German one year Preparatory courses before medical school. Information?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Grizzle

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
14
Reaction score
3
I've been doing my research, and I've discovered that a lot German universities offer a preparatory year of education in the sciences etc, and after this is complete, you can apply to universities there.

This is for people who do not have a college degree or other education that is equivalent to the German Arbitur (their high school exam) etc.

To get accepted to one of these programs, you must demonstrate proficiency in German, and take a language test etc.

Then you can do the one year prep program. After this program, you are allowed to apply to German universities.

I have some questions about this:

Are these one year prep courses enough to prepare you for medical school?

Do you know anyone that has done this?

I know the chances of acceptance to a German medical school are difficult, but can someone realistically get accepted to a German medical school after completing this program?

Is this program difficult? How well must you really speak German before doing this? Do you think one year in this program would make someone's German good enough to where they'd be fully capable once entering German medical school?

How strong is the science education in these courses?


Does anyone know if this course is recognized anywhere else in Europe? Meaning, if I were to complete this course, but did not get accepted into German medical school, could I use this course to apply to other European medical schools, and it would be accepted or respected etc to qualify me for admission?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Are these one year prep courses enough to prepare you for medical school?

Do you know anyone that has done this?

I didn't go through Studienkolleg so I can't speak with authority. I acquired direct admission, but I find that the other international students who went through Studienkolleg have a better grasp of German than I do. But even then, they are also still struggling with medical school in German and I get roughly around the same grades as them. Maybe it's just me, but their spoken German is definitely much spontaneous than mine :B

So I can't say for sure if the extra non-medical year is worth it. I reckon it probably is, regarding German language. But if we're talking gaining some advantage with medical subjects, I doubt so. One of the primary reasons I skipped Studienkolleg was that I had to relearn stuff (bio, chem, phy) that I already learnt for A levels.

I know the chances of acceptance to a German medical school are difficult, but can someone realistically get accepted to a German medical school after completing this program?

Yes. Very realistic. At least in Frankfurt where I am. It's pretty hard to even get into Studienkolleg, but once you're in, so long as you don't mess it up and do pretty well in that prep year, you're on your way to medical school. I have a many many friends who went through Studienkolleg. The only way you can get rejected from med sch after spending a year in Studienkolleg is if you just shake your leg and do nothing.

Is this program difficult? How well must you really speak German before doing this? Do you think one year in this program would make someone's German good enough to where they'd be fully capable once entering German medical school?

I have a friend from Lithuania who had very basic German upon starting Studienkolleg. She just had Zertifikat Deutsch (about A2-B1 level). I guess this varies from university to university. She just finished one year in Studienkolleg and she seems able to function in German society too. But I figure that it is very rare for any international student to be particularly fluent in German after one year unless said student is adept at learning languages quickly.

I guess this is an important question for many prospective applicants, so I will elaborate further. The difficulty with doing medical school in a language you're not fluent in is that as with all medical schools, it is a competitive environment. Many students are used to doing well in high school by simply working hard. With a language disadvantage, you have to be really mentally prepared to be for once in your life average or even mediocre. My problem has always been that even if I knew the stuff, it was hard to explain in German without sounding... odd. If you're prepared for such difficulties, or you're some language whiz, then welcome to German medical school.

How strong is the science education in these courses?

Very strong, duh. It's medical school. If you can suck it up and tolerate doing medicine in a foreign language, you really wont have regrets about German medical schools. They're on par with US and UK medical schools.

Does anyone know if this course is recognized anywhere else in Europe? Meaning, if I were to complete this course, but did not get accepted into German medical school, could I use this course to apply to other European medical schools, and it would be accepted or respected etc to qualify me for admission?

I'm not sure about this. You MAY be able to apply to other German-speaking universities in other countries such as Switzerland and Austria. You can use Studienkolleg certification for German-language proof, I think.
 
Last edited:
Are these one year prep courses enough to prepare you for medical school?

Do you know anyone that has done this?

I didn't go through Studienkolleg so I can't speak with authority. I acquired direct admission, but I find that the other international students who went through Studienkolleg have a better grasp of German than I do. But even then, they are also still struggling with medical school in German and I get roughly around the same grades as them. Maybe it's just me, but their spoken German is definitely much spontaneous than mine :B

So I can't say for sure if the extra non-medical year is worth it. I reckon it probably is, regarding German language. But if we're talking gaining some advantage with medical subjects, I doubt so. One of the primary reasons I skipped Studienkolleg was that I had to relearn stuff (bio, chem, phy) that I already learnt for A levels.

I know the chances of acceptance to a German medical school are difficult, but can someone realistically get accepted to a German medical school after completing this program?

Yes. Very realistic. At least in Frankfurt where I am. It's pretty hard to even get into Studienkolleg, but once you're in, so long as you don't mess it up and do pretty well in that prep year, you're on your way to medical school. I have a many many friends who went through Studienkolleg. The only way you can get rejected from med sch after spending a year in Studienkolleg is if you just shake your leg and do nothing.

Is this program difficult? How well must you really speak German before doing this? Do you think one year in this program would make someone's German good enough to where they'd be fully capable once entering German medical school?

I have a friend from Lithuania who had very basic German upon starting Studienkolleg. She just had Zertifikat Deutsch (about A2-B1 level). I guess this varies from university to university. She just finished one year in Studienkolleg and she seems able to function in German society too. But I figure that it is very rare for any international student to be particularly fluent in German after one year unless said student is adept at learning languages quickly.

I guess this is an important question for many prospective applicants, so I will elaborate further. The difficulty with doing medical school in a language you're not fluent in is that as with all medical schools, it is a competitive environment. Many students are used to doing well in high school by simply working hard. With a language disadvantage, you have to be really mentally prepared to be for once in your life average or even mediocre. My problem has always been that even if I knew the stuff, it was hard to explain in German without sounding... odd. If you're prepared for such difficulties, or you're some language whiz, then welcome to German medical school.

How strong is the science education in these courses?

Very strong, duh. It's medical school. If you can suck it up and tolerate doing medicine in a foreign language, you really wont have regrets about German medical schools. They're on par with US and UK medical schools.

Does anyone know if this course is recognized anywhere else in Europe? Meaning, if I were to complete this course, but did not get accepted into German medical school, could I use this course to apply to other European medical schools, and it would be accepted or respected etc to qualify me for admission?

I'm not sure about this. You MAY be able to apply to other German-speaking universities in other countries such as Switzerland and Austria. You can use Studienkolleg certification for German-language proof, I think.
hello hi... i have finished my bachelors in physician assistant from india which is a four year course. now i would like to apply for medicine in germany. i wanna know if i have 2 appear for studienkolleg? wat i found on net is tat i can get direct admission to any of the university for any course in germany. n does all the medical schools in germany accept international students?
 
hello hi... i have finished my bachelors in physician assistant from india which is a four year course. now i would like to apply for medicine in germany. i wanna know if i have 2 appear for studienkolleg? wat i found on net is tat i can get direct admission to any of the university for any course in germany. n does all the medical schools in germany accept international students?

Definitely, the German universities accept students from across the world. In fact, every year students from across the globe visit Germany in order to enhance their potential in a particular field of academics. Studienkollge is not required to be done by you as this course is done by those students for whom it is mandatory to bridge the academic gap of 1 year which lies in between the 12 years of schooling in other counties and 13 years of schooling in Germany. For any further details, you can easily get in touch with a German education consultant. Open up about what you aspire to do career wise and you are sure to get the best of guidance ever. Good luck.
 
Top