German student here. Ask me anything!

Reply 20

Lagona

OP

5

Original post by the bear

Gefalt dir Wurst ? welche Art von Wurst ? :holmes:

Fleischwurst ist super.. oder Mettwurst mit Zwiebeln.

Reply 21

the bear

20

Original post by Lagona

Fleischwurst ist super.. oder Mettwurst mit Zwiebeln.

Teufel !!

http://www.saags.com/pc/catalog/classicsausages_1251_large.jpg

Reply 22

Lagona

OP

5

Original post by Al-farhan

Are all courses taught in German, or is there an English option
What is the fee status of EU students?

There might be a few subjects you can study in English but I don´t know of any. In general you should be able to speak German when you study here. We have many international students and I think they had to have a B1 or B2 level proficiency in German in order to study here. There are no tuition fees for anybody, especially not when you are a EU citizen. The very small administrative fee has to be paid by everybody, but it already includes your public transport ticket.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 23

ivy.98

14

Original post by Lagona

Hey, that is nice to hear that you are planning to study in Germany. I think as everywhere the likelihood of being accepted to a course depends also on what kind of course it is. For medicine you need better grades than for engineering for example. But in general I can say from what I have seen my subjective impression is that it is more difficult to get into a course in the UK as it is in Germany. Maybe you can tell me what you want to study? The application process was not very difficult. First a registration online and then you print the few papers, attach a CV and a notarised copy of your school certificate and send it all via post to the university. I don´t know if this is still the process or if it is now all online, since I have applied four years ago. But the Germans like paper in general. In Germany for most of the courses all that counts are your grades, there are no interviews like in the UK in general (although there are some exemptions depending on the course). Since we don´t have A levels here, it is difficult to compare- We have the Abitur, where you have to do many subjects compulsory not like just 3 as in the UK and you can choose two subjects you do on advanced level with the grades counting more towards your overall grade. I chose English for example as one of those courses and I graduated with a good grade. Uni life in Germany is quiet good. Germany in general has super low food prices and it is quiet cheap to live here compared to the UK. German students are very open-minded and they love to prove their (more or less good) English skills. I think you won´t have a problem finding friends here. If you have any further questions don´t be afraid to ask.

Thank you so much for your response! Found it really helpful, I was quite struggling to understand the application process, but it doesn't sounds that complicated
Im still not 100% sure, but either Psychology or Physiotherapy. I heard that apparently getting into psychology is as difficult as getting into medicine?Although, I'm planning to apply to a Hohschule, as they're more flexible with a-levels and it also offers a lot more opportunities
I'm pretty experienced with the German lifestyle since i was born and raised there, so shouldn't have any complications with that (hopefully)
Also, how many lectures do you have a week? And would you say you have a lot of free time?

Reply 24

Al-farhan

20

Original post by Lagona

There might be a few subjects you can study in English but I don´t know of any. In general you should be able to speak German when you study here. We have many international students and I think they had to have a B1 or B2 level proficiency in German in order to study here. There are no tuition fees for anybody, especially not when you are a EU citizen.

Ah, nice to see. Hard to believe Germany has no tuition fees for citizens or even foreigners (EU citizens), whereas here students face high fees and the possibility of fees even getting higher.

How hard is German, I have always wanted to learn German but never took steps toward it.

Reply 25

Lagona

OP

5

Original post by ivy.98

Thank you so much for your response! Found it really helpful, I was quite struggling to understand the application process, but it doesn't sounds that complicated
Im still not 100% sure, but either Psychology or Physiotherapy. I heard that apparently getting into psychology is as difficult as getting into medicine?Although, I'm planning to apply to a Hohschule, as they're more flexible with a-levels and it also offers a lot more opportunities
I'm pretty experienced with the German lifestyle since i was born and raised there, so shouldn't have any complications with that (hopefully)
Also, how many lectures do you have a week? And would you say you have a lot of free time?

Psychology is indeed equally competitive as medicine. Phsyiotherapy though is a Ausbildung as far as I know, but I heard you can also study it as a BSc. Yeah, you mean the Hochschulen as in University of Applied Sciences. The big advantage would also be the style of lectures when you attend there. It is like a classroom atmosphere with fixed schedules. You have less people sitting with you in the lecture room compared to some lectures at the big universities with the Audimax filled with sometimes up to 2000 people. Though at the universities you have more freedom in organizing your schedule yourself by choosing the courses. I would say in both options you have between 15 to 30 hours a week. But it is mostly not compulsory to attend them. You will be told if there is a case where your attendance is required. Mostly you can decide yourself if it is helpful for you to listen to the lectures or rather just learn with the script at home (at your own risk). Regarding the free time there is the common image in Germany that the student time is the best time of your life. You have lots of free time if you don´t study medicine.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 26

Lagona

OP

5

Original post by Al-farhan

Ah, nice to see. Hard to believe Germany has no tuition fees for citizens or even foreigners (EU citizens), whereas here students face high fees and the possibility of fees even getting higher.

