I’ve just finished my Junior year of high school here in the US, and I’m seriously considering getting an engineering degree in Germany. My German is pretty solid, since I lived and went to school there for nearly 5 years (through 1st Gymnasium), I’d also be looking forward to the additional year of intensive German training offered by most colleges there.
I’m wondering if I could qualify at all, regardless. Are the admissions standards/criteria there comparable to those here in the U.S. (SAT and GPA)?
I’ve completed math and physics through AP Calc AB and AP Physics 1 (with mostly A’s in freshman and sophomore STEM classes… and B’s and C’s in AP Calc & AP Physics. Total GPA (UW): 3.7. Total SAT: 1830. Math: 610.
Any respectable German engineering programs that might consider me, and be worth my consideration?
Admission to German universities is strictly formal. Your high school grades barely matter at all - German universities will want to see standardized test scores, preferably AP scores. In order to qualify for admission to any public university at all, you’d need scores of at least 3 on at least 4 AP exams:
Calculus AB or BC.
Biology or Chemistry or BOTH Physics C exams.
One language AP (English Literature, English Language and Composition, or any foreign language AP)
One other full-year AP corresponding to an academic subject that German students take in high school (e.g. AP American History, AP European History, AP Computer Science or both AP Micro- and Macroeconomics).
You have two alternative routes to entry. An SAT score of 1,300 points (math+verbal) would qualify you for admission, if you can convince that you are academically prepared for the major you want to study. (Calculus is a graduation requirement at German high schools and not taught in college!)
Alternatively, you may be offered a placement exam. The placement exam has three possible outcomes:
You are offered a spot unconditionally.
You are offered a spot one year later, conditional on passing your courses at the Studienkolleg.
You are not offered a spot.
You mean the Studienkolleg? That’s a gap-year program for foreign students who are not currently qualified to attend a German university.
Yes, I would intend to spend a gap year at Studienkolleg. My understanding is that the minimum requirements for that are 3.0 GPA & 1,150 SAT.
My reasons for attending Studienkolleg are to make sure that my German language skills are solid; and, that I’ve mastered calculus and physics to the expected level. (I do understand that German high schools have an extra (13th) grade, beyond the U.S. high schools’ final 12th grade—and hence calculus is not taught in colleges in Germany.) Frankly, I’d enjoy a solid review of calculus and physics, as I still don’t feel completely skilled to the level of mastery.)
So am I understanding correctly that, in addition to German language instruction, the one-year of Studienkolleg is meant to ensure that I’ve learned the fundamental math and physics skills required to pass the university placement exam to begin pursuing an engineering degree?
And finally, how difficult are the placement exams? If I give diligent effort to the Studienkolleg, can I be confident in my chances to pass the university placement exam?
You don’t take the placement exam after the Studienkolleg - you take it before. Depending on the results of the placement exam, you’ll either be offered a spot at a university or a spot at a Studienkolleg or rejected outright.
Like I said, you cannot apply to a Studienkolleg directly. You apply for admission to the university. The university will respond in one of 4 ways:
They will offer you admission.
They will offer you a place at a Studienkolleg, with a conditional offer of admission the year afterwards.
They will reject you.
They will ask you to take a placement exam to guide their decision between options 1-3 above.
Very very interesting. I have not looked up the standing of any of the German Universities, but I trust these schools are at least on par with those in US & some times better. Is it possible to study engineering at a German University - with English as the medium of instruction? Do US citizens pay less/more than their German counterparts?
At public universities, they should be paying about the same. (There might be some minor administrative fees for processing foreign application materials or things of that sort.)
To the best of my knowledge, there are no undergraduate engineering programs at public universities that are taught entirely in English. However, many undergraduate programs will teach a number of upper-level courses in English (done to accommodate visiting faculty, visiting students, and to help German students learn how to communicate about their subject in English). But you would absolutely need to be proficient in German to get a full undergraduate degree there.
On the other hand, there are a number of graduate programs that are taught entirely in English.