Canadian Universities’ Application Deadlines For 2022 and 2023 Intakes

Updated on: 20 Feb 2023

The land of the maple leaf, Canada, one of the most sought destinations for higher studies, is set to welcome students for 2022 intakes. Students from across the globe seek Canada as their most preferred destination for higher studies. Canada has a developed economy, and it offers excellent opportunities post completion of the studies. Canada has a thriving market, and it provides great job opportunities to students who complete their education in Canada. Canada also has picturesque beauty that makes the country a great place to stay beyond the period of education. The universities in Canada are a great place to do advanced studies as they have a well-structured education system coupled with the most advanced research ecosystem found anywhere else in the world.

Since the admission process takes a considerable time, it’s in the best interest of the students to initiate the admission process well before the intended time when they wish to join a university in Canada. The Indian education system usually has an August to June cycle. So, Indian students prefer the fall season for admission as it helps them take admission to a Canadian university right after completing studies in India. Students seeking admission should take the English proficiency (IELTS, TOEFL, etc.) test or GRE or GMAT well in advance to not miss the fall semester admissions. Students should also take care of loans if they are planning to get one. Also, the documents required for admission, loan, visa, and other formalities must be collected without any delay. 

Intake Options For Canadian Universities 

There are three different intake options for Canadian universities, i.e., Fall, Spring, and Summer. It depends on the students which intake is suitable for them, and several factors come into play while taking a final call for admission in Canada. The availability of funds, GRE or GMAT or English proficiency test scores, seats available for a particular university.

For Fall Intake (September-December/early January), The Features are-

1. More courses are available for this semester than winter and spring.
2. It helps students by giving them more time to stay ahead than those taking admission in the winter semester.
3. Canadian winters are extreme, and those taking admission in the fall get more time to adapt to it. 
4. Most sought courses are available in the fall session itself, thus making it the favorite session for Indian students. 
5. Students applying for scholarships or any other financial aid are more likely to get one in the fall semester. 
6. One of the downsides is the vast number of applicants. The seats in universities get filled way faster than in other semesters. 
7. Students taking admissions in fall semesters are more likely to get internships in their intermediate years.

For Winter Intake (January-May), The Features are-

1. Students get ample time before starting their studies and collect everything they want before the commencement of classes. 
2. Those students who missed the Fall semester admission get the chance to secure admission for different courses available at that time. 
3. The temperature dips sharply in these months, so students from India face problems adapting to the sudden change in the weather pattern.
4. Winter admissions allow students to collect all their documents without hurrying, as is the case with the Fall semester beginning right after the completion of college in India. 
5. Students who couldn’t obtain good scores in English proficiency tests or GRE or GMAT get more time to prepare and retake the test. 
6. The number of available courses is less than that in the Fall semester. 
7. The competition is relatively less as students prefer Fall admissions due to the colder winters of Canada.

For Spring or Summer Intake (May-August), The Features are-

1. Mostly sought by students going for language or other short-term courses.
2. Only a few colleges open their admissions, and that too is not for all the courses. 
3. The duration is also shorter, and students preferably wait for Fall admission.
4. For professionals seeking short-term courses or a brief stint at a foreign university prefer the spring semester. 
5. It is not ideal for fresh graduates as these are when students are busy in their final semester exams. 
6. There is barely any competition as students mostly wait for the fall semester. 
7. If a course of choice is available at a university, this is the perfect time to go for it owing to a virtually non-existent pool of applicants.

The Ideal Intake For Students 

This question is loaded with ambiguity, and there is no perfect or ideal intake season for students. Some prefer winter or spring intake, while most students prefer fall intake. There is no hard and fast rule regarding the ideal admission season. But by and large, a majority of students prefer taking admission in the fall season. The courses for which the maximum number of applications come usually get filled in the fall semester itself, and for the rest of the admission, only fewer courses are available. For instance, in the winter season, the supplemental admissions window is opened, and there are fewer seats than the fall intake. Only remaining seats are filled in the winter intake, so preferably, it’s better for students looking for a specific course in a particular university, and it’s available in the winter intake. There is a plus side to the winter intake as there is less competition among the applicants, the chances of getting an available course is very high. 

