Many German universities practice aptitude tests for studies
In December 2017, the German Constitutional Court made a decision that many consider landmark: the criteria for selecting students for medical faculties at German universities must be changed, as the existing system does not fully meet the requirements of the Basic Law and often leads to applicants having to wait for a place at university for several years. According to the court's decision, at least one more criterion must be developed—for example, an interview.
"This decision will lead to an even greater spread of tests at German universities. The main aspects here are standardization and structuring of student selection methods," believes Alexander Zimmerhofer from ITB Consulting GmbH, a company that develops entrance tests.
In fact, German universities have been using tests for decades, collectively known as Studierfähigkeitstest. For example, Leuphana University of Lüneburg was one of the first to introduce a special test for applicants. The argument is the same as for medical faculties: the average grade in the diploma often does not allow an objective assessment of all the student's abilities. Therefore, since 2007, those wishing to enroll at this university have the opportunity to increase their chances by successfully passing a test or a personal interview.
As the university itself notes, such differentiated selection is applied to all bachelor's programs. The university's goal is "not to evaluate the applicant solely based on their diploma, but to consider their personal qualities, social engagement, and cognitive abilities." As students write in blogs, if at other universities you just have to wait for a response after submitting documents, in Lüneburg the applicant has a real chance to further distinguish themselves.
A number of universities use specialized tests for selecting students for faculties of economics and social sciences. And for medical faculties, tests may become the norm.
Since 2005, universities in Germany have had the right to set their own selection rules for 60 percent of study places. About 20,000 students and applicants annually take tests to check their readiness for studies.
"For many years, about 50 German universities have been conducting such specialized tests as TMS," says Alexander Zimmerhofer. The TMS test was specially developed in 1970 for medical students. Medical faculties have long considered the need to introduce an additional test to check the applicant's readiness. Today, 23 universities already use this standardized approach to selection. That is about two-thirds of medical faculties in Germany, emphasizes Alexander Zimmerhofer.
As noted by the developer company ITB Consulting, the TMS test allows selecting capable students regardless of their diploma. For example, at the medical faculty of Heidelberg University, it was introduced in 2009. Almost a decade later, the university sums up the first results: the academic performance of students enrolled based on the TMS selection method is the same or not worse than that of students admitted with the highest grade ("1.0" in the German grading system) in their German diploma, and much better than that of students who enrolled after several years of waiting for a study place.
Another positive effect noted by the TMS coordination service at Heidelberg University: thanks to such selection, the number of students who extended their study periods or dropped out of the medical faculty decreased. "Students who had to wait for a study place show on average worse academic performance. And the performance factor, which is also checked by the TMS test, is important for a quick and successful completion of higher education. Moreover, after a long pause, it is more difficult to get into the swing of studying and show good results," believes the ITB Consulting employee.
The test for medical students, according to those who had to take it, is a challenge not for the faint-hearted. And you can only take it once in a lifetime. If school graduates from Germany or other European countries can gain clear advantages from the test, for applicants from Russia, Ukraine, and other non-EU countries, there is no benefit from taking this test. However, applicants with a German high school diploma, as well as citizenship of an EU country or kinship with persons having such citizenship, have all doors open and can participate in selection using the specialized test.
For international students at German universities, a separate quota applies and a separate grade-based competition is held. To increase their chances, they can take the TestAS – Test für ausländische Studierende – an international exam also developed by German specialists from ITB Consulting GmbH.