General information
Unlike many other countries, the German admissions process is decentralized, with a few exceptions. Unless you want to study medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry or pharmacy, you will directly send your application to universities individually. There are generally two scenarios when applying to a university course:
There are more applicants than available spaces. Spots are given according to your final IB/Abitur grade point average (often referred to Numerus Clausus (NC)) or according to course-specific criteria (dialogorientieres Verfahren/Studienorientierungsverfahren) which may include personal statements, interviews or admission exams. This has to be checked individually online for each course.
Course has no NC. You can directly enroll in a university course. Of course, certain documents (IB/Abitur, insurance, etc.) will still have to be send individually to your university of choice before the enrollment deadline, however there is no selection process.
Therefore, there are two main challenges in finding the right course for you in Germany:
Figuring out what options I have: Where can I go study? What is the best fit for me?
How do I manage the paperwork of German university admissions/enrollment?
Another very practical consideration is choosing the right courses to receive a bilingual IB Diploma that will also be recognized as an Abitur-equivalency (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung) in Germany. This is something to consider even before you start the IB! Talk to Ms. Kratina early about your plans to study in Germany, as she can provide you with specific information on the requirements of an bilingual IB Diploma and Abitur-equivalency.
What should I study? How do I find the right course?
Besides more common courses like law, medicine, business or mechanical engineering, the German university landscape offers a huge variety of courses. At first, you may not even know what ineresting opportunities exist, therefore we definitely want to encourage you to browse through the different guides for German higher education. We have listed a short selection of such guides:
https://www.hochschulkompass.de/home.html
At first be open about what you may find interesting. There may be courses you never even considered before! Also, make use of DIS Alumni! Ask them about courses and universities they can recommend in their field, they will usually have a pretty good idea.
As you browse through different kinds of courses that you may be interested in, we highly encourage you to not base your decision on university rankings, particularly in Germany. Generally, the quality of your education and future employment prospects are really not based on the ranking of your university, as expertise is not as centralised in Germany as in other countries. There are other factors that are much more important to consider which hardly show up in rankings. What kind of city do I want to live in? What is my financial budget? What non-university institutions and employers are located in a city (think internships, student jobs)? What cooperations does the university offer with organizations, businesses or other universities? What is the university particularly focused on (look at the non-university institutions to give you an idea)? How is the student life? Usually, you can find answers to these questions by browsing through a university's website and, most importantly, by talking to people. Even if an alumni may not be able to help you directly, they may know someone to help you. Also, any German city is only a few hours away by train. Therefore, we encourage you to visit universities that you are interested in (yet make sure you visit during the semester!). Oftentimes, universities also offer student-led services ("Schnupperstudium") to show you around, and give you specific insights about the advantages and disadvantages of a course and a city's student-life.
How do I manage the paperwork of German university admissions/enrollment?
Only for courses in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry and pharmacy students will have to apply using a centralized service. All of the information required to apply for these courses is provided online:
https://www.hochschulstart.de/
It is important to be informed early to also plan and prepare for possible admission tests like the TMS (Test für medizinische Studiengänge). Besides checking hochschulstart.de, it is also worthwhile to read the course website the university provides.
From my personal experience in applying for medicine, it is rather tedious to go through the entire admission process. There is a lot of paperwork to consider (also done by super slow snailmail), especially given the difficulties with the Abitur-equivalency. Therefore, it is essential for you to know when the deadlines are and to be proactive throughout the entire process as early as possible. This will make the process easy. If you have any questions, doubts or difficulties referring to Abitur-equivalency contact Ms. Kratina. If you have problems with hochschulstart.de, make use of their service hotline (check the service times and consider that they have limited capacities, so add a time buffer when calling). Generally, help is provided throughout the process, but you will have to proactively seek it out.
For other courses, the same rules apply. Be proactive about your application and seek out help if you need it. Almost all of the information will be provided online by each university individually. However, if you do not find all of the answers you seek about a course online, make use of service hotlines. Each university offers service hotlines for student admissions and enrollment (again, check the service times!). As there may be several hotlines, university-wide or course-specific, it is often useful to check both to avoid any mistakes (sometimes mistakes can occur when department and university administrations have to communicate).
Take-Home Message
This guide is only supposed to give you a very general overview, and as mentioned several times already, it is essential that you are now proactive when applying to university in Germany. Try to explore the incredible breadth of courses offered in Germany, as you unexpectedly may find something that really resonsates with you. If you have any questions, take the initiative and contact people who may be able to help you!
The text above was written by Florian Gabler (one of the alumni to contact). If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions regarding this article or university admissions in Germany (particulary medicine and STEM subjects) feel free to contact Florian!