Do you need a consultant for admission to German universities?
Here we come to one of the most curious questions. All students who want to continue their education abroad feel the need to ask this question somewhere in the process. Especially for those who do not use a counselor or do not plan to use a counselor, if you cannot get an acceptance (I hope it will be the opposite) and when you hear about the people who worked with a counselor and got an acceptance, if you will say “I regret not working with a counselor”, find a counselor suitable for your budget.
Don’t misunderstand, the sentence is a bit long and complicated. I did not mean to say that those who work with a counselor get acceptance. I am trying to say that if you will regret it in the future, make your plan from the beginning. However, remember that no counselor can provide you with an acceptance you do not deserve. In other words, if you make your application in accordance with the rules, in a planned and timely manner, you do not need to work with a counselor to get acceptance from the places you deserve.
The most important motivation of those who prefer to work with a consultant is to increase their chances of acceptance. (Wrong in my opinion – you create your own chances) In our case, both not making a fundamental mistake in the application process and time constraints in following the process were the motivation. This is where the real counseling comes in. In a way, they offer their experience. However, I have to remind you that these things take a long time.
I was able to carry out this process successfully thanks to the advantage of being in an analytical profession and my ongoing passion for research. I can say that I worked hard on the admission criteria of German universities. I have mentioned in previous articles that many universities are very secretive about this. Analytical thinking comes to the fore here. The research and our practical experiences gave me some ideas about the factors that schools value for admission. While medicine is our focus, I would say that the main issue in Germany is popularity and competition.
Consultant will guide you
Unfortunately, the extent to which schools are popular with foreign students is not available in open sources. The school selection criteria of German students are not the same as the school selection criteria of foreign students. Of course, there are overlaps, but I have seen that some schools are more popular with foreigners and some schools are less preferred for some other reasons. I am not saying this based on Turkey. I reached this information by following many foreign forums (Russian, Chinese, Indian, Arab forums). Generally, the people you will compete for admission in German universities will be from these countries. Therefore, in order to increase your chances, you need to estimate which schools are preferred and how many applications they receive. There is nothing stopping you from applying to all of them, but you have to invest a lot of time and money.
Consultant saves you time
Working with a counselor will not save you much money here, but it will certainly save you time. However, focusing on schools and programs that seem to have a better chance of acceptance can also be useful in terms of tracking the process and application fees. You have the chance to find many alternatives in terms of counselors. When choosing a counselor, be skeptical of those who only charge low fees. The application process is long, tedious and requires hard work. Instead of working with a cheap consultant, I recommend that you follow the applications yourself. Because cheap consultants who follow the applications of many people will not be able to show more importance than you will show to your own application.
When do you not need a consultant?
If you like research, have the time, are fluent in German and/or English, or do not have the budget for a consultant, I can recommend you to apply and follow up on your own. However, please do not underestimate that I have acquired this knowledge over years and years.
The application stages vary depending on the school. First of all, you will need to identify the schools and programs you want to apply to and think that your chances of acceptance are higher. You should also research alternative programs that you have not considered before, but may be close to your ideals. The most important determining factor is the admission criteria of the schools and programs and your compliance with these criteria.
Once you have created your list, I recommend that you carefully review the application pages for each school and program, and especially examine the university’s regulations on application. Prerequisites such as application form, application date range, pre-application VPD, etc. stand out as issues that need to be followed carefully. Issues such as Uni-Assist application, DoSV are also important. For some applications, translations or certified copies of documents may be required.
Visa documents, appointments, postal deadlines and in some cases interviews can be meticulously planned so that you don’t get stuck at the last minute. Correspondence with schools (in English or German), health insurance, dormitory applications (you don’t need to wait for admission to Studentenwerk dormitories), WG or rental searches should be carried out in parallel. Transferring blocked accounts and semester fees is a simple process, but not very difficult, except that a lot of work has to be done at the same time. If you don’t need someone to do all this for you, you don’t need an advisor.
Just keep in mind that in non-DoSV programs at German universities, admissions may continue for several rounds (there may be continuous openings), so close follow-up is necessary. In some cases, they can offer you the acceptance with the condition that you approve it within 24 hours, so I say strict follow-up. Although Germans are known to be regular, mistakes do not happen in some cases. There are so many incidents that happened to us that it would take too long to tell.
If you need more information on this subject, you can reach me at recep[at]recepdayi.com.tr mail address and social media accounts.
