High School Germany: Questions?
If you have questions concerning the academic high school program in Germany, just contact us! Maybe we can answer some of your questions already here:
Contact
The GLS High School team is happy to advise and consult: german@gls-berlin.de. Learn more about the team. And here some info re statistics: where do exchange students come from? How long do they stay in Germany?
+49 30 780089 - 21
german@gls-berlin.de
How do I know if I need a visa or not?
As a EU citizen you do not need a visa for attendance of a German school (please note: important is EU citizenship - if you are living in the EU, but are a Non EU national, different visa regulationas may apply).
If you aren´t sure about your country, please check this list with the webadresses of all German embassies worldwide, so you can contact them directly and ask for instructions.
What if I need a visa?
If you need a visa, we will establish a contact with a GLS partner in your home country who will support you in visa matters and guide you through the whole high school application.
What type of insurances will I need?
As an exchange student you are required to take out health, accident and liability insurance with GLS. Your host family will also receive a copy of the insurance brochure. The insurance booklet includes a claim form. Some doctors will ask for the claim form so that they can submit the bill to the insurance company themselves. Other doctors may require payment at the time of treatment. In such cases, you are responsible for payment and will be reimbursed later by the insurance company upon submission of the claim form and a copy of the paid bill.
What are the requirements I have to meet?
- Age: State schools - minimum age 14 years, maximum age 17 years at the time of arrival in Germany. Private and international schools - minimum age 11 and maximum age 18
- Language requirements: Ideally German at level B1 and good knowledge of English
- Academic requirements: ideally you are a good student, but even if your grades are mediocre, it is not a real obstactle. What you need is interest and enthusiasm
- Personality: All school types - Necessary maturity and independence to study successfully at a German school and to adapt to life as a member of a German family; Willingness and understanding that you must follow GLS’ rules and regulations while participating in the GLS program
What if I don´t speak German that well?
Then there are 2 options: Option 1 is to apply for an international school, where you need very good English, but German isn´t mandatory.
If you do NOT want an international school, but a German state or private school, you can do a German language course at the GLS German language school in Berlin beforehand. How long this preparatory course will last, whether 4, 6 or 8 weeks, depends on your level of German. Please note that an application for a high school program at a state school doesn´t make sense, if you don´t speak any German at all.
When can I start my high school program?
Any time of the year if you choose to stay for 1, 2, 3 or 4 months. If you'd like to stay for half a year or 11 months, you can start in either summer (AUG or SEP) or winter (JAN or FEB). As Germany is a federal republic with several states, start dates may vary slightly from state to state.
When should I apply?
Ideally 6 months before your planned arrival Germany. We need some time to collect all documents, find a host family for you and talk to school officials. You can apply online by filling in the enrollment form for a high school stay in Germany.
What happens after I sent the enrollment form?
After having sent your enrollment, you will receive a detailed application form that we ask you to fill in and return to us. In the detailed application form you will be asked
- to give some more information about yourself, your hobbies, your family
- to write a short essay on your motivation for wanting to attend a school in Germany
- to write a letter to your prospective host family, introducing yourself
- to provide a teacher´s comment on your level of German
- to send a transcript of grades
- to send a recommendation by your school
- to include a medical statement
We will then conduct an online interview with you to get to know you better. Once we have all your documents, we will send your parents a letter of acceptance and an invoice. After receiving a 20% deposit, we begin the placement process: we now have all the information we need to find a suitable school in Germany for you that matches your expectations and personal background.
When do I have to pay?
A deposit of 20% is due 10 days after receipt of invoice. Please note that we cannot start the placement process until we have received the deposit. Therefore, your start date may be delayed if the deposit is not paid on time. The balance is due 2 months before the start of the course. We will only send you the visa application documents once we have received the full amount.
How do you find a school for me?
Either by contacting schools where we already placed exchange students before or by follwing recommendations, that your prospective host family gives.
What´s the difference between state, private and international schools in Germany?
The most obvious difference between these 3 school types are prices: Private and international schools are several times as expensive as state schools, which doesn´t necessarily mean higher academic standards, but is due both to school fees and to extra services offered such as accommodation in a boarding house. (State schools are cheaper, because they don´t take fees, what you pay for are placement fees, GLS tutoring by a local coordinator and an expense allowance for your host family.)
