Applying to the Summer or Winter semester in Europe?

[ian_dsouza]

I was wondering if applying to the summer or winter semesters in European countries (esp. France and Germany) would affect my chances of being accepted in the physics fields.

 

[mfb]

For a BSc? In Germany, just a few universities have special requirements, and there I don't think there is a large difference between summer and winter. In addition, if you don't get accepted, you can try again half a year later, waiting without an application certainly does not help. Schedules are easier if you start in winter as most courses are designed for that.
Keep in mind that a significant fraction of students (~1/3) don't make it through the first year.

For a MSc, it should not matter, the universities have some criteria for applications and those do not change twice per year.

I don't know about France.

 

[ian_dsouza]

Thanks mfb for your insight. I have a masters in engineering but now really want to move into particle physics. I'll be applying for the MSc, as well as a few places for the BSc (just as a backup). I want to apply for the winter semester this year, but a friend said that the number of applicants for the summer term tends to be lesser, increasing the chances of being accepted. The summer semester deadlines are on Jan. 15th, like 5 days from today. So, I was kinda contemplating if should apply considering that I'm a non-EU citizen - got the visa process to take care of, in time.

 

[mfb]

but a friend said that the number of applicants for the summer term tends to be lesser

That is certainly true for BSc, I'm not sure if it still matters for a MSc because the variable length of the BSc smears that out. In addition, the larger number of applicants means they accept more as well.

No idea about visas, sorry.