Guide: Applying to Germany (Ver. 1.0)
Target Audience:
This is a guide mainly for biology students who wish to apply to Germany for their Masters / PhD.
Why Germany ?
Cheap, Quicker to get your degrees, many options for PhD placements later, No GRE and often No TOEFL required!
1) Searching
Best place to start your search is to visit daad.org. They have a list of courses with complete details with regards to Language of the course, Fees, Duration and even cultural aspects of the cities.
2) Getting in Touch with program coordinators..
It is important to get in touch with the program coordinators as many of the course websites may not give clear instructions on how to apply or which additional documents you may be required to submit as an International student.
Example of questions:
a) Can I submit my GRE scores after the application deadline? If Yes, How long before I need to submit them?
b) The Transcripts will contain my academic information, however are my school / higher secondary school marks also required ? or will by First and Second year of undergraduate course marks suffice ?
c) Should my Co-curricular / Non-academic certificates (Competitions, seminars, sports etc) be submitted along with the application ?
d) Do u have any additional entrance exam(s) for candidates who have applied to the course? (language exam, course related (like subject GRE exams) etc..)
e) When do I have to submit my TOEFL score, can be submitted after the application deadline, is it necessary if my education (15 years) has been conducted in english ? I can provide a letter from our university as proof that the education was conducted in the english language.
f) Will the course be completely in English? (ie. The exams, the lectures, the practicals, the master thesis etc.) ?
3) Competition:
Programs generally accept around 50% international and 50% local students.
Programs which have a PhD component integrated (ie: courses which offer a PhD position directly after your masters) are generally sought after by many students and hence competition is high for such courses.
4) Requirements:
The basic requirements are:
a) Graduate in Biology and/or related fields
b) Curriculum Vitae
c) Letter of Motivation / Statement of Purpose
d) Good Recommendations
e) As a thumb rule, ) Getting above 70% in the final TYBSc exam is a good safety margin as per guidelines by the DAAD, getting below 70% may result in the university revoking your admission. (2009)
f) Other specific requirements maybe TOEFL, GRE etc.
5) Sending applications
As a thumb rule, send applications atleast 2 to 4 weeks before the application deadline, this gives you enough time in case you need to send more documents. Some universities give preference of selection to candidates who have applied early in case of a tie.
Note: In Germany, no one works on the weekends so your application will not be received/processed by the university on the weekend.
6) Costs:
The cost of sending applications varies, but during year 2009, DHL had a special student offer of sending applications to universities in US and Europe for Rs.900. It may be wise to ask the courier companies if they have a similar discount for students.
7) Food & Staying
The cost of staying/living varies from one city to another. The university estimates for the cost of living are accurate and must be taken as a baseline starting point for expenses.
Eating Out and options easier than cooking…!
Ok, This is difficult to generalise but Living in Germany as a pure vegetarian can be difficult if your university happens to be in a small town, although in big cities (munich, Frankfurt) you will find plenty of options for vegetarian food.
Bear in mind you will not get a lot of variety (ala India) for vegetarian food in Germany. Meat is their staple food.
Bottomline, If you love to eat non-vegetarian food you will be happy in Germany.
PS: I will try my best to update this guide for time to time. Questions are welcome.
Iron Maiden
An iron maiden is a torture device, consisting of an iron cabinet, with a hinged front, sufficiently tall to enclose a human being. It usually has a small closeable opening so that the torturer can interrogate the victim and torture or kill a person by piercing the body with sharp objects (such as knives, spikes or nails), while he or she is forced to remain standing.
Torture Museum, Amsterdam
Post EEG Session….
This is how one looks after an EEG session with 64 electrodes attached to your head….thankfully you can take a shower after the session in the lab 
Post EEG Session with 64 Electrodes
Students protest semester fee…
Students protest in University of Regensburg against the 500 Euro per semester fee 
More People joined in later
Being an auslander and knowing how much education costs in equivalent countries like the US and UK, I am not sure if I completely agree if the protest is valid but I have been told that this protest is not just about the fee but also about the reduction in funding for the universities.
But for all you who are taking part, Best of luck
PS: If you want to know more…head over to The Local for a nation wide report on the protest.
My workplace :-)
The Siemens Allegra 3 Tesla Scanner (Click the pics to magnify)
The light at the end of tunnel is…….just a projector 
Deus Ex : Human Revolution
In light of Craig Venter’s annoucement of creating the first synthetic life, perhaps a little of fiction related to biology would help, posted below are few trailers of Deus Ex 3 aka Deus Ex Human revolution
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and the old one,
“Who we are is but a stepping stone to what we can become…”
Scientists create Synthetic Life , It is indeed a fantastic achievement for not just science but perhaps for humanity. Although not as spectacular as landing on the moon but maybe the effect of this achievement will resonate for centuries to come.
