₦airaland Forum

crowns2:
Many times I want to come here to say this but i don't know how people will react. From my experience in Germany I would say please don't get on that flight to Germany if you do not know how to speak or read German. In the past people just post and say: Learn the language without giving concrete and convincing reasons why. Let me explain like this:

Must've been a very bad experience for you... I am truly sorry, but I will partially disagree with you on some parts.

From the airport you need to get to where you will be staying. You go to information desk to ask how to get to your destination. The people you may meet there hardly understand your question. You get on the train, tram or bus the announcements at the station, digital screen for bus stops are in German. There was i time i was alone on the track because everyone left the place and i didn't know the trip had being cancelled and the announcement over the air was in German. Some Naija people I know have been left alone in trains because everyone disembarked and they didn't understand the announcement. The train hasn't come at the time it should, you need to ask people around is it still gonna come? Sorry no one understands what you are saying.

Thank God I got a map of my city and the Fahrplan the day I got here, so getting lost has been very minimal, and when I did have enquiries, all the helpdesks I went to had at least 1 English speaker! Besides, I have always asked someone beside me for the meaning of an announcement, and if they didn't understand me, I would simply ask the next. The young people are more likely to understand English than the elderly.

You need to unblock your account. The bankers don't understand you. They will help you scout for an English speaker. The poor English speaker tries his best to understand you. He is limited in explaining to you. He pauses many times to try to think how he will convey his message to you. He will say i erm erm..sorry I don't know the English word for it.

Unblocking my account was easy as telling the banker "I want to unblock my student account", maybe it's luck, but he understood perfectly.

Then comes your letters. 100% all written in German. This are important letters. With some times urgent information. Someone got a letter from the doctor to take some drugs and to go for a life saving procedure. Everything in the letter was in German. Google translator very limited. Ended up in Emmergency room. Doctors says in his poor and limited English why didn't you do what we wrote? Patient says NO I couldn't understand it. The nurse and hospital were supposed to explain but couldn't because they don't know how to pass the message to you. They can't speak English.

Well, again, maybe I was fortunate to make friends with my neighbours who help me with translations. However, my letters are not 100% Deutsch, more like 60-70%. And I agree with you that Google Translator is scheiße. I also agree with you concerning medicare. The doctors almost always have poor English. However, my only encounter with a doctor (well, dentist actually) was wonderful as the consultant, the receptionist and the interns all spoke good English. Again, maybe I was lucky.

You want to ask a passerby, please how do I get to so and so place? Do I turn left or am I to go right. People keep passing no understands you. Germans are unbelievably nice they always ALWAYS want to help or assist you. But you limit them because they don't understand what you are saying. Believe me the last place you should get lost is in Germany before you will find your way eh! God help you.
The emphasis has always being on learning the language to get Jobs. I am not talking about that. I am talking daily everyday life. At my Auslander office NO ONE speaks English to you. You must go with a translator or speak the Language. You know they are the key to your stay here.

When I called my Ausländer office to book an appointment for registration/extension, I simply said "Guten Tag. Entchuldigung, ich hätte gerne einen termin für anmeldung, aber mein Deutsch ist sehr schlecht. Sprechen Sie Englisch?" and he immediately switched to English and that was it. Again situations like these are what made me say it is city dependent.

You need to call some offices to get vital info or to make an appointment, the reciever cannot understand you. You then decide to visit the office, the receptionist doesnt understand you. They help you look for a colleague of theirs who could understand. Then you ask please can you speak English, the person says a little bit. Explanation begins, you get limited in explaining, the person gets limited in understanding because they cannot understand you fully.

This is spot on! I had a very very bitter experience with vodafone because of this!

When I first came here I used to shop, get to the cashier, they tell me the amount and I drop all the money in the wallet on the table . They select their own and give me the rest. Thank God they are honest. Sometimes I think ah! this must be food, you buy it and its NOT
The person next to you wants to discuss with you, and they are smiling at you to gist with you but you cant understand and sadly you tell them: Ich spreche kein Deutch Bitte.

