Resource · 2026-27 cycle
Application deadlines across seven countries.
Every timeline below runs from Grade 10 to enrolment for that country. Dates are for the 2026-27 cycle and are checked each August; universities publish the final word, so verify before acting on a date.
United States
US timeline
- Application portal
- Common App (opens 1 August); Coalition/Scoir for a few; UC application for the University of California; MIT and Georgetown use their own
- Intake
- Fall (late August). Spring entry exists at some publics but is rare for first-years
- Deadlines
- ED/EA/REA typically 1 November 2026; ED II and RD typically 1 to 5 January 2027; UC 30 November 2026
- Tests
- SAT/ACT required for 2026-27 at Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, Penn, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Georgetown, Purdue, UT Austin and Florida publics; Princeton and Columbia test-optional this cycle only; most others test-optional. TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo unless waived
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Grade 9 to 10 | Pick the hardest available stream; start one or two activities you can sustain for four years; take the PSAT or a diagnostic SAT in Grade 10 summer |
| Grade 11, August to December | Subject choices locked; build the pillar projects; start olympiads or competitions that matter in your field; teacher relationships that will produce recommendations |
| Grade 11, March to May | First SAT or ACT sitting; AP exams if your school offers them; summer programme applications close |
| Grade 11 summer | Research, work or a built project with an output; draft the personal essay and the college list; run net price calculators with parents |
| Grade 12, August | Common App opens 1 August; finalise ED target; request transcripts, school profile and recommendations from the counsellor |
| Grade 12, October | Last SAT/ACT for early rounds; supplements drafted for all early colleges; CSS Profile started |
| 1 November 2026 | ED/EA/REA deadlines; UC application due 30 November |
| Mid-December 2026 | Early decisions released; if deferred, a letter of continued interest; finish RD supplements |
| 1 to 5 January 2027 | RD and ED II deadlines; mid-year board or predicted marks sent by school |
| Late March to 1 May 2027 | RD decisions; compare aid offers; commit by 1 May; I-20, SEVIS fee and F-1 interview in May to July; fly in August |
United Kingdom
UK timeline
- Application portal
- UCAS, five course choices, one application, GBP 34.50 fee; submissions from September 2026 for 2027 entry
- Intake
- September/October only for almost all undergraduate courses; a few January starts at post-92 universities
- Deadlines
- 15 October 2026, 18:00 UK time, for Oxford, Cambridge, medicine, dentistry and veterinary; 13 January 2027 equal-consideration deadline for everything else; Clearing from July 2027
- Tests
- UCAT (medicine, July to September 2026), LNAT (law), TMUA/ESAT/TARA for Oxford and Cambridge sat 12 to 16 October 2026 via Pearson VUE, booking closed 28 September; IELTS/TOEFL or CBSE/ISC English above roughly 70 percent at many universities
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Grade 10 | Choose Grade 11 subjects against the course you want: three A-levels or the CBSE/ISC subjects the course lists as required, not just what your school pushes |
| Grade 11 (Year 12) | Reading and work beyond the syllabus in the subject; super-curricular projects, essay prizes, olympiads; predicted grades start forming from these marks |
| May to July 2026 | Book UCAT (medicine) and register for LNAT; Oxbridge test booking opens 20 July 2026; shortlist five courses |
| August to September 2026 | Draft the three UCAS questions; brief the school on the reference; Oxbridge test booking closes 28 September |
| 15 October 2026 | Oxford, Cambridge, medicine, dentistry, veterinary deadline; tests sat 12 to 16 October |
| December 2026 | Oxbridge interviews online; medical school MMIs begin |
| 13 January 2027 | Equal-consideration deadline for all other courses; offers arrive on a rolling basis from November to May |
| March to June 2027 | Reply to offers on UCAS (firm and insurance) by the June deadline; sit board exams; conditional offers wait on results |
| July to September 2027 | Board results confirm the place; CAS issued; Student visa with 28-day funds; fly in mid-September |
Canada
Canada timeline
- Application portal
- OUAC 105 for Ontario universities (one form, multiple universities); UBC through its own application; McGill, Alberta, SFU and others through their own portals
- Intake
- September (Fall) is the main intake; January entry exists at some universities for some programmes; May is rare
- Deadlines
- Typically 15 January 2027 for UBC, McGill, U of T and Waterloo Engineering; 1 February 2027 for other Waterloo programmes and the AIF; many Ontario universities accept OUAC 105 until February or March but scholarships close earlier
- Tests
- No SAT or ACT needed anywhere; English via IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 90 or higher, often waived for CBSE/ISC English above 70 to 80 percent
