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Showing posts from April, 2017

Week 4 | Queries from applicants to German Universities | Studying in Germany

We have started the series of articles, in order to answer the queries from applicants to German universities and we have successfully marched into week 4 and here goes our answers to various questions from our readers. Before you read further, please note that although some questions may seem "silly" to you, but there are many others who do not know the answers. So, we have answered even the silliest questions in this post and if you already know answers for some of the questions, please skip and move onto the next. Q: I am a student from India and How can I fund my studies in Germany? A: There are plenty of options, some of them are EDU Loans from Nationalized banks or Private banks. There are so many scholarships provided by DAAD.  Related: Scholarships (Watch full video) Q: Can I work part-time during my studies? A: Yes, with the study visa everyone are entitled to work 120 full days per calendar year. Related: Part-time in Germany Q: Can I manag...

Studying in Germany | What to expect | How is it going to be?

This article speaks about "What to expect while studying in Germany" and "How is it going to be different from your studies in your home country?"  Basically, I am from India and please do not mind if sometimes I relate to Indian education system or studies in India. I will be comparing the education & studying aspect between Germany and India in this article.  Classmates: Till I went to the class in my University in Germany, I didn't realise that I will be studying along with students from various background, age group, nationalities, etc., I am studying Embedded systems and I have friends from ECE, EEE, EIE, Computer science backgrounds too; also I came to Germany as soon as completed my Bachelor's studies in India, but I have friends who completed their Bachelor's 5-6 years back and have worked in IT companies, Core companies, etc., I was really astonished with the diversity in the class and still everyone studied the same ...

Got 70% or below? How to strengthen your profile? | Advice from Seniors | Studying in Germany

At present, many aspirants who wants to pursue higher education are turning their focus towards Germany rather than U.S, mainly after the 2016 elections in U.S. What does this imply? The number of applicants to German universities are growing exponentially and which in turn makes the competition for the admissions tough.  Please note that, whatever advice/opinion presented in this article is solely the opinion of the author from his own experiences and observations. If the reader has a difference in opinion, the author of this article duely respects it This is a series of article - Advice from Seniors  in order to enlighten the aspirants to choose the best thing for their career.This article will focus on ' How to strengthen your profile, when you have 70% or less '.  If you are one of the aspirants with less than 70% (7.0 CGPA) or less, then by this time you would have heard from everyone that, you cannot get an admit or you need to strengthen y...

After the U.S elections, Is it still worth to apply for Germany? | Studying in Germany

There have been always a craze to study in U.S among the students who want to pursue their higher studies. But, in the recent times with the election in U.S, many are having second thoughts of studying in U.S and we cannot deny the fact that, the number of applications to German universities will skyrocket. To analyze this situation, lets assume Till 2016: The no. of students applying for U.S = 100 The no. of students applying for Germany = 50 Out of 100 students for U.S - 90 students used to get admit (Private + Public univs) Out of 50 students for Germany - 25 students used to get admit (Mostly public univs) After 2016 elections:  The no. of students applying for U.S = 80 The no. of students applying for Germany = 80 What does this imply?  Even though the number of applications grows exponentially, the number of seats remains the same. Hence the competition gets tough and in the coming years it will be tough to get an admission in Germany. Moreo...

Job prospects in Germany | Studying in Germany

Pursuing Masters in a new country, where there are so many new things like language, culture, work, etc., can be daunting to a lot of aspirants. Apart from all these things, there is one thing which most of the aspirants are worried about: JOB after Masters.  Why is everyone concerned about getting a job? During the VISA interview, the officer will ask, "Will you return back after you studies?" and almost all of them will say "YES", but deep in their hearts they know that they won't and would like to work for 5 years and then come back to settle down ( Yes, I know that I have told it out loud :P )   The reason why most of them are worried about getting a Job is that, after spending so much money on moving to a new country, struggling with the lanugage, climate, culture and then not getting a job in their desired field is heart-breaking. Moreover, the pay in Germany is comparatively good and there is no need to say about the work-culture, envir...