A second difference are language requirements: Both at state and private schools you need to speak German on intermediate level at least (i.e. at least 3 years of German in school or Certificate of German as a Foreign Language (ZD)). At an international school, however, you do not need to speak German: Knowledge of German is desirable, but not obligatory - obligatory at an international school is very good English.
The third difference affects the duration of your high school program: At a state school can can stay for a maximum of 11 months; at a private or international school you can stay as long as you like.
And the fourth difference: At a private school you can do "Abitur", and at an international school the "International Baccalaureate" which is accepted by universities worldwide. Prerequisite: a stay of minimum 2 or 3 years, as both "Abitur" and "International Baccalaureate" don´t mean just a final exam session, but include all credits you collected during the two years prior to final exams. ( Please note: you can NOT do "Abitur" or "International Baccalaureate" at a state school, bcause at state schools you are not allowed to stay longer than 11 months, i.e. not long enough to qualify for "Abitur").
Can I do Abitur? Or the International Baccalaureate?
Abitur: If you attend a private school: yes - at a state school: no. The reason is this: The "Abitur" isn´t just a final exam session, but includes all credits you collected during the two years prior to final exams. Which means, that you need at least 2 years at a German high school in order to do "Abitur". And this - an attendance of minimum two years - is possible at private schools only: As they take fees, they will accommodate you as long as you pay. State schools, however, insist on a maximum duration of 11 months, which cannot be extended. To sum it up: If you want to do the "Abitur", you have to spend at least 2 years at a private school.
International Baccalaureate: The IB is absolutely equivalent to "Abitur", recognized as university entrance diploma both in Germany and abroad. An International Baccalaureate you can do only at an international school. And to do the IB, you have to attend an international school for at least 2 years.
Will I get a certificate issued by my school in Germany?
Whether you stay for just 3 months or a full academic year - your German school will issue a certificate, that will document how long you attended that school and in what class. It usually also includes a comment on your academic performance. This certificate certainly will be of great help later on, when you start looking for a job: Potential employers will see, that you showed initiative by going abroad and stood the test of having lived in a foreign environment for some time. Plus, of course, having a German school certificate will imply, that you speak German quite well and are familiar with German culture.
Can I go to university in Germany straight after leaving school?
Yes, if you are an EU citizen and have passed your Abitur / International Baccalaureate with good grades.
If you have passed your A-levels but need a visa, you may need to return to your home country to obtain the type of visa required for university studies, which can only be obtained with a letter of acceptance from a German university.
How do you find a host family for me?
GLS does high school programs both way - receiving foreign students in Germany and sending German students abroad. Quite often German families whose son or daughter is on a GLS high school program in Brazil for example, or in Australia, decide to take in a foreign student while their kids are abroad. A second source are friends and aquaintances of GLS staff at the Berlin office as well as at other GLS offices all over Germany.
What are they like?
There is no typical host family. Your hosts could be a single mother or a whole family, a professor or a factory worker. What matters is their interest in cultural exchange and their willingness to integrate you into their daily life. All host families are carefully selected, checked and fully briefed on their responsibilities.
Your host family provides full board - breakfast, dinner and packed lunch Monday to Friday; breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday. We ask the host family to cook as they would for themselves. You will have access to the usual facilities such as shower/bath, laundry (normal family laundry), use of telephone (on a pay-as-you-use basis), access to communal living areas, etc.
Can my parents visit me in Germany?
If they wish to do so, we strongly recommend that they visit you after you have completed your High School programme. Experience has shown that it's not a good idea for them to come while you are still integrating into your German host family. You'll often feel torn between your obligations to your "old" family and your "new" family, and your German host family may also feel a bit uncomfortable.
Why GLS?
If you want to go to school in Germany and are looking for the best exchange programme, three things are important: experience, intercultural competence and expertise.
GLS meets these requirements and is therefore a good choice. GLS was founded in 1983 by Berlin entrepreneur Barbara Jaeschke, who was an exchange student herself and describes it as perhaps the most important and formative experience of her career.
GLS is an international exchange organisation based in Berlin. For more than 40 years, GLS has been placing exchange students from Germany in schools in Asia, Africa, America, Australia and Europe. Conversely, GLS also welcomes around 200 international students to Germany each year. GLS is a long-standing member of the Deutscher Fachverband High School (DFH).