How hard is German, I have always wanted to learn German but never took steps toward it.

To be honest, I don´t understand why there are countries in the world that don´t have free education. I wonder what poor people are supposed to do there. Are they not entitled to get education?

German grammar is a bit tricky, you will probably never get to a point where you get everything 100 % right if you are not a native speaker. But that is not a problem at all! The language in general will not be difficult for you to understand when you are an English native speaker. Many words are fairly similar (boat vs Boot for example). There are many great online courses you can take for free and I think you should definitely give it a try. Even if you decide not to study in Germany in the end, it is a bit advantage to know another language. And as far as I have observed German is quiet popular in the UK at the moment.

Reply 27

Cocobean94

1

Hi,
I'm thinking about studying Law in Germany soon and i was wondering if getting jobs over there will be jus as difficult as it is here in the UK. Also, learning German for law is obvious but how long does it take to be perfect in the language. Ive lived in Austria for 5 years and still find german speaking rather difficult because of my accent and the way i speak

Reply 28

Lagona

OP

5

Original post by Cocobean94

Hi,
I'm thinking about studying Law in Germany soon and i was wondering if getting jobs over there will be jus as difficult as it is here in the UK. Also, learning German for law is obvious but how long does it take to be perfect in the language. Ive lived in Austria for 5 years and still find german speaking rather difficult because of my accent and the way i speak

I am not an expert in that field, but I am gonna answer your question as good as I know. Well first of all law courses have the reputation of being a popular choice for students who didn´t have the best grades in school. So there is also the term when it comes to the profession of lawyers to say "die gibt´s wie Sand am Meer" which means that there are a whole lot of law graduates/lawyers. I am not saying it is an easy subject though, it is very hard to study because it is quiet time-consuming since there is a lot of stuff to learn by heart but maybe intellectually not too challenging. I don´t know too much about the job situation in the UK in general, but from what I have seen and compared so far I think Germany has more jobs available and they are also better paid. But again, this is just generally spoken. I guess you can find a job everywhere as a lawyer since every big company has their own legal department and what sets you apart is that you are an English native speaker (which you might not need in every job, but it makes a good impression on your CV anyway). I can understand that you feel a bit frustrated by your accent, but to be honest people don´t really mind to see that you are from an English speaking country. I once met an Australian when I was on an internship and he spoke perfect German with perfect vocabulary and perfect grammar. It really impressed me as a German native speaker. He just had a really strong accent. I talked to him once about it and he said he is still frustrated with the language since he has already been in Germany for nearly 20 years. Obviously it was only a problem from his point of view, I thought his German was perfect otherwise. When it comes to the level of perfect German without an accent, I can tell you I have a friend who got to that level in five years. But she studied really, really hard for that (she is a dentist). My boyfriend for example (he is British) has been learning German for over two years now but quiet irregularly, like learning a bit of vocabulary every now and then. And he can basically understand most of the conversations and form sentences with good vocabulary but bad grammar. So I guess in the end it comes down to how much time you invest into learning the language. The vocabulary is quiet easy to learn for an English native speaker, but the German grammar is the really tricky part. Regarding your accent you really shouldn´t be so hard on yourself, nobody cares about a bit of accent as long as you can form correct sentences. Grammar is the key!

Reply 29

keith smith

Hi would you be willing to help me with my work? if so could you send me a private message

Reply 30

Lagona

OP

5

Original post by keith smith

Hi would you be willing to help me with my work? if so could you send me a private message

If you have any questions regarding university or work in Germany you can post the question publicly here and I will be willing to help. I will not do anyone´s work or homework though, sorry.

Reply 31

keith smith

hi please can you check my work, i have already done it but i just need it to be proof read

Reply 32

Lagona

OP

5

Original post by keith smith

hi please can you check my work, i have already done it but i just need it to be proof read

Proof reading implies you actually want me to correct your work. Considering you desperately seem to need someone to do that indicates your German proficiency is not very good and your work will actually have a lot of mistakes in it. I neither feel like nor do I have the time to spend my Sunday on doing your work for you. Sorry, but please do not misuse this thread as a cheap way out of your homework. I advise you to open your own thread on TSR, there are plenty of students who are also learning German and this gives you the opportunity to discuss your stuff together and actually learn something. This thread is not the right place for your cause and I will not say this again. Sorry.

