Free resource for international students
Detailed guides for international applicants, including India-specific steps, free and with nothing gated. Written by someone who applied from India, studied in France, and now lives in Germany — and who links you to the official source wherever a rule can change.
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A few terms you will see: APS checks academic documents. A VPD is a preliminary review from uni-assist, an application-processing service. ECTS credits describe study workload; programmes may require credits in particular subjects. The guides explain when each matters.
Start with the question you need to answer now. The guides cover applications, moving and life during your studies.
What it costs, what it involves, and whether the whole idea holds together before you commit time to it.
The free Germany guide → Stage 2a · After 12thFor most Indian boards the route runs through Studienkolleg, a one-year bridge. Direct entry exists but is narrower than people expect, and from Winter Semester 2026/27 both routes need at least 70% in Class XII.
The Bachelors guide → Stage 2b · After a Bachelor'sA different process entirely: APS verification first, then uni-assist or direct application, and for some fields the new dMAT.
The Masters guide → Stage 3 · EligibilityCheck recognition, grades and subject requirements. The university decides whether your qualification fits its programme.
Check eligibility → Stage 4 · LanguageGoethe, TestDaF, DSH, telc, ÖSD — what each is for, and how many months each level typically takes.
Compare the exams → Stage 5 · ShortlistingA filterable starting list of 30, plus how to turn it into a shortlist you can actually apply to.
Browse the directory → Stage 6 · DocumentsFor qualifications issued in India: who needs APS, which procedure applies, and how it connects with uni-assist, VPD and the visa.
The APS guide → Stage 6b · The new testPart of APS for selected Master's applicants from the Summer 2027 intake. The list of affected fields is being updated.
Find out in two minutes → Stage 7 · MoneyProof of funds, semester contributions, insurance, deposits — and which of these are one-off and which recur.
The cost breakdown → Stage 8 · ApplyingWork backwards from the earliest binding date, not from the university deadline. That is where most plans break.
The application timeline → Stage 9 · Preparing to moveCheck your visa route, financing, accommodation and the documents you need before travelling.
Prepare for the move →Stage 10 · Life in GermanyFirst-week tasks, language learning, student work and preparation for life after graduation.
Use the life and work checklist →It cannot tell you whether your specific programme will accept your specific qualification — only that university can, on its own admissions page, and requirements change between intakes. Everything here is written to help you read those pages faster and know which questions to ask. Where a rule can change, we link the official body rather than restating a number that will go stale.
Studienkolleg, direct admission, eligibility for CBSE/ICSE/IB students, top universities and how to apply.
Read the guide →APS, VPD, ECTS, English vs German programmes, application timeline, and top universities by field. Includes the new dMAT requirement.
Read the guide →What funding covers, who can apply, published competition figures, other European routes and the costs left to you.
Read the funding guide →A1 to C1 in plain language, a first-month plan, free resources, and a progress check based on first-hand experience.
Read the learning guide →Goethe, TestDaF, DSH, telc, ÖSD — which one your university accepts and how to prepare.
Read the guide →Browse and filter German universities by city, field, language, and programme type.
Browse universities →When to start, when to apply, what to do each month of your application year.
See the timeline →Blocked account, hidden fees, part-time work, and the costs in rupees.
Read the breakdown →Practical live sessions — CV rewrites, an A2 mock exam, a realistic budget, and your application roadmap.
See the Labs →When I was applying to European universities from India, the information existed but it was scattered across forums, videos and blog posts written for different intakes and different countries, and I had no way to tell which pieces still applied to me. That is the actual problem: not a shortage of information, but no way to sequence it.
So these guides are arranged by decision rather than by topic, and wherever a rule can change — proof of funds, exam requirements, deadlines, visa conditions — I link the official body instead of restating a number. That way the page tells you what question to ask and where the real answer lives, and it stays useful even when I have not updated it for a few months.
It is free and it stays free. If you want someone working on your application personally, that is the support described on our Services page, and it is deliberately separate from this.
— Anushka Sharma
Official sources
Every guide on this site is a summary. These are the bodies that decide, and they are worth bookmarking.
If you want me to personally guide your application, request a profile evaluation first.