Studienkolleg: How to Apply

If you are interested to study in Germany and you know exactly that you have to apply for an one-year preparation course of Studienkolleg, you got to start applying as soon as the application date starts. Here are the ‘step-by-step’ to prepare your application of studienkolleg in Germany.

1. Decide what course you need to take in Studienkolleg, that correlates to your major later in the University

Here are the most well-known courses you can take in Studienkolleg :

M-Course prepares students for university studies in the fields of medicine, biology and pharmacy. Typical subjects : German,Biology,Chemistry, Physics T-Course prepares students who are interested in technical fields (such as engineering or IT/computer sciences), natural sciences or mathematics.

Typical subjects : German, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Informatics

W-Course is for those who intend to study bachelor in economics, business administration or social studies.

Typical subjects :German, Mathematics, Economics, English, Informatics

G-course: for humanity degrees or German studies

Typical subjects : German, German literature, Social science, history

S-course: for language degrees

Typical subjects : German, English

Choosing a course might seem obvious If you know exactly what is it that you want to major in later in university. However, some majors in Universities may require a specific course. For example: For Psychology major you might need to take M-Kurs or G-Kurs, but for Business psychology/ Wirtschaftspsychologie you should take the W-Kurs. Another example would be Business Engineering/Wirtschaftsingenieurswesen, because while some universities will require T-Kurs, other universities accept students from W-Kurs as well.

This fact varies from university to university. If you already knew exactly in which university you want to study later on, you should ask them directly. Otherwise take the ‘general’ course that people took usually regarding the major you want to take.

2. Submit your application for a Studienkolleg

Every Studienkolleg have different ways of application. Some of them might ask you apply directly to the Studienkolleg, while the other require you to apply for a major in an university to get an admission in studienkolleg. Apart from that, are some methods for studienkolleg application :

– Via Uni-Assist

Uni-Assist is a third-party institution that is assigned by some University in German to manage all your documents, check and verify them, and they will send the documents to the univerisities. This way, you do not have to apply directly to the university/studienkolleg.

– Via University portal and send documents by post

Some university / studienkolleg require you to apply directly through their online portal and send the physical documents to them by post. In my experience, this way is much easier to be done since you can contact the studienkolleg directly to ask questions regarding your application process. You can send an E-mail or call them if you are in Germany.

3. Wait for the invitation for the admission test

The invitation is called Zulassung, which you will need to apply a student visa in your home country. The application process take some time around 6 to 8 weeks. So please be aware of the application deadline and plan wisely!

4. Prepare yourself for the exam

The invitation gives you access to take the admission test / Aufnahmeprüfung. Usually they will test your German & mathematics competency. But in some universities, such as HTWG Studienkolleg Konstanz, they also take an additionial test about a specific subject like economics for W-Kurs and physics for T-Kurs. You can easily find the tests from the previous years provided by the school in their website. You can exercise with them and prepare yourself with the type of questions that might come out in the actual test.

5. Once you passed the exam, you can start your one-year journey in Studienkolleg!

Additiional step :

6. If you don’t get admitted, check at the Studienkolleg if you have any chance to get a place/extra course

From experience, I can tell you that that is a small chance you can still get a place in Studienkolleg even if you do not pass the test. In this case, you will need to actively contact the studienkolleg and ask them from possibilities to get a chance. One scenario ; there were less people who pass the exam than the actual quota. In this case, you could probably take an extra interview to get admitted.