Which Studienkolleg should I choose?

A great many applicants ask this question, yet it isn't quite the right one: you should choose a university. The Studienkolleg is only a stepping stone.

A Studienkolleg is something of a lottery

When you go to a Studienkolleg, you should understand that it is something of a lottery: these institutions are often a bit chaotic.

• Lecturers may change in the middle of the semester.
• The curriculum may feel extremely hard or extremely easy.
• The group may be very mixed in ability, and the lecturer may pitch the class at its weaker or its stronger part.
• Organisation can suffer badly: it happens that the whole group doesn't turn up for a class, or that everyone turns up and the lecturer doesn't.

Take this chaos calmly: you are not immune to it.

Similar curricula, different emphasis

Studienkollegs broadly follow the curriculum of years 10 to 13 of a German Gymnasium, but the topics each college emphasises (and that come up in the FSP) can differ. The exceptions are a few “constants” that appear always and everywhere, such as Kurvendiskussion (curve sketching) in maths, and even their difficulty depends on the federal state and on the mood of the professor or lecturer.

What to look at when choosing

What's my point? Some colleges are fairly consistent from semester to semester, but there is no guarantee that with your particular lecturers, in your particular semester, at your particular college, everything will go well. And since you plan to spend no more than a year at the Studienkolleg, and its certificate (Zeugnis) is recognised (with minor caveats) by all universities in Germany, focus on the surrounding factors rather than on the college itself:

• How much do you like the city, and is there anything else in its favour?
• Is housing sorted, and how easy is it to sort out in that city?
• Have you passed the entrance exam, or how well prepared are you, and how sure that you can pass it at the college you have chosen?

Once again: go by the surrounding factors, because the college is only an intermediate stage that you'd ideally get through without unnecessary trouble and in surroundings you enjoy.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

Expect that things at the college may get chaotic. Then everyday matters (how much you like the city, how well you have settled in) can matter far more for your peace of mind and mood.

The choice of university, on the other hand, deserves serious thought, starting from the university itself and from the question “what do I actually want?”.

I hope this helps you rethink the choice ahead of you.

Read also: Studienkolleg sample exams: what they show and what they don't · All tips for applicants