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.
Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com