Well, I always looked at the screen as the numbers are adding up then pay before I learned to count in German.

This is the little I can explain but please please and please again do not come here without learning the Language please. You may ask me why I didn't. 3 reasons: I was occupied with work but I should have taken a Leave to learn for atleast a month. secondly I never envisaged it was gonna be spoken by everyone everywhere here and all the time, every blessed day. Thirdly I have a compulsory course in my school for Deutsch Language from A1 to the end for a full year. Then I thought no need . I am learning but it takes time. You cant start speaking immediately. Many schools do ont have this offer. And then you have to pay for it. I tell you it is expensive. The 36k charged in Goethe is worth it.
And please don't come here to tell me its because of where you live because I have been in 3 of the 16 states of Germany and its the same experience.

Well, when I came here, I knew little more than "Guten Morgen, guten tag and guten abend", and it has been terrible at times, but not as terrible as you have painted it here. That being said, Deutschkurs in my school is free and part of the program. I still wish I had learned it before coming, and would advise anybody coming here to do so.
And you have been to 3 out of 16 states, not bad, but as long as you have not been to Kiel, then you can't speak for me! Heck, even the trains in Hamburg give announcements in German and English!

Okay sorry I am typing in a hurry. Lastly avoid with all your might Nigerian non students especially assylum seekers. They are like the devil to steal and to destroy

Hahahaha!!! Truth!

This is what you posted "they would never want to speak English to you despite the fact that English is their second language. The only means of communication here is German" which I disagree with. Yes, employers insist on German and yes, most (not all) posts come in German. Heck, du bist in Deutschland! Will you employ someone in Nigeria who doesn't speak English? I do not argue that German is not very important for economic reasons, what I disagree with is your assertion that people will socially refuse to speak English to you if they can, but like I said, it probably depends on the city... Endlich man brauchst Deutsch lernen. Es ist sehr wichtig.

victz:
It's not that people here do not understand English. There are things you will like to do here that language barer will prevent you from doing it. E.g student jobs, Employers here insist that you must be able to speak the language for you to be employed. The commands in the school computers are all programmed in German, All the letters that I have received so far from the School, Studieredewerk, Employers and Banks are all written in German language. For how long will one keep looking for someone who can help in translating it?

victz:
The book you are talking about I don't know if it is the same book that is sold here in Germany for 25Euros. The language book used here is different from the one they sell at Goethe Institute in Nigeria. Anyone coming to Germany who still have the time to learn the language should please do so. Life can be difficult here without the language, I have missed a lot of good opportunities here because of language barer. Germans are so proud of their language that they would never want to speak English to you despite the fact that English is their second language. The only means of communication here is German. Sometimes I began to wonder why they are teaching some courses in English when it seemed as if they don't what to promote any other language apart from their own.

This couldn't be further from the truth. While the language is very important, I have hardly met anybody who could speak English that deliberately refused to, even people with very poor English were almost always willing to try. I think this depends largely on the city you are. That said, du solltest Deutsch lernen...

michlan:
My application for MIP at stuttgart was just refused and most of the programs I really love after the MIP course are offered by Universities of Applied Sciences. I need advice on the prospects of masters degree from UAS as i've read that they are not equivalent to universities. Can one secure a placement for PhD with a masters degree from UAS. Thanks

If it's a PhD you desire, Yes! a Masters from a UAS can secure that. Make no mistake, your chances of getting into Max Planck will be very slim, but take solace in the fact that it may not be any better if you went through a traditional university. That said, the major difference between both degrees (as has been said a million times) is the practical orientation of the UAS, which has its cons (and pros).

cahnellven:
Well in my school in naija 1cu equals 1 hour Labs, 1hr lectures and 1hr self study weekly. There are 14 lecture weeks in a semester. So we get 42hrs plus 2 hrs tutorials/revision .
In order words , 1 CU = 44 HOURS OF WORK

Thanks..

cahnellven:
Actually, 4 years of study in Nigeria should be 240 ects, with a year being 60 ects.
Though there is no standardized way to calculate it in Nigeria, but 1cu is roughly the equivalent of 44hrs of work (lectures, labs, tutorials and self study).
Compared to the ects which is 30 hours per ects point, then you can infer that our credit unit requires 14 hours( about 50 percent of 30) more work.