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Grade 10 | Choose Grade 11 subjects with prerequisites in mind: Mathematics is required for almost every business, science and engineering programme; Physics and Chemistry for engineering |
| Grade 11 | Grade 11 finals are used in early offers, so these marks matter; build the two or three activities that will fill the UBC profile and Waterloo AIF |
| September to October 2026 | OUAC 105 and UBC applications open; shortlist programmes and co-op streams; IELTS if English waiver does not apply |
| November 2026 | School nomination for U of T Lester B. Pearson closes; UBC International Scholars requires school nomination around the same time |
| 15 January 2027 | Typical deadline for UBC, McGill, U of T and Waterloo Engineering; upload Grade 11 finals and Grade 12 mid-year marks |
| 1 February 2027 | Waterloo AIF and video interview due; other Waterloo programme deadline; U of T document deadline |
| February to May 2027 | Offers arrive in waves; early offers for strong files in February, most by May; accept and pay the deposit, usually by 1 June |
| May to July 2027 | Board results to the university; PAL issued; study permit application with proof of funds, biometrics, medical if required |
| August to September 2027 | Arrive for orientation; open the GIC account if used for funds; classes start early September |
Australia
Australia timeline
- Application portal
- Direct to each university, or through a registered agent; no central portal for international students (UAC and VTAC serve domestic Year 12s)
- Intakes
- Semester 1 in late February and Semester 2 in late July; trimester systems at UNSW and Deakin add a third entry point
- Deadlines
- Rolling; typically apply by October to December 2026 for February 2027 and by April to May 2027 for July 2027; competitive courses and scholarships close earlier
- Tests
- No SAT or ACT; IELTS 6.5 to 7.0 or TOEFL 79 to 100 or PTE 58 to 65; CBSE and ISC English is accepted by most Group of Eight universities above roughly 65 to 75 percent; UCAT ANZ for undergraduate medicine
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Grade 10 to 11 | Keep Mathematics through Grade 12 if engineering, commerce, science or computing is possible; Physics for engineering; start English test prep if a waiver will not apply |
| Grade 11 finals | Grade 11 marks support conditional offers; shortlist courses across Go8 and the technology universities with published entry marks against your predicted result |
| August to October 2026 | Applications open for 2027; submit early for competitive courses and to be in scholarship rounds; IELTS or PTE sitting if required |
| October to December 2026 | Conditional offers on Grade 11 marks and predicted Grade 12; scholarship outcomes; decide intake |
| February to March 2027 | Board exams; students who took a gap year or A-levels with earlier results start Semester 1 in late February |
| May 2027 | Board results; offers confirmed; accept, pay the deposit and OSHC, receive the Confirmation of Enrolment |
| May to June 2027 | Subclass 500 application with Genuine Student answers, financial evidence, medical and biometrics; processing typically four to eight weeks for Indian applicants |
| Late July 2027 | Semester 2 begins; orientation the week before; or defer to February 2028 if the visa is late |
Singapore
Singapore timeline
- Application portal
- Each university's own applicant portal: NUS, NTU, SMU and SUTD; SIT and SUSS are rarely relevant for Indian school-leavers
- Intake
- August only for all four; no January entry for first-year undergraduates
- Tests
- No SAT or ACT required for CBSE and ISC applicants, though scores may be submitted; English through the board mark; NUS Medicine and Dentistry use situational tests and interviews
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Grade 10 to 11 | Take Mathematics and the sciences the target course requires; enter national olympiads and competitions that Singapore recognises in aptitude-based admission |
| Grade 11 finals | These marks and the predicted Grade 12 result are what the conditional offer is based on; get the school's predicted transcript format ready |
| October 2026 | NTU applications open on 15 October; SUTD and SMU open around the same time; draft the NUS essay and achievements list |
| December 2026 | NUS opens in early December; submit all four applications before the end of the month to be in the earliest assessment batch |
| February to March 2027 | NUS closes in late February, NTU on 19 March; SMU and SUTD interviews; NUS Medicine assessments |
| March to April 2027 | Board exams; SMU and SUTD interviews continue; scholarship shortlist interviews |
| May to July 2027 | Outcomes released in batches from mid-May to end-July; accept with the Tuition Grant declaration; board results uploaded; appeals in late May |
| July to August 2027 | Student's Pass through SOLAR; hostel allocation; classes start in early August |
Hong Kong
Hong Kong timeline
- Application portal
- Direct to each university under its International or Non-JUPAS admissions scheme (JUPAS is for local HKDSE students); HKU, HKUST, CUHK, CityU and PolyU each have their own portal
- Intake
- September only for first-year undergraduates
- Deadlines
