Germany: a tuiton-free country?

Almost all of Germany’s federal states have meanwhile abolished tuition fees for both domestic and international students. Tuition fees at German public universities have never been very substantial, commonly around 1,000 EUR per academic year. However, for some students from low-income countries this amount could still make a difference.

At the moment, there are only two federal states left which continue to charge general tuition fees: Lower Saxony (capital: Hanover) in the northwest and Bavaria (capital: Munich) in the south. Both states may soon join the rest of tuition-free Germany. The present conservative government of Bavaria is pondering to end the era of tuition fees, which would make some of Germany’s most prestigious universities even more affordable than they are now. In Lower Saxony, the upcoming elections may topple the present state government; the opposition parties have promised to abolish general tuition fees.

Thus, soon Germany may be one of very few countries in the world that offer free university education to all students. It won’t be completely free, though. All universities charge an enrollment fee that ranges from 50 to 250 EUR per semester and often includes free local public transport. Apart from this rather marginal fee, some universities continue to introduce partly self-financed English-taught graduate programmes which commonly charge tuition fees of several thousand euros per year.

Chris

germanstudycentre@gmail.com

The benchmark of eligibility

It is now widely known around the world that international students at German universities do not have to worry much about tuition fees. The latter are either non-existent or very low in global comparison. What is less widely known is that German universities often select their students more carefully than institutions that charge high fees and treat international education as a form of big business.

So, when you consider studying in Germany, do not think of the financial aspects alone. Most German universities are government-funded (i.e. financed by German taxpayers), so they are very much accountable to the public about who they provide free education to and who they do not. Sit back for a moment and reflect on your previous academic achievement in this light before you start filling in application forms.

For many study courses, the universities do not mention quantified admission criteria like a minimum CGPA or particular GRE scores (TOEFL and IELTS are exceptions). However, several years of study counselling have made it clear to me that most German universities are reluctant to accept applicants with a CGPA below 70%, especially in the case of English-taught graduate programmes.

Does this really imply that German higher education is off limits for you if you are below this benchmark? Not necessarily. With a CGPA between 60 and 70%, what is considered “average” in Germany, there are still options for you, as long as you are flexible regarding the choice of programme and institution. This does not mean that you have to compromise on the quality of education which maintains an evenly high standard throughout Germany.

I am often asked whether it is possible to compensate for low marks with job experience or test scores like GRE. This may sometimes work out. However, when several hundred candidates apply for 20 or 30 seats, as is the case with many graduate programmes, few universities are able to pay attention to all details of an applicant's profile. The CGPA then serves as an easy benchmark. All candidates below it are automatically out of the game.

Another opinion that is frequently voiced refers to variations in the grading system between different foreign universities. “60% at my university is like 80% at another university”, the argument goes (the opposite is rarely mentioned, for obvious reasons). Please be aware that German universities are rarely willing to involve themselves in the intricacies of grading practices used in other countries. So, if you come up with the above-mentioned argument,  most likely nobody will listen – unless, of course, you are a graduate of one of the IITs or another institution whose academic achievements are internationally well-known.

Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com

A case for educational match-making

I am sometimes asked why this blog does not contain any information on particular universities, study programmes, rankings etc.The reason is simple: I do not believe in random applications but in bringing the right students together with the right courses and institutions, what I call “educational match-making”. There is a wealth of information about study options in Germany available on the net, and I do not want to further contribute to this, as many German universities are already complaining about the rising number of applications by international students who are often not qualified for the course they are applying to. This is especially true for those institutions that regularly appear high in global rankings.

For most graduate programmes at German universities no application fee is charged. As a result, these courses tend to be flooded by chance applications of candidates who are not always really serious about their expressed study intentions. Nevertheless, these documents have to be processed by the universities, congesting decision-making and leading to ever greater inflation of bureaucracy. Many applicants send out an exaggerated number of applications, sometimes spread out over several countries, in the end causing an unreasonable waste of allotted seats.

To counteract this unpleasant situation, we have established a small counselling agency, the “German Study Centre Cochin / Deutsches Studienzentrum (DSZ)”. Initially we provided free personalised couselling to all interested candidates world-wide, but this soon turned out to be impossible. Since Germany has become one of the most popular destinations for international students, the number of inquiries has increased to unmanageable proportions. Additionally, many messages that reach us have a certain flavour of “spontaneity”, i.e. arbitrariness. To be able to concentrate on serious and qualified candidates, we had to introduce moderate charges for our counselling services.

DSZ believes in merit-based education and is highly critical of the increasing commodification of knowledge. Information catering to vested interests is rarely objectice and free of biases.  We do not serve the needs of any particular institution, no matter whether government, university or private company. Our activities are financed neither by advertisements (which you will not find in this blog) nor by profit-based commissions.

Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com

Open-door policy for academics

German policy makers have again stretched out a welcoming hand to international academics. Both houses of parliament have passed a European Directive which further expands present opportunities for students and researchers from non-EU countries.

In future, foreign students will be permitted to work part-time for 120 instead of 90 days per year. The time period to look for qualified jobs after graduation will be extended from 12 to 18 months. While seeking employment, foreign graduates can work without time limit and are no longer obliged to ask for approval by the German Federal Employment Agency (BA).

Anyone able to present an employment contract as an academic or qualified professional with a minimum salary of around €44,800 (around €35,000 for certain shortage occupations) may work in Germany for up to 4 years using a so-called ''Blue Card''. Another novelty is that foreign academics will be eligible for a settlement permit (indefinite right of residence) after two years. Family members of foreign skilled employees will also find it easier to take up employment, for example by no longer requiring the approval of the BA.

In 2011, Germany was a particularly popular destination for people seeking a new life abroad. According to the Federal Office of Statistics, around 6.93 million people with foreign citizenship lived in Germany at the end of 2011, which is 177,300 more than a year earlier. The increase of 2.6 percent was the highest in 15 years. “Deutsche Welle” reports that the jump may be due to Germany’s economic growth and the freedom of movement granted to citizens of the new EU states.

Link: http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15864426,00.html

Chris

germanstudycentre@gmail.com

Application deadlines: theory and practice

German universities do not have a standardised, nation-wide application deadline, to the dismay of many international students. Deadlines vary from institution to institution and quite often between different study programmes within the same institution as well. To add to the confusion, some universities fix separate application deadlines for different groups of applicants, like domestic, EU and non-EU…

Especially for those hailing from outside the European Union, close time planning can be a decisive factor in the application process. Apart from obtaining admission, these students have to worry about getting their visas on time. In handling student visa applications, German consulates and embassies display widely different degrees of efficieny and promptness. Sometimes, applicants have to wait for up to 8 weeks just to be granted an appointment for submitting their documents!

Keeping all this in mind, students should be careful when taking official application deadlines mentioned on German university websites at face value. A date that leaves less than three months between application deadline and expected arrival date of a student will be often impracticable for students from many African or Asian countries. There are laudable exceptions, though. Some German consular representations have recently sped up the whole visa process considerably.

Neverthess, handing in an early application is not always the solution. Some institutions slavishly stick to their deadlines, even when these turn out to be unmanageable for many applicants. They wil not consider an application before the deadline is over, argueing that a careful comparision of all applicants has to be made before seats can be assigned.

In conclusion: The early bird catches the worm, but not always! Applying as early as possible often helps to relieve time pressure, as many universities send out admission letters before the application deadline has passed. But there is no guarantee for that. Sometimes it can be better to just wait for the next intake instead of making use of a late deadline and ending up without a visa when the semester starts.

Chris

germanstudycentre@gmail.com

Choose the university that suits you best

When pondering the question where to study abroad, students tend to focus their attention on the results of international rankings. In this regard, I think, a word of caution is necessary. These rankings will rarely be able to tell a student which institution serves him best. 

Germany is a case in point. I have yet to see the ranking that adequately reflects the diversity of the German university landscape. With diversity, by the way, I do not refer to the quality of education and facilities, which is rather even throughout the country thanks to close government supervision and control. Germany does not have a “shady” sector of college or university-level institutions, as may exist in countries with a more commercialised and less strictly regulated system of higher education.

Diversity, in the German context, mainly refers to the different types of universities, the size of institutions and important aspects of their locations. Starting with the last point, an aspiring young student from the Indian metropolis of Mumbai may be less than happy when she suddenly finds herself dropped into a German small town surrounded by idyllic countryside - with empty sidewalks most of the day and three shops to choose from. This is not an unrealistic scenario, as quite a number of German universities are situated in locations that big-city dwellers would describe as “rural”.

Of more importance, however, are pronounced differences in the academic orientation and size of universities in Germany. Before you start applying, you should be familiar with the differences between general universities (UNI), universities of technology (TH) and universities of applied sciences (FH or HS). If you are heading towards a career in academia and research, the first two types of institutions are your places of choice, as only they are entitled to award doctoral degrees. If you are more interested in the application of knowledge and technology to the solution of concrete problems (e.g. as posed by industrial work processes), then the third type of universities will offer you a variety of interesting study programmes.

The size of institutions can also make a big difference, especially for international students. Don't underestimate the factor of culture shock which everybody experiences who decides to live and study in a far-away land. Adjusting to a new lifestyle and different academic conventions can rarely be achieved without strong support from teaching staff, administrative personnel and fellow students. It is precisely the nature of human relations that tends to vary substantially between large-scale bureaucratic structures and smaller institutions which are closer to schools in size. Making friends and having a close rapport with professors and lecturers are easier in a less anonymous environment where you do not meet different people everyday. Studies have shown that developing emotionally satisfying human relationships contributes a lot to study success.