So your 158 CU should be about 237 ECTS credits.

At any rate, your 4 year study is greater than or equal to 180 ECTS.

Good luck

I don't quite get the bolded...

Twostep:
Thanks ya'l!! Far too kind!! Il read thru d monikers posts dem and let u guyz know wat my decision is!

Knowing u guyz are here is quite a relief! Edumare bless us all!

Long story short, if you did not apply through uni-assist, or you did not receive any letter from you prospective school, please explain how you intend(ed) to open the account without admission?


Now who the hell is the ########## below me?
Cc Justwise Justwise please, you are needed

royaldok:
Hi everyone, on issues bothering on ECTS, I studied a 4-year course here in Nigeria, which is a total of 158 Credit units. Most European schools, German schools inclusive, require 180 ECTS for admission into their Master's programmes. In Europe, 1 academic year is equivalent to 60 ECTS. I am quite confused if there is another way of converting Nigerian Credit system to ECTS because it appears my 4-year programme did not meet up with the 180 ECTS requirement. I therefore call on veterans and other contributors in the house to help shed more light on this.
Thanks in anticipation and have a great day.

What school? Did the school explicitly state that you should convert your transcript to ECTS system? If it did not, then don't bother yourself with ECTS, if it did, well, you're on a long thing...
As long as you have completed a 4/5-year course, you have obtained 180 ECTS credit-equivalent, but just in case you wish to know more, one ECTS credit is 30 hours of lecture or lab work per semester, 1 CU is 1 hour of lecture or 3 hrs of lab per week per semester. That should give you some perspective if you want to engage in the laborious task of converting it yourself.

chulo:
Good morning people,

I have a question I hope the gurus can help me with. Anyone is welcome to give their opinion, thanks.
After gaining admission earlier this year to University of Tuebingen, I applied for visa and went for interview as required. Interview was ok, I believe. But last minute, my sponsor messed up and I couldn't raise that amount of money in such a short time between my interview and enrollment deadline. The school has told me I can come in next summer or winter semester, whichever I choose.
Meanwhile, after my interview, the embassy sent me the usual message to fund but it's been silent since then. I was expecting a rejection letter or something and it hasn't arrived since October. My documents are still with them. I didn't bother going there all this time because I was too depressed and I just threw myself into working and trying to raise the money myself.

My question is do I apply for a visa all over? Or just go ahead to fund my blocked account against the coming semester? (I haven't decided whether to go in the summer and winter) Or is there a particular type of application for people in my shoes?

I'd appreciate a response please, especially from those that have been in a similar situation.

Thanks

Hmmmm. You should have withdrawn your application and collected your documents. Wasn't even in your best interest to wait for a rejection from the consulate. Good thing you didn't get it though (Check your mail vigorously). Maybe others can say more, but what I would do if I were in your shoes was to write the consulate first and explain things to them (obviously, you don't need to go into details) to know the next step even before funding the account.

Twostep:
Good morning house! Am at d German embassy to notorise my documents.. Dropped them off and was told to come by 12noon to pick them up back.

My quesion is;
Thursdays are the only days i can collect my original gce certificate frm warc office.. If i wait for this thursday, il have to come bk to certify it at d consulate on monday and application deadline is next tues so i intend sending the application tomorow.
I intend sending my online print out already certified true copy and attcahed a scratch cars to it. Pls will this be acceptable for admission? If yes, hope it wont reduce my chances?

Errrr, what happened to certifying your document(s) at the courts?

