The free education concept is available only in the parts of Europe and nowhere else around the world. Even though there are scholarships available across the world in different universities, they are limited and very less in number. Only in this part of the world, the institutions offer Free Education not to a limited number of students but to the complete strength of the institution. Free Education is mainly available in Germany, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Finland, etc. The complete Tuition fees is waived off and the students have to pay only admission and examination fees which are very nominal.
In this article we are going to discuss about the most important things to get an admission for a free education:
1. Knowing the Admission Criteria
2. Applying early ( Much before the deadlines)
3. Application Process
University Types
There are 3 types of Public Universities. They are HS( Hochschule ) ( University ), FH Fachschule ( Applied Sciences ), TU ( Technical University ). This is organized by the government. Few Universities are Private. Mostly Public Universities are charging very less or none tuition fee, when compare to private Universities. Public Universities are traditional universities, which are very old and started many centuries ago. There are topmost universities in Europe which offers vast courses.
Public universities are highly competitive for admission. There are So many Universities in Entire Europe, but out of them only a few Universities teach in English Language Completely. They are called International Courses. Europe is considered as best place for R & D. 2.5% of GDP spent in R & D. There are 30-40 seats available in each University per Intake. 50% seats are meant for EU Students. Remaining 50% are meant for International students. This is the reason behind toughest competition.
There are 4 semesters for masters program in general. Thesis and Internship are included in these 4 semesters. Student has to prepare thesis in order to get the master’s course completion certificate. It is mandatory.
Knowing the Admission Criteria
Minimum 16 Years of education is required for free education. The student should have very good academics to apply top universities. Student should submit all the documents like School Leaving Certificate, Board of Intermediate, University Transcripts, Provisional, CMM, Original Degree (If available), Letter of Recommendation, Tofel (90) / Ielts (6.5), GRE (Not Mandatory), Letter of Motivation, Curriculum Vitae, Prof of German language skills (Not mandatory), 3 Months prior to the deadline.
Depending upon the institution, the admission criteria change. The public universities have a higher entry criteria and the Technical universities may admit students with a lesser percentage than the public universities. But in general the entry criteria is on the higher side. Most of the institutions would require over 70% academics for an entry. There are a few institutions which will consider lesser academics as well.
Applying Early
There are no standard deadlines. Top universities deadline finishes before a year of the Intake. Every month deadline gets closed for few other Universities for 2013 March / April intake few deadlines are already closed and most of them will close in the month of November. For 2013 September / October intake few deadlines are closed for top Universities, and most of the other university deadlines close in the month of January. Technical Stream and Sciences stream courses need to be applied before a year to have more possibility of the admission.
The key to get admission is to apply much before the deadlines as the universities receive the applications from all around the world. Where many students do the mistake is that they apply just before the deadlines and most of the applications come in at this time itself and many students lose their chance of getting admission. If the students apply for admissions much before the deadline dates, the students with lesser profile also tend to get admissions because of the few applications the universities receive during that period.
Its advisable that the students apply before December for the September/October intake to have very high chances of getting the admissions.
Application Process
Admission Process will take minimum 3-4 months time and sometimes more. Intakes will be March / April and September / October. The biggest challenge that the students would go through is with the application process. The International admissions department is not as friendly as the other western country Universities and the Universities websites are not user friendly either. Most of the websites have the local language and not in English. The admissions staff also don’t speak good English or they speak in their local language. So, its important that the student applies through an expert.