When you look at international rankings, it is mainly the large general and technical universities in Germany that make it to top positions. What a biased picture! Several years  of experience as an educational counsellor have provided me with ample evidence that many international students tend to feel lost at universities with 30,000 or more students and complain about a lack of personalised guidance and supervision, whereas those enrolled at educational institutions that are not listed in any rankings usually enjoy excellent guidance and graduate with above-average marks.

Which leads me to the last point that I would like to emphasise here. It is your individual academic performance and overall qualification that will eventually decide your professional future and not the name or reputation of any university – at least in Germany and many other European countries. If it is the “old continent” where you wish to work at least for some years after your graduation, choose the university that suits you best  and not the one that excels in rankings, unless – of course – both of these factors happen to overlap…

Chris

germanstudycentre@gmail.com

Medical studies in Germany

During the past years I have been receiving a steady flow of inquiries regarding the options for foreigners to study “MBBS” at German universities. I am setting “MBBS” in quotation marks because Germany, like most countries outside the Commonwealth, does not know an MBBS or bachelor-level medical degree. In the US, for example, you have to complete a bachelor degree first (usually in the natural sciences) before you are eligible to join medical school, which awards you an advanced degree.

Germany and, for that matter, the other countries of continental Europe have their own traditions of medical education. Most of them have never introduced the bachelor / master pattern for medical studies and are not planning to do so in the near future. Few countries – for understandable reasons – want to leave the training of future doctors in the hands of university committees or local examiners. Centralised state exams and country-wide approbation procedures for medical practitioners are, therefore, the rule.

There are no bachelor or master degrees for applied medicine in Germany; however, there is a medical doctorate. In contrast to some other countries (like the US), students in Germany can join medical school directly after finishing their senior high school (i.e. after 12, previously 13 years) – assuming their excellent marks make them eligible. Applicants from outside the EU usually have to attend a one-year "bridge course" (so-called “M-Kurs”), which is offered by selected universities to close the gap between the German senior high school certificate ("Abitur") and the school-leaving certificates of other countries.

Medical training in Germany takes a minimum of six years, including two pre-clinical, three clinical and one practice year as an assistant doctor. The good news is: There is a quota for international medical students at German universities (roughly 8 percent of all seats) and fees are not higher than for other subjects. So, medical studies in Germany are quite affordable compared to most other countries. The bad news is: Medical education is fully taught in German language.

So, before anybody starts thinking about studying medicine in Germany, the first question should be whether she or he is willing to invest considerable time and energy into learning this not-too-easy language. Many have done it, and the rewards are considerable. The standard of medical education in Germany is high (just like that of medical technology), and German-trained doctors are welcome wherever they go. Apart from that, German medical degrees have also been among the first to be recognised in India. For those wanting to stay on after their studies, ample opportunities are waiting. Germany has a rapidly aging population, and some parts of the country are already experiencing a shortage of young doctors.

Chris

germanstudycentre@gmail.com

Indian students still a tiny minority

Roughly 5,000 Indian nationals are presently studying at German universities. What may sound a lot, is actually very little. The numbers of students from other take-off countries like China, Russia and Turkey are in the five-digit range. Considering the fact that Indians make up a meager 2 percent of Germany's international student population of approximately 250,000, Stefan Weckbach, German Consul-General in Chennai, sounds overly optimistic when he told the Indian daily "The Hindu" that "Germany is a sought-after destination for higher learning" in India. In this context it has to be said that the German consular representations in India have often not been very encouraging, to put it mildly, in their dealings with study applicants from the subcontinent. No wonder then that many promising candidates, supported by their English fluency, have looked for greener pastures elsewhere...

From other parts of the world, students continue to flock in steadily growing numbers to Europe's economic powerhouse. Up till now, Germany has withstood the European debt crisis quite well, which is reflected in strong domestic demand and a buoyant job market. Many academics in India, who - for understandable reasons - have traditionally been oriented towards the English-speaking world, will probably be surprised to hear that Germany has the most internationalised student population of all countries. According to Prashasti Rastogi, DAAD representative in New Delhi, 12 percent of all students at German universities are foreign nationals. Whether India can keep up with its main competitors in the developing world like China and Brazil will also depend on the country's ability to better tap Germany's high-tech potential in the future and to send more of the best students there for an advanced research-oriented education.

Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com        

German students go “east”

No, when students in Cologne, Hamburg or Munich jokingly talk about the “Far East”, they do not refer to China, Japan or Korea. What they mean is the eastern part of present-day Germany which – before the Wall came down – used to be a somewhat remote and inaccessible place for most West Germans. These times are long past, and many regions of the former German Democratic Republic have become outright “tiger states”.

Dresden, Leipzig and Magdeburg – to mention just a few – are some of the East German cities that have developed very dynamically during the last decade. The eastern part of Germany can boast of some of the oldest and most highly reputed universities of the country.The quality of education and research was generally very good under communist rule but much of the physical infratructure was outdated and in need of repair.

Since unification the government has invested billions into the modernisation of East German universities. Some, like the one in Leipzig, have received full new campuses. Others were equipped with state-of-the-art libraries, laboratories and computer centres. The housing situation for students has always been better in East than in West Germany, where the government depended too much on the private market. The student hostels from communist times by now have all been modernised and offer accommodation which is both comfortable and affordable.

More and more young people from West Germany are deciding “to go East” for higher studies, being tired of overcrowded lecture halls, poor professor-student ratios and expensive housing in some West German cities. It is a well-known fact that many universities in the East offer a better support infrastructure for international students (like pick-up services or mentor programmes) than their West German counterparts, making them particularly attractive not only for West German “migrants” but also for their fellow students from around the world. 

Nevertheless, some international students, especially from outside Europe, are still wary about studying in the eastern states of Germany, having heard about instances of racist violence. In fact, during the early 1990s some parts of East Germany seemed to be turning into “no-go areas” for foreign-looking people. Fortunately, this trend has been stopped by a combination of awareness building and strict law inforcement. Nowadays, there is little that international students have to be afraid of. Public security is generally very good throughtout Germany, day and night.

If you wish to know how higher education in Germany (both East and West) is marketed by the government today, visit the following link and watch the video (in German with English subtitles):

http://chronicle.com/academicDestinationArticle/Discover-Your-Germany/43/?otd=Y2xpY2t0aHJ1Ojo6YWRobHZpZGVvOjo6YWQ6Z2VybWFueSxhcnRpY2xlOmdlcm1hbnktdG9wcy1nbG9iYWwtZ2F1Z2U6OjphZDpnZXJtYW55LGFydGljbGU6ZGlzY292ZXIteW91ci1nZXJtYW55

Chris

germanstudycentre@gmail.com

German universities on internationalisation path

The new president of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Prof. Margret Wintermantel, plans to give an additional boost to the international attractivness of German universities. Those institutions that are prepared to develop new internationally oriented study programmes and, therefore, are particularly successful in attracting foreign students will be provided with additional funds.

Wintermantel seeks to further increase the number of international students in Germany from the current number of 245,000 to 300,000 by the end of the decade. "Winning over foreign students is how we will make friends and partners for the future. What is more, if we fail to increase the number of international students in Germany, we will be unable to maintain our academic system’s excellence in light of demographic changes." The DAAD President pointed out that to attract the best students to Germany would also require making university admissions more straightforward and more flexible and better oriented towards the students’ individual qualifications.

Prof. Margret Wintermantel is former president of Saarland University, one of Germany’s most internationalised institutions of higher education.

Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com

(Source: http://www.daad.de/portrait/presse/pressemitteilungen/2012/19484.en.html)

New visa regulations for Indian students

In order to be eligible for a student residence permit in Germany, international students have to prove that they are financially sound enough to finance their stay in the country. At present an amount of roughly 8,000 EUR is considered necessary to cover a student’s living expenses for one year.

Many Indian students from middle-class families opt for educational loans to finance their overseas studies. Previously the German consular authorities in India considered a loan sanction letter from an Indian bank as sufficient to fulfill the visa requirement. Alternatively, proof of a substantial savings account or term deposit was also accepted. When leaving India for Germany, the student had to carry a corresponding demand draft (DD) from his or her bank that could be cashed upon arrival.

Evidence, however, has shown that many Indian students do actually not use this money for their needs but send it back to India as soon as possible in order to save interest on their loans. Hard-pressed for funds, they then end up in a tight corner, having to look for part-time jobs (which are difficult to come by without German language skills) and neglecting their studies.

To remedy this situation, some German consulates in India are making it mandatory for all Indian students to open an account with a German bank at the time of applying for their visa. Required is a so-called “blocked account” which limits the amount of money that can be withdrawn in a certain period of time, thereby, making easy re-transfer of funds to India impossible. Before the student leaves India, the fixed sum of money for the first year has to be paid into the account.

This should not be considered a discriminatory practice. It has long been a standard requirement for students from many other Asian and African countries. There are also advantages for the student: Up till now, many of them had to wait for weeks until the German banks were finally able to cash their DDs. With a blocked account, there is usually immediate access to the money – in a limited amount, though.

Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com