Toroze:
Hullo all. Its been long since I've been here school sturvs. Just wanted to ask my ogas if they know any apps or materials which one can use to learn the german language, I do have some but need more. @dolpaz @eke40seven @Williamso @obiwannn and others any help is appreciated

You could use duolingo. Or better still, use YouTube. There are a LOT of videos explaining Deutsch grammar there! Viel Glück!

Hallo leute!

Long time since I've been on here. Anyone (planning on) coming to Kiel?

cahnellven:
To the glory of God, embassy asked me to come and collect the visa. It came late, but it came all the same. The journey was rough but it ended in praise.
I owe a lot of people debt of gratitude for being with me throughout the journey.
Special thanks Goes to oga HARTZIV, Eke40seven,Obiwannn, dolpaz and panzi for their invaluable contributions.
Many thanks to EmmanuellaIyke, Frau itunu, amahtrendy, fapper,Kelvinpam,dencotech,oligee,and lmuhopeful for being there in the hour of need.

I also appreciate my German allegiance family, you guys are the bomb. Exclusive gratitudes to the nairaland family in general. Thanks ya'll for the priceless information being shared here on a daily basis.

It's been God all the way.

Congrats!

Gcapable:
........

Moral of the post - share your experiences but let's desist from generalization, say things the way you Experience it and the way they are.

This post gave me a "postgarsm"

Op, from your write-up and some of your comments, you would hardly get a girl (there might be exceptions)...
A while ago when I was in school, I used to assume that as a "fine boy", girls should worship the floor I walked on. I had the belief that I could walk up to a girl and literally tell her I like her and she would be mine, just like that. After almost a session of "singlehood", I had to go back to the drawing board and ask why my "uglier" friends had more girls than courses, and I could barely even get a date. Then I realized, fine-boy has nothing to do with getting hitched (again, there will be exceptions). Better to learn how to say what to say, as that is even more important than what you actually say. Other qualities like carriage, swagger (not the street meaning please), etc. will also help a lot. So don't sit on your fine-boy trophy and expect girls to be kissing your feet! Get to work dude, or watch thy crush(es), present and future depart from thy grasp... A wise man once said: "Men are moved by what they see, ladies are moved by what they hear."

P.S.: I specifically avoided saying anything about money as that definitely overrules everything I wrote above. Girls will literally kiss my your feet when there's enough money to go round... Another wise man once said: "Money will make girls fight over you. Lots of money will make them all fall in line"



I decided to post this because I have been there before... several times in fact.

Hallo people... Been a while I was on here... Seems I've missed a truck load. I know this is late but congrats Eke40seven! Na you personally give many of us hope... Your success is sure

Hampy:
Ah, and by the way, the embassy sent me another email this morning saying that I will be contacted by them within the next few days. Which was quite different from their last email that I should come to the embassy with my passport. So I’m just going to wait this out and see how it ends. Or what do you think? Please house, i need all of your input here.

So what email did you send to them before you got this? Or you didn't send them any at all??

.

Hampy:
They didn't ask for insurance. That's why i'm a bit worried. lol. So you mean i should just reply them with confirmation of enrolment extension and place a call to them? Without having to go to the embassy? Mind you, they have already asked me to come with my passport in their email - "In the a.m matter”.

GENESIS OF THE MAIL FROM THE EMBASSY:

I took the hint from SOCWORK to email the embassy and inquire from them about the status of my visa application. In my email, i stated that my enrolment had passed (Oct 1st & 2nd) and lectures begin on Oct 5th. However, I stated that the school told me that they will extend my enrolment but I didn't attach any documentary evidence to that effect (simply because I don't have it from the school yet as at that time). Now that the school confirmed my enrolment extension to November 9th, the embassy replied my email with the "In the a.m matter" mail asking me to come to the embassy with my passport. I might be wrong, but i'm quite certain that its a rejection and their reason will be - enrolment/registration deadline had passed blah blah. So you see, I'm in a fix here? Do i just forward my confirmation of enrolment extension to the embassy? or go to the embassy to receive my rejection and appeal? I don't know what to do.