Got many admits? How to choose the best university? | Advice from Seniors | Studying in Germany

Hello! We have started this series of articles - Advice from Seniors, in order to enlighten the aspirants to choose the best thing for their career. The first article will focus on ' choosing the right university' and find the tips and advice from our side below: Please note that, whatever advice/opinion presented in this article is solely the opinion of the author from his own experiences and observations. If the reader has a difference in opinion, the author of this article duely respects it By the time you read this article, if you have got one or more admits in the German universities and are worried about choosing the best one for your career, then this article will be of great help for you. Let us see some scenarios and let me give you an reality check.  Scenario - 1 You got an admit in a Hochschule/FachHochschule( FH ) at a remote town in Germany and you choose to pursue that course, because of the subjects and job prospects for that field. You ne...

Week 3 | Queries from applicants to German Universities | Studying in Germany

We have started the series of articles, in order to answer the queries from applicants to German universities and we have successfully marched into week 3 and here goes our answers to various questions from our readers. Before you read further, please note that although some questions may seem "silly" to you, but there are many others who do not know the answers. So, we have answered even the silliest questions in this post and if you already know answers for some of the questions, please skip and move onto the next. Q: Is it possible to learn till B2 level in India along with Under-graduate studies? A:  Learning a language is completely upto the individual perspective. YES, it is possible and there are options to study till B2 level in India; but whether the particular student will be able to cope up along with his/her studies is completely dependent on him/her. Learning German is no easy task, it needs lot of determination, practice and interest towards the languag...

What is notarization & Which documents needs to be notarized? | Studying in Germany

Let's say you are applying to 5 or more German universities and all of those universities asks you to send in your degree certificates, scorecards, achievements, etc., But you have only one set of these certificates as ORIGINALS and you definitely cannot send the original to the universities, as they will not return those documents. So, what will you do in this situation? That is where "Notary" comes in place. Let's see what, why, and who can notarize the documents: What is Notary? Notarizing a document is a way of confirming that the information produced in the document (photocopy) is true and no changes have been made with respect to the "original" document. In simpler terms, it is nothing but attesting your photocopy by a Government official.  Why should you "notarize" your documents(photocopies)? You need to "notarize" the photocopies of all your documents, so that the University/course that you are applying for c...

Week 2 | Queries from applicants to German Universities | Studying in Germany

Last week we had published an article answering the questions from our followers, regarding applications to German Universities. Since then, we have got a lot of requests/queries from many more followers. Here is our #week2 of Queries from applicants to German Universities.  Before you read further, please note that although some questions may seem "silly" to you, but there are many others who do not know the answers. So, we have answered even the silliest questions in this post and if you already know answers for some of the questions, please skip and move onto the next.  Do not forget to follow our channels Google+  | Facebook  | Subscribe(top of this page)   Q: What are the prospects for computational mechanics? Since many students finish their studies each year, are there jobs for this sector? A:  One thing that we would like to say is that, let it be any sector; if there aren't any jobs or prospects then the course will not be availa...

How to apply for German Student VISA from India? | Tutorial |Step by Step

If you are one of the many students, who got an admit into your dream course in Germany. Then you will be worried about applying for blocked account, loans and VISA procedures. In this article, we would like to give you an tutorial on how to apply for German Student VISA as an Indian national. Video:

VAJRA | Your contribution to India | Indian Govt. pays $15000 per month

VAJRA - V isiting  A dvanced  J oint  R esearch Faculty scheme There are many Indian nationals across the world, working in many leading research facilities and institutes helping them with the state-of-the-art technologies. Most of them have a desire to return back to India or at least contribute their knowledge for the development of India. If you are one such person, then here is a opportunity for you - VAJRA Image source: VAJRA website What is VAJRA? VAJRA is a program dedicated exclusively for scientists and academicians who are staying overseas and termed as Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or Person of Indian Origin (PIO).  What can you do? You will work in Indian institution for 1-3 months per year You can do teaching or mentoring during your period of stay in India The offer can be extended/renewed every year What will you get? $15000  during first month and then $10000  for other two months.  No extra support will ...

English course VS German course | Studying in Germany

If you are planning to study in Germany, then you need to know that there are three types of courses available: German course, English course & Combined course(English + German). These categories are mainly for those who wants to pursue Masters in Germany. Let us see the pros and cons of studying in each of these courses. German course: Admission requirements - Minimum B2/C1 Some courses need the applicants to clear TestDAF exams.  You need to well-versed in German language, so that you can understand the scientific terms in your subjects.  All your exams, practicals, discussions will be held in German. If in case, you have a Oral exam(Mundliche Prüfung) then you need to able to understand what the examiner asks and need to answer them properly - which is difficult if you do not have enough proficiency in the language You cannot ask for exemption, just because you cannot speak the language. You will be competing with the native-German speakers. ...