Reply 33

Cocobean94

1

Original post by Lagona

I am not an expert in that field, but I am gonna answer your question as good as I know. Well first of all law courses have the reputation of being a popular choice for students who didn´t have the best grades in school. So there is also the term when it comes to the profession of lawyers to say "die gibt´s wie Sand am Meer" which means that there are a whole lot of law graduates/lawyers. I am not saying it is an easy subject though, it is very hard to study because it is quiet time-consuming since there is a lot of stuff to learn by heart but maybe intellectually not too challenging. I don´t know too much about the job situation in the UK in general, but from what I have seen and compared so far I think Germany has more jobs available and they are also better paid. But again, this is just generally spoken. I guess you can find a job everywhere as a lawyer since every big company has their own legal department and what sets you apart is that you are an English native speaker (which you might not need in every job, but it makes a good impression on your CV anyway). I can understand that you feel a bit frustrated by your accent, but to be honest people don´t really mind to see that you are from an English speaking country. I once met an Australian when I was on an internship and he spoke perfect German with perfect vocabulary and perfect grammar. It really impressed me as a German native speaker. He just had a really strong accent. I talked to him once about it and he said he is still frustrated with the language since he has already been in Germany for nearly 20 years. Obviously it was only a problem from his point of view, I thought his German was perfect otherwise. When it comes to the level of perfect German without an accent, I can tell you I have a friend who got to that level in five years. But she studied really, really hard for that (she is a dentist). My boyfriend for example (he is British) has been learning German for over two years now but quiet irregularly, like learning a bit of vocabulary every now and then. And he can basically understand most of the conversations and form sentences with good vocabulary but bad grammar. So I guess in the end it comes down to how much time you invest into learning the language. The vocabulary is quiet easy to learn for an English native speaker, but the German grammar is the really tricky part. Regarding your accent you really shouldn´t be so hard on yourself, nobody cares about a bit of accent as long as you can form correct sentences. Grammar is the key!

WoW, i thought Law in Germany was very difficult similar to medicine. i know in austria it is the hardest thing to get into pychologyy and medicine. Thank you very much for your response though, i feel much more comfortable and it makes me feel better that there are more out there ^^. I suppose it does depend on the effort you put in =)

Reply 34

( c -_-)

2

Original post by Lagona

For those who are considering studying in Germany I am willing to help you with any questions you might have.

Edit: I just recognized I have a typo in the headline. Of course it is supposed to say "German student here. Ask me anything!"

Heyy! I saw your thread when I was doing some searching on TSR. I too would like to help as I just applied in 2014 and have attended a hochschule (industrial engineering, dropped out) and now am at a university studying Economics.

Original post by ivy.98

Hi im also planning to study in Germany
From your experience, how hard is it to get accepted by unis?
What was your application process?
What alevels did you do and what grades did you get?
And.. How is uni life?

Sorry for so many questions! :redface:

It is very easy to near impossible to get accepted. It depends on a lot of things. Here many unis have different standards.

The application process is very transparent for some unis, for others sketchy/opaque/not clear.

numerus clauses.
The most basic system in German universities is based on the availability of seats VS the number of applicants, if supply (applications) exceeds the number of seats, the people with the best grades are chosen till all these seats are filled.

But here is where it gets more interesting, many universities have a concept of using what they call a "selection procedure", here they give points to various of their selection criteria (waiting time, social commitment, scores in particular subjects etc) and so they have a more fair weightage in terms of looking at an applicant holistically. (The system tries to be fair)

Waiting time. Basically, people who haven't uni for some time, are also given bumps to their scores on this concept.

This was the most basic one. The TH which I had applied to, used a process of 90 percent grades, and 10 percent weightage on waiting time, to calculate every applicants scores.

Now, some universities have it more complicated than this. Some would give more weightage to your scores in certain subjects like physics or maths, your social commitments (ECS basically), etc.

The process is very transparent for most large public universities. But some universities also have their own special entrance exams. (Some of the business schools as well as the STEM unis).

But there are many courses which have unrestricted admission, meaning when everyone who applies is taken in. Physics in Germany can be done almost anywhere (not very popular so seats are empty, but impossible to survive it)

Some of the most popular courses in Germany are (in the order I believe):

1. Business/economics/management or related..
2. Industrial engineering
3. Mechanical engineering

I know psychology and medicine are popular but IMO not as popular as these. The thing is, you don't need perfect grades to study those 3 here in Germany taking into account all the universities grade requirements.

The good news is that, if you speak German you can easily get into the program of your choice.