- HKU main round typically late November (26 November for 2026 entry), then rolling to August; HKUST and CUHK early rounds in November with main rounds in January; CityU and PolyU main rounds in January to February 2027
- Tests
- No SAT or ACT required, though a 1350-plus SAT strengthens a CBSE file; English typically IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 93 at HKU, 6.0 at others, with strong CBSE or ISC English often accepted; interviews for most competitive programmes
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Grade 10 to 11 | Keep Mathematics at the highest available level; build one or two verifiable projects or competition results in the intended field; consider one SAT sitting in Grade 11 as supporting evidence |
| Grade 11 finals | Grade 11 marks and predicted Grade 12 marks are the academic basis of the November application; secure a teacher reference who can write specifically |
| September to October 2026 | HKU, HKUST and CUHK portals open; draft the personal statement per programme; book IELTS or TOEFL if the board English mark will not be accepted |
| Late November 2026 | HKU main round deadline (26 November for 2026 entry); HKUST and CUHK early rounds close around the same time; supporting documents within a week |
| December 2026 | First-round offers and scholarship decisions from HKU from early December; interviews for Medicine, Law, Business and scholarship candidates |
| January to February 2027 | Main rounds at HKUST, CUHK, CityU and PolyU; rolling assessment at HKU; more interviews |
| March to June 2027 | Board exams and results; conditional offers confirmed on the final result; accept with the deposit; hall applications |
| June to August 2027 | Student visa sponsored by the university through ImmD, typically six to eight weeks; arrive for orientation in late August; classes start early September |
India
India timeline
- Application portals
- NTA for JEE Main and CUET UG; JoSAA for IIT and NIT counselling; BITS for BITSAT; Consortium of NLUs for CLAT; IIM Indore and Rohtak for IPMAT; each private university's own portal for Ashoka, Plaksha, Krea, FLAME, Shiv Nadar and Jindal
- Intake
- July to August for everything; no second intake at any of these
- Tests
- Rank-based: JEE Main and Advanced, NEET, CUET UG, CLAT, BITSAT, IPMAT; profile-based with an aptitude test: Ashoka Aptitude Test, Krea, FLAME Entrance Aptitude Test, Jindal's JSAT or SAT or ACT, Shiv Nadar's SNUSAT and APT; Plaksha weighs essays, interview and JEE, SAT or board marks
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Grade 10 | Decide the route: JEE or NEET means Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or Biology with coaching from Grade 11; CLAT means English and reasoning preparation; the liberal-arts route means keeping the strongest board subjects and building a profile |
| Grade 11 | Coaching for JEE, NEET or CLAT; for the profile route, two sustained projects, competitions and reading; Grade 11 marks feed predicted grades for Ashoka and Plaksha |
| August to October of Grade 12 | CLAT registration (August to October) for the December exam; Ashoka, Plaksha, Krea and Jindal applications open in October; JEE Main session 1 registration in November |
| November to December | Ashoka round 1 closes in late November with the Aptitude Test in early December; CLAT on the first Sunday of December; Plaksha and Krea early rounds |
| January to February | JEE Main session 1 in late January; Ashoka round 2 in late January with results in April; BITSAT and CUET registration open; board practicals |
| February to April | Board exams; JEE Main session 2 in early April; Ashoka round 3 closes in April; IPMAT admit cards |
| May | IPMAT in early May, CUET UG mid-May, JEE Advanced mid-May, BITSAT from mid-May, NEET early May; board results; Ashoka round 4 in early June |
| June to July | JoSAA and CSAB counselling for IITs and NITs; DU CSAS allocation; BITS iteration rounds; CLAT counselling completed; Ashoka and Plaksha offer confirmations |
| August | Classes begin at IITs, DU and the private universities; Ashoka usually in the last week of August |
Questions
About deadlines
When do US college applications open and close for fall 2027 entry?
The Common App opens on 1 August 2026. Early Decision and Early Action deadlines are mostly 1 November 2026; the University of California closes 30 November; Regular Decision is mostly 1 to 5 January 2027. Decisions arrive mid-December for early rounds and late March for regular.
What is the UCAS deadline for 2027 entry?
15 October 2026 for Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses; 14 January 2027 for everything else. Applications received after that are considered at universities' discretion until 30 June.
Can I apply to the US and UK at the same time?
Yes, and many of our students do. The UCAS statement is an academic argument for one subject; the US personal statement is a story about the person. The two deadlines fall within weeks of each other in October and January, so the work has to start by the summer before Grade 12.
Deadlines are our job, not the student's.
In every Plinth engagement the calendar is owned by the counsellor. Missing one is our failure.