In the spring or summer intake, the courses are relatively of shorter duration or vocational courses. Usually, language courses are available in the summer admissions, so those seeking admission in professional courses like MBA, MS, etc., don’t prefer this admission season. There might be certain short-term courses, e.g., executive training programs for working professionals. So, working professionals and those wanting to pursue vocational training programs should go for the summer admissions. And after considering all the factors related to courses, seat availability, etc., one must consider the weather in which the student seeks to go to Canada. Winters are freezing in Canada. It is also a reason why Indian students prefer going for the fall admissions as they get ample time to adapt to the local climatic conditions.

Deadlines For Admissions To 2022 and 2023 Intakes

Admission deadlines are crucial for students seeking admission in Canada or, for that matter, any other country. The timelines are strict, and the chances of getting admission post the deadline is next to impossible. So it’s in the best interest of the students wanting to go to Canada to adhere to the timelines and plan the admissions accordingly. Every year thousands of students miss the admission deadlines and then end up waiting for another year to take admission at their preferred educational institution in a course they want to study. Here are all the details that a student should know before planning to take admission to a Canadian university. In typical situations, institutions release their admission intake plans well in advance, and students can get access to it at least eight to ten months prior to the month when they are planning to take admission. However, students must check with the university before applying for a course as the dates might change in certain circumstances.

NOTE: The above table contants Deadlines For Admissions To 2022 and 2023 Intakes.

Out of all the intakes, the most sought is the fall session that starts in the month of September and ends in the month of December. So, we will discuss all the details related to September of the fall intake in detail but before that, let’s understand the difference between the type of deadlines.

Deadline For Different Types of Intake

1- Deadline for Undergraduate Courses

For undergraduate courses, most of the deadlines for Fall are between December and March and for Winter are between September and November. The admissions for these courses are restricted to Fall and Winter. There are no admissions for the spring/summer courses.

2- Deadline for MS Programs

There are two deadlines for the MS program, and they are as follows:

• Financial Aid/Scholarship Deadline: These deadlines are for scholarship programs. Students eligible for scholarships or financial aid have to adhere to this deadline for admission. 
• Regular Deadline: As the name suggests, these are the regular deadline, and it is independent of the scholarship deadline.

3- Deadline for MBA Program

There is more than one deadline for MBA programs. In fact, multiple rounds of deadlines are there for MBA viz. Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, and so on. But it’s advised to take admission until the third round as most of the seats get filled until the third round. The colleges in Canada have fixed deadlines for MBA programs, while some of the Colleges also rely on processing the application on a rolling basis, as it happens in the US. We have mentioned only three rounds as Canadian visa processing also takes time. So, it’s in the best interest of students to take admission till the completion of Round 3 to start classes on time.

Deadline At Different Universities in Canada For Fall Admissions 

The deadlines mentioned above are for specific courses, and one must check the university website for details on course-specific deadlines. Since universities have their own deadlines for certain courses, students might get admission to a university-based on the subject of their choice even beyond the time bracket shown above.

Timeline For Admissions To September 2022 and 2023 or the Fall Intake

Sincere students need to follow the timeline to get admission at the desired college/University without any last-minute haste or worry about getting admission. Once the students set their minds, they must start preparing for each and every step involved in the entire admission process. The admission process begins with choosing the right institution and the course for which the students want to apply, and the number of seats available for that particular course. One must bear in mind that the courses will have a bearing on the future so one should choose it with utmost consideration and consultation. So, let’s see the timeline that a student should follow once they are sure about the course they wish to study and the universities of their choice.
 

• Canada 
• Study abroad 

First published date: 29 Nov 2021