The German system may seem weird and there are many non traditional courses which heavily focus on one or two areas, for example Beng. automotive systems, Beng. renewable energies.

Now onto the Hochschule VS Universitat.

Well if it is not a technical subject like engineering, you should not study at a hochschule unless you really have no choice.

Now heres the real difference, all hochschules teaching is geared towards practice, or we could say vocational. And all programs include a mandatory internships which is a part of the degree and you get credits for it. This is a fantastic thing and you could get to know your future employer already! All profs at Hochschules must have 4 years of work experience. And yes, timetables are fixed and classes very small, as I remember so. But again, it depends, the one I went to had a few K students only. :smile:

This was one of the reasons why I had initially chosen to study at a hochschule.

The a levels you need for STEM or Economics related courses are:

-Maths (essential) to A2
-One of Physics, chemistry or Biology to A2 (some unis demand Physics and chemistry!)
-One of Physics, chemistry or biology to AS.
-One of Economics or a subject related to your degree to A2! (I took econ)
-One language to AS or A2.

Medicine, needs Physics and chemistry to A2. I think Math too but not sure.

Now the most important bit, well studies here aren't easy but, I am not really a bright student. You would need a few solid hours everyday.

They have lectures, and they have tutorials where they show you how to solve questions. Its important you attend as much as you can. Especially when it starts getting advanced.

Organisation was lacking in my industrial engineering course, so I dropped out. The uni where I am currently at is good. There are some lecturers who are really good and some who are ****e. Some profs are really renowned for their research.

Few rules if you do (or are thinking of) apply(ing):

1.Email the university asking whether your a levels/aps/cse subject combination is valid, and about the numerous clauses.
2. Check the course rating and review at this website :http://www.studycheck.de/
3. If engineering/stem related, check accreditation, do not study unaccredited courses because modules change a lot in those!! (they might delete a few, as in my experience)

My experiences:
I am not too bright a student, but I find the workload managable if you are consistent everyday. Not social at all but the social life is good parties every week etc, people are extremely nice here.

The below websites help a lot: (in german so translate using browser)

[url="www.[b"]www.[url="www.[b"]uni-protokolle.de/
[url="www.[b"]www.[url="www.[b"]meineuni.de/
daad.de
http://anabin.kmk.org/no_cache/filter/schulabschluesse-mit-hochschulzugang.html#land_gewaehlt -The anabin database, check the eligibility of your a levels here, these are the legal requirements that are followed by UNI ASSIST when checking your eligibility. (PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES MAY BE MORE LENIENT, EMAIL)
www.studis-online.de/

Applying through uni assist:-

As I took a levels (non german foreign qualifications) like most of you, I had to apply through uni assist.

Well the first step was getting my documents attested. This means taking your GCSE, A LEVEL, and extra curricular transcripts to the German embassy and asking them to attest it. You will have to take the originals along with one set (or more) of copies for this.

The first couple of sets should be free.

I do not recommend using any other method, as the German seal is the best option here (and cheapest - first few sets were free for me) private lawyers will charge a lot.

You will then post these attested copies to the uni assist people. You also have to upload scans of your document online on their portal.

After some time, they will determine your eligibility and score according to the German conversion
https://www.uni-kassel.de/eecs/fileadmin/datas/fb16/ece/documents/Bavarian_formula_ECE_2012-01-24_01.pdf

I can confirm that the score for A level students is calculated like this:

(Average percentage of as levels converted to German score + Average percentage of A2 levels converted to german score) then divided by two.

If I got a 100 UMS in my AS and A2 (my average percentage was a 100 across all my subjects) then I will have a german score of 1 (highest possible).

The uni assist are fast and they will keep you update every step of the way, however, they are only responsible to ensure your application is delivered, confirmation comes to you DIRECTLY from the UNI in your email and hopefully, post later on (though don't expect this for most)

send only the documents the university needs. You also need proof of German if you have studied in English or don't have a level German. DSH or TESTdaf, if studying in English you are going to need TOEFL or IELTS. (Always email the universities first though!)

I take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information, read and trust at your own risk.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 35

Eli996

Hi, I'm interested in studying engineering (civil?) in Germany.
I was wondering what my chances would be in getting admitted since A Levels is not favoured compared to the Arbitur, I do A Levels, math, fur math, chem and physics.
I have read that German uni's treat math and fur math as 1 subject which leaves me with just 3 subjects and that they require 1 AS level subject.
Problem is that for my AS level i took general studies :frown:

which I heard is not recognized. Is this true?
Also is it ok if I email the uni's I'm interested in, in Eng since my German is still elementary.
Sorry for all the questions and any reply is greatly appreciated!

German student here. Ask me anything!

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