Applying for Masters in Germany and Switzerland

[Pallavi92]

Hello!

I'm 21, studying a 4-year Bachelor of Engineering undergraduate course and will be graduating next year around this time. I plan to study further (Masters) and am only looking at universities in Europe, specifically Germany and Switzerland.

I have an idea about the admission requirements to universities in the USA because most of my classmates plan to apply to American universities only.

I chose Europe mostly because I believe the tuition fees, living and travelling expenses put together will cost me less than the USA. Also, I have read that there is a demand for electrical engineers in Europe. But above all, I love Europe! I love travelling and have always dreamed of exploring several countries there.

Now, I don't have anyone here to enlighten me regarding the admission procedures and requirements for universities in Europe.

I recently spoke to an admissions counselor here and she told me that admission to universities in Germany and Switzerland is extremely difficult and there is no job guarantee after completion of grad school because most companies only prefer students from their own country.

Here's more about me:

1. I will have written GRE and ToEFL by last week of August this year and wish to apply for the next academic year.

2. I plan to join Goethe Institut in my city and will have completed the A1 level German exam by December.

3. I don't have a very good CGPA going by the fast 5-semester scores. 6th semester results aren't out yet and I have 2 more semesters to go, but I'm not sure if the scores of 7th and 8th semesters will be out while I'm applying. As of now my average GPA is ~7.6 on a scale of 10, while the batch topper's average GPA is ~9.

4. I don't have a research paper to my credit yet and I'm working on a mini project, which will be completed before the mandatory final-semester project, the latter being part of the curriculum.

Here's what I want to know:

1. Requirements for admission to the TU9 universities and other universities of applied sciences in Germany and a couple of universities in Switzerland (think ETH Zurich and EPFL).

2. The quality of education and the language barrier. Being from India, should I worry about getting along with students in these countries? I'm aware a lot of courses are taught entirely in English, but my question is inclined towards the attitude of the German-speaking crowd towards newcomers.

3. The cost of studying and living in Germany and Switzerland.

4. Job guarantee after graduation. Is it true that most companies prefer EU applicants over foreigners? I plan to move to Europe on a permanent basis, so this is important.

5. Everything else I should know about studying and moving to these countries.

I have another major concern. I could not clear one paper in the 4th semester and am clearing it only now (6th semester). Meaning, I failed an exam which I reappeared for a year later. How much effect will this have on my chances of getting admission? While applying to universities in the USA, arrears or backlogs are overlooked provided other criteria like GRE and ToEFL scores, extra-curricular activities and project presentations stand out. Can I hope for the same from universities in Europe? The counselor, in India, whom I spoke to said that universities in Europe only look into the applicants academic performance and GRE and ToEFL hardly matter. It was rather heart-breaking and led me to reconsidering applying to universities in USA alone.

Sorry about the long wall of text but, well, I do have these many doubts! I'm not too sure if this is the right place but I did not come across any other of its kind either.

Is there anyone here who moved to Europe for Masters from India or is planning to?

Thank you for reading. If posting here was a mistake, I would like someone to let me know where I can raise these doubts!

As for those who'd suggest I check websites of individual universities I wish to apply to, I am mostly concerned if my background is even good enough for ANY university in Germany and Switzerland.

[Sharantana]

Hi,

 

I am a Spanish student who studied for one year in Austria. I know it is not Germany or Switzerland but there they also speak in German. I was not asked about GRE or TOEFL. They asked me about a kind of signed document from somebody who could tell if I am able to attend to classes in German/English languages and undertand. About the classes in German, I lived different situations. German is not an easy language, so they know. I had like a 30% of classes in English and the rest were in German.  Some of the professors let me write the tests in English, and some of them forced me to write in German (I passed them anyway, but I had a B1 German level). There are plenty of oral exams where they will not ask you to speak in German, so do not worry about that. Everybody speaks English in Center-Europe. About having failed any exam in your home university, do not worry. In Europe people fail exams, re-take them and pass, and just the passing mark counts. In some universities you have 6 opportunities or even more (in my home univeristy in Madrid which is one of the tops in Europe you "can fail as many times you want"). 

About your GPA, in Europe passing exams in general is not as easy as in American Universities. Somebody can have a 7.9/10 and he/she can be the best of the promotion. So, a GPA over 7 will be good enough. There are plenty of places in universities and there is not this kind of competition to get a place. 

 

About tuitions, for example in Austria you just pay 15€/20$ for each semester as students unions's fee and that is all. Some professors write their own class notes and offer them for free so normally you do not need to spend too much money in books. In Germany I guess you need to pay like 300€ euros per semester for university. That is really cheap too. Switzerland probably is way more expensive. I like to go there for winter vacations because my sister works there and normally a plain lunch costs like 30-40 franches (same as $) so I can say the cost of living is one of the most expensive of Europe. 

 

I would suggest you to apply to Technical Univerties in Germany like the one in Munich, which is the best of the country and is pretty well connected to BMW and other very important international technology companies. Also, I would recommend you my Austrian University, TUGraz, in a beautiful city close to Viena. It is very easy to travel from there and really cheap. Even renting cars is absurdly cheap. And the cost of living in such a student city is really really low (7€ an awesome lunch with huge beer).

 

About work in these countries, I must say there is plenty for engineers. The Center-Europe technology industry is in very good health and they do not have enough technology students so they look for internationals to fill all the positions they need.

 

I hope I helpt you, at leats a little. Sorry for my English, I am still trying to improve it.

[DeleteMePlease]

Hi,

 

I am an CS undergrad in Germany but maybe I can help a little.

* Youre right that most of the stuff is taught in English (especially on a Master level) but it depends from school to school (so check!). There are also programs that are completely in English called something like "International XY".
* TOEFL is sometimes required but I know of no institution that asks for the GRE. 
* Tuition is basically 0 - you have to pay some fees (around 100 euros ) a semester. In some states a little more but it is always < 600 Euros

* We have a lot of international students - i have never witnessed any form of racisim or discrimination towards them

* Admission requirements really depend on the institution but they are a lot less strict than in the US

* The cost of living should be more or less the same but maybe it is more for you because of the strong Euro

* Companies should have no problem with hiring you as there is the bluecard: http://www.apply.eu/BlueCard/

Edited January 21, 2014 by GermanStudent