Should you apply for masters in spring semester?

Most universities abroad start their academic year during fall, that is, in early September. With most undergrad programs in Bangladesh ending around December, this means that you're bound to spend a little time just sitting around right after completing your bachelors. If you are the type who can't wait to get going with their master's, a spring semester, which starts in January, can seem very lucrative! However, in reality, starting off-season can come with its own set of hurdles. So, why not look at a few aspects that need to be considered before applying for a spring semester?

Availability

Many universities only take in students once each academic year and don't even offer master's programs during spring. Therefore programs available for spring are fewer than those during fall. If you do find your desired program, the courses offered are often limited since fewer people enrol during spring in the first place. In terms of sequential courses that depend on one another, you might still need to wait for the next fall to do those. This is because the first semester during masters consists of courses that are prerequisites for those offered in spring, and might only be offered during fall. Starting in spring is only handy if you need to find research groups for your project or if you want a head start with your thesis work.

Financial aid

Financial aids are entirely dependent on the university and the level of funds available. Your best bet in this case is to look through the options at your target university. Admission officers go through your entire profile while deciding whether to grant you financial aid or scholarships and the time of your application usually doesn't have any significance, provided it is within deadline. However, some aids are on a first come first serve basis, in which case, you might be at a disadvantage at spring given the academic year starts at fall.

Visa

Many people often speculate that those applying for spring have higher chances of getting their visa turned down. However, there is no truth to it, visas are given out based on completely different criteria, and its best to carefully make the visa application according to the embassy's rules..

Assistantships

In-campus internships or assistantships are usually more available during fall since a lot of professors start their research at the beginning of the academic year. Also, most students graduate by the end of spring and so there are a lot more vacancies during fall. However, there is a small bunch of students who do graduate in December and you could try opting for their positions. Since this is far less common and the positions are usually more competitive, your profile needs to be at least slightly above average to actually get the job.

Job opportunities

Job fairs usually happen after the summer semester. Those starting in fall usually get more time in campus to work on their resume, try out various opportunities and take up more leadership roles. Therefore, joining in spring can have a bit of a disadvantage if you plan on working abroad after your master's. However, if you plan on coming back to Bangladesh, this should not be much of a factor.

Although there can be a few disadvantages to starting in spring, most of the cons aren't a deal breaker. It all depends on your future goals and whether you're comfortable taking a gap year or not.