Universities in the UK usually have four rounds of application deadlines. Let’s begin with discussing each one of them in detail so that you have a clearer understanding of what each of the deadlines entails and how your application can be perceived in each application deadline by the admissions committee.

The first round is known as the Early Admissions round and is usually in August or September of the year before your Academic year begins. For example, the early admissions round for the Fall Academic year 2020-2021 for the Oxford MBA program had its deadline on September 6th 2019. This round is usually meant for extremely serious applicants who are sure that this is the school that they want to target, and eventually accept an admit from. The Admissions committee receives a lower volume of applications in this round, as most students are still preparing for either their standardized tests or getting their letters of recommendations in place. Hence, the students that apply in this round are certainly considered by the Admissions Committee as serious applicants. The lower volume of applications as well as the perception of the Admissions Committee taking these applications seriously, certainly increases your chances of an admit, provided you have submitted a great application. The interview decision for this round will be released in late September, and the final decision is out in October. 

The Second round usually begins in November or early December of the year before your Academic year begins. The second round is likely to see a higher volume of applications as more number of students are now prepared with their standardized test scores, and other elements to submit their application. If you are ready with a great score, and you have your letters of recommendations in place, it is a good idea to send in your application by the second round as it minimizes the risk associated with applying in the subsequent rounds. There are still ample seats left for the cohort, and you still stand a good chance of being part of the academic cohort. For example, if 15 % of the seats are filled in Stage 1 round, there is still an 85 % empty batch that the Admissions Committee needs to fill, and for which you will now be considered. The interview decision for this round is usually out in the second half of November or early December, and the final decision is out in late December or early January. 

The third round is usually in January or early February of the same year that your degree begins. The third round sees the most number of applications, perhaps owing to December being the month of holidays and students being able to prepare well for their application to be submitted. For example, Oxford has its Stage 3 round deadline on 10th of January, and it is the round that they receive maximum applications for. While it is advisable to apply early, one must also consider that they put their best foot forward in sending their application. Hence if you feel like you need more time to do so, you may consider the third round for submission of your application. However, since two rounds have gone by, there are now fewer seats left in the cohort, and therefore your probability of converting an admit has significantly reduced. The interview decision for this round is out in February, and the final decision is out either late in February or early March. 

The fourth round is usually in March or April of the same year that your degree/course begins. By this time very few seats may be left. Since round 1, 2 and 3 have gone by and seen a significant pool of applicants applying, the number of seats left is relatively on the lower end. Thus, waiting till this round is usually not a great idea as it reduces your probability of getting an admit from the universities of your choice. The interview decision for this round is out in late March or early April, and the final decisions are announced in early May. 

Some universities may have an additional fifth round, which is usually in May of the same year that your course begins. This is because a lot of the students may choose to withdraw their admission if they’ve gotten into a better school of their choice. For example, Oxford has five rounds and the fifth round deadline is in May of the same academic year. Since this round is very close to the academic year and usually reserved for domestic students, it is a good idea not to wait until this late to send in your application. The interview decision for the same will be announced in late May, and the final decision is announced in June. 

All in all, apply when you feel most ready but also factor in the pros and cons of applying in each round and take an informed decision accordingly. 

Keep a track of the deadline via Uni Deadlines feature of UniRely and submit your application on time. To get more information about how to apply to universities abroad for your master’s degree, please visit our website – www.unirely.com.