in October- November 2021
• Entrance exam preparation and appearing for it- should be completed by May 2022 or before.
• Language test preparation and appearing for it- Should be completed by May 2022 or before.
• Making an Application – Between April to August 2022
• Receiving an offer letter – can arrive between May to September 2022 (Depends on the college or university you have applied for)
• Requesting an I-20- Immediately after receiving an Unconditional offer letter
• Filling DS-160 – immediately after I-20
• Visa slot booking- try to book in September-November 2022
• Visa interview-  between November-December 2022
• Fly-  between December 2022 – January 2023

Research for the University and its intake

The first step a student needs to do is to make up his mind to study in USA and then choose the course he wants to pursue and the college or university he wants to go in. This is not a one-way process as it will consume a lot of time for the students. Students need to shortlist the University or College in USA on the basis of their course. They need to make a list of the requirements of the US University or college which will help them to understand the process of the application and as well as the time period in which their offer letter will be received. 

They need to note each detail like the application opening time, deadline of the application submission, language test or entrance test requirements, eligibility criteria and some details about that university of USA chosen by the students. These researches are to be done by the student prior to 1 or 1 and half years so that they can appear for the entrance /language proficiency test before doing the application. Considering the application to be made for spring 2023 intake students need to start their research in October-November 2021 

Entrance exam preparation

The entrance exam varies for graduate programs and undergraduate programs. The students applying for the graduate programs need to appear for the SAT or ACT examination and students applying for the post-graduate programs appear for the GRE or GMAT exams. It is not mandatory to appear for these tests but it is required if the University or Colleges of the USA asked for it. The students need to check whether these entrance tests are mandatory or not in their chosen university.

If the students are required to submit the scores of these entrance tests then they should start preparing for that as soon as possible as their preparation takes 6 months to appear in the tests. So, if the student has researched well then he should start preparation between November - December 2021 so that he can appear for these tests in May at least or before.

If the student has a scheduled date for the entrance exam, post after the application submission then he will receive an Academic Conditional offer letter which means that the student needs to appear for the exam on the scheduled date and then need to submit the scores for getting an Unconditional Offer Letter from the university/college. 

Language test preparation

The students are required to submit a language test score to prove that they are good at English communication and can read, write, speak, and listen to the English language well in foreign countries. The time period requires to prepare for this test is 2 months where students can easily prepare and appear swiftly.

If a student is required to appear for the entrance exam as well as the English test then he needs to manage his time accordingly. He can also submit the application without appearing in the test and the university or college can provide an English Proficiency test Conditional Offer letter where he needs to submit the scores when his result appeared. 

Making an Application

The application for the spring intake starts in the month of April and remains open till mid-of September. Before making an application students need to be sure of the documents required and then can apply for the University. Students also need to know that different Universities or colleges in the USA have different opening application dates and deadlines. But the student is required not to focus on the deadline of the University as many times the courses in which you are applying are full and the application gets rejected. So to avoid this always apply a month before the deadline so that you can process your VISA accordingly.

Documents required to submit an application are:

• Secondary (10th) and senior secondary (12th) mark sheets
• Bachelor’s transcript and semester /year-wise mark sheets.
• GRE/ GMAT/ACT/SAT scores
• English proficiency test scores.
• Passport
• Work experience (If any)
•  Updated CV
• SOP

Waiting for the offer letter

This is the phase where students become impatient as they can’t wait for the university to provide them Offer letter. The minimum time period to receive an Offer letter is 5 weeks after the application has been submitted successfully and the maximum time is 3 months. This again varies from University to university and course to course.

The offer letter received by the student can be Conditional or Unconditional. If the student has received a conditional offer letter then the student needs to fulfill that condition to make the offer unconditional.

Requesting an I-20

After receiving an Unconditional Offer letter from the university, the student can request the I-20 where he needs to show his 1-year living expenses and 1-year tuition fees. The time period involved in receiving the I-20 is 15-20 days. After receiving the I-20 the students get eligible to fill out the DS-160 form.

Filling DS-160

DS-160 form-filling becomes important for the VISA slot booking as without this the student will not receive a unique number that is required for booking the slots for VISA. In the DS-160 form, the student needs to provide every detail asked in it.

Visa slot booking

The VISA slot booking can be made after receiving a Unique ID from the DS-160 form which will allow you to book your slot. It is generally preferred that the student needs to book the slot prior to 4 months of his intake as it can be delayed sometimes due to the non-availability of the dates. 

Visa interview

This is the important part of the USA Visa application as here the purpose of the student to study in a USA university or college is checked. The student needs to appear for his VISA interview and this can be done after a month of slot booking. This is a crucial process as it can also break your dream of studying abroad if you are not able to clear it.

For spring Intake 2023, the students need to give the VISA interview in November- December 2022, so that they can proceed to fly easily without delay.

Fly to their dream University

This is the last step of the process and the most overwhelmed one as after completing all the above lethargic processes the students can now finally fly to their chosen University. The students can fly within 1 month prior to the intake but not before the 1 month as then they need to have a tourist VISA for the USA.

I hope the students will understand the importance of doing things on time and will apply for the spring intake in USA by managing everything.

If you also want to fly to a Top university in USA or want to know the VISA application process in USA you can get in touch with our expert counseling team by visiting our nearest branches or by fixing an appointment for a video session through our website. You can also contact us at our toll-free number 1800-1230-00011 or can send your academic details to application02@gmail.com for submitting your application to your chosen US University or College.