Hmmmmmmm. This one is strong.
Knowing that you did not have time, you should not have contacted the embassy on that issue as it's the only the Auslanderbehoerde of the city that approves your visa, but they and the embassy can deny it. The foreigner's office should have been your port of call. However, my suggestion still stands. Did they give you a specific date to go the embassy? I think not, so send them the mail, call them on monday, then go there on Tuesday.

Viel Glück

Tinder:
Please I sent you a mail. Where on the Uniassist page should I click to fill the forms for different schools. I'm on my pc now

Sent you a video. Check your mail

Hampy:
Hello House. How y'all doing this morning? Congratulations to all those who has gotten their visas. ANVICOLA, you are really a blessed person. Just keep doing all the good things you are doing.

I am in a difficult situation and I need your advice. My school confirmed my enrolment extension to November 9th, just as the "In the a.m matter" mail already entered my email from the embassy. I have now been asked to come to the embassy with my passport and what not. What do i do now? Do i anticipate a rejection and prepare my appeal alongside? Or simply go along with my confirmation of extension from school? It's 5 weeks after my interview already. SOCWORK & EKE40SEVEN- Please take note.

The mail you got from the consulate (In the a.m), did it ask you to come with insurance? I would assume it didn't, that's why you are worried. Reply that mail with the confirmation of enrollment deadline ASAP. If possible, send it to all the Nigerian Consulate-General emails you can get. Then first thing Monday morning, put a call through to them and tell them you got an extension from your school and also a mail to go to the consulate and ask them what you should do about this.

TheFilmmaker:
But I would need to learn German through the protocols you earlier explained, which is more than a year, right?

Well....... about a year, more or less...

TheFilmmaker:
I just checked and I found a couple of tuition free Universities offering degrees in different aspects of filmmaking, especially the University of Television and Film Munich, Studienberatung.

Almost all the filmmaking courses taught there are free tuition.

So you're saying I should proceed with the 100L first, right?

I'm saying you should proceed with 100L if you want to study in English. If you want to study in German, that may not be necessary...

TheFilmmaker:
I'm intrested in either a certificate program or a bachelors.

I have WAEC and I just got admitted to a state University here.

Of course, I'll study in German because it's a prequesite .

Since you want to study in German, I'd suggest you enroll at Goethe and get up to an A2, then apply for a language school here and proceed to at least B2, then get into studienkolleg for a year, then get a Bachelors degree after 3yrs.
This is a long route though. The shorter route will be to start checking daad.de/en if there are any English taught Bachelors' programs in the field you wish. Then proceed to the uni where you have been offered admission and complete your 100L. You may then apply for direct admission into the Bachelors' program with your 100L transcript, the choice is yours. Others may contribute though....

TheFilmmaker:
The amount of cooperation and support on this thread is massive and I am so glad to be a part of this carcus.

As my moniker says, I'm an aspiring filmmaker and I would like to take advantage of Germany's free Uni Education to study filmmaking.

I would be glad if anyone could help me with the procedure as I am very sure the requirements would be less rigorous than other medical courses as outlined here.

Thanks.

Firstly, are you going for a Bachelors, Masters, or just a certificate program?
Secondly, what's your highest qualification?
Thirdly, are you intending to study in German or English?

Good day house. May not be easy coming on here as frequently as before. Started lectures on Monday and it has not been easy; Naija education has a long way to go.

If there's anyone that may need my assistance, especially concerning the city of Kiel, kindly drop a PM; I will still be dropping by from time to time though.

As for tomorrow, all roads lead to HAM

Tinder:
The problem is that 2 of the schools I want to apply for are both under uni-assist so I don't know if there's any student here that just used certified documents through uniassist and he or she was offered admission

Good day Tinder. I may be contradicting what you already know, or might have been told. I certified my documents at Federal High Court, station road, PH, and all the schools I applied to, including uni-assist accepted it. I am currently enrolled in one of the schools I got admitted in through uni-assist, I even have my ID already, and the seal/stamp hasn't been an issue. My certified documents had no seal, simply 2 stamps and a signature (or 2). So my friend, don't be scared.