Every Tamilian staying abroad!

Before you go on with this article, please do take it easy and this article is only based on the experiences of the author and not in any way to hurt the feelings of anyone. We request you to take it on a lighter note!  Now SHARE this article and TAG your friends!

Queries from applicants to German universities | Do you also have a question?

Warm welcome from Unofficial: Studying in Germany team. Since last month, we are getting a lot of enquiries with respect to admissions or applications to German universities. From this post, we have planned to document those enquiries along with our answers which will help lot of other students also. All these are for FREE and we do not cost you for answering the questions. Depending on the number of enquiries, these kind of posts will be posted once or twice a week. To get the latest posts, we request you to "SUBSCRIBE" to our portal  using the subscribe button on the top of this page. Also do not forget to LIKE our facebook page - Unofficial: Studying in Germany Here goes the Q&A that we have got till now:  Q: How much application fees per university? A: It depends on the University. Some universities have their own portal and ask the applicants to submit the application directly. Some universities ask the applicants to use "Uni-Assist" portal for...

A shout out to all the bloggers and writers

From: "Unofficial: Studying in Germany" team To: Bloggers and Content writers Subject: Invite for cross-blogging or guest blogging.  A warm welcome from Unofficial: Studying in Germany team. We are a group of Indian students studying in Germany, working together to make this platform a useful and informative one for all those studying, living and aspiring to come to Germany. We aren't consultancy or advisories and we don't make money out of it, but we are here to portray the reality of studying/living in Germany and help those in need, to get a picture of how it will be. We have almost 20,000 visitors per month in our website and further more in our Facebook page. We are very much interested to give more UNIQUE and diverse content to our readers and hence we would like to invite you to write a GUEST BLOG or CROSS BLOG. We would like to hear your good/bad/sad/happy incidents you've faced in Germany. It doesn't matter, whether you are a...

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Worst case scenario | Your first travel to Germany | What will you do?

My last article was about the Best case scenario of what could happen, when you land in Germany. If you had missed it then, here is a link ( Best case scenario ).Let me simulate the worst case scenario of what could happen and it is just a word of caution to prepare yourself for the worst. Disclaimer: Nothing of this sort will happen to you, but the below scenario is an excerpt from my observations and experiences Worst case scenario: Assumptions: Your semester intake: Winter | Your destination city in Germany : Dresden | Your landing airport: Frankfurt | You have got Rail&Fly offer along with your flight ticket | Your student buddy has agreed to pick you up from the railway station. You started to apply for the winter intake only in the month of March, hence most of the top courses are already way past their deadline. So you settle for some mediocre course and start with all the process of blocked account, VISA, etc., The D-day has come for you to leave to Germ...

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German VISA experience | Mumbai consulate | Guest post | Summer 2018

Name: Seles Abraham VI Date: 4th January 2018 Consulate: Mumbai Visa approval mail received on: 29th January 2018 University: SRH Heidelberg Course: Master’s in Applied Computer Science (SAP Module) EXPERIENCE Initial Step is to book an appointment through VFS (by call or by mail). No online booking provision is available for Mumbai Consulate. I got the visa interview date for 4th of January 2018 at 9 AM. I reached the Mumbai German consulate at 8:00 AM (Nariman Point). At around 8:15 AM the security guard asked all the applicants to stand in a line and proceed one by one from the main gate for security check. Once you enter the main gate, they ask you to carry only your files and documents and ask you to switch off your mobile. Then they ask you to keep your bag in a locker and a token is given (to be precise locker token). The guard then gave me a checklist page and asked me to arrange DD and two DD form with a photograph separately. And the two s...

SOP for German universities | What to do and what not to do? | Advice from seniors | GermanyUnofficial

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What is notarization & Which documents needs to be notarized? | Studying in Germany

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Types of student jobs (academic) in Germany | HiWi - Praktikant - Werk Student

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Study abroad - Whatsapp group | Studying in Germany

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The #1 rule to get an ADMIT in German Universities | Advice from Seniors | GermanyUnofficial

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9 steps to choose the right course at an International University in Germany

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