Why will you want to notarize an already certified document

Pauluche:
Heyyyyyy see my guy Williams.... Met this Dude at the embassy when I had my interview. He came to collect his Visa.... Such a cool and easy going fella... Bros abeg pm me we need to talk ASAP....

I sent you a message on whatsapp

aibee01:
Reporting live from bremerstraBe 23, kiel.
The Nigerian guys i met in my dorm has really been helpful,sorted all my registration in a day.....set out around 0700hrs got back around 1500hrs.
i did the registrations in this order;
1. i went to the Rathaus for city registration.
2. proceeded to the immigration office to book appointment for visa extension.
3. i went to Db to activate my account.
All these three places are not too far from each other in kiel...and i was told at the rathaus to come for a 100Euro by next year december...that is after i have spent a year,that the money is for anybody that migrated to kiel and had stayed for a year.
4. i proceeded to AOK for my health insurance.
5. i went to the international center of CAU Kiel for my student registration......
The main difference i deduce from the way things are been done here and Nigeria is the MENTALITY.....
this people here are ready to help without you even asking, everything is in order..,they obey traffic regulations..,i haven't heard the hoot of horn since been here........
@williamso how we go celebrate independence tomorrow........or all na for hamburg on saturday.

U sabi oh! E be like say dem dey deactivate their horn for here
Na una hand e dey oh, Make una put me on control, so I go fit show that side

Pauluche:
Bros please throw more light on this. won't the Aliens office request for a proof of financial means especially when you've already gone one semester and your funds have been depleted by virtue of that?

That won't be much of a problem. Get to Germany first and if/when you want to change school, it'll be a lot easier than you think.

Galads:
hello everyone, i need help as regards change of school when i get to germany as am not planning to use the admission letter i used to get my visa because of all this east german crisis. on my visa, the name of the school is mentioned on it. i got 2 admission and am planning on going to the other. pls how do i go about this....

You have nothing to worry about. Just go and resume in the school you want. Your permit will bear the school you register with and not the school on your visa

Obiwannn:
but why should one spend his/her own money on a PhD in a developed country? It beats my imagination.

Williams, only you de flex for Kiel baaa...diarizzzzzzzzzzzzzzGod oh!

My oga no be small thing oh! Lectures have started in full swing - had 2 classes today. No worry, all roads lead to Hamburg on Saturday as my other oga has already said...

filimontana:
We were 650 foreign students when i went for my entrance exam. They had only 22 places for M course(Med,Pharm,Bio related department), and the other 3 departments had 22 places each. That means out of 600+ foreign students, 88 students passed the entrance exam. I did Bio,Chem,Physics,German and Math A level...everything in German.
We were 22 students when we started, 16 students finished the foundation program. Well , the students from middle east that came with 1,0 (100% or A1 lol) high school result couldn't finish, because most of them didn't use their heads for the results they brought to Germany. I wrote a Feststellungsprüfung (an assessment test) after the second semester (Phy,Math and German), and that was my final score. The final score was added to my NECO result and divided by two. I applied for admission with the points I got from the two exams (NECO and Feststellungsprüfung) and had offers from 4 Universities.

12 of my friends from the Studienkolleg are studying medicine and the rest are studying pharmacy. So it's actually not complicated, you can also work during your studienkolleg. All I will say is that the best way to get admission for a first degree in Germany is through studienkolleg, because the Germans trust the system. Anyone can come here with A level he or she didn't write . Let me know if you still need any info.
Ayo

AY my PRO, I sight you

filimontana:
Hey guys! I am new here, I am studying pharmacy in Germany. If you need any info about first degree (med,pharm,law etc) let me know. The new guys that just came to Kiel told me about this forum.

My boss!!!!!!!

oduzbaba2015:
thank you in the rum as per the corrections on the scale 5 0r 4, why am so confused is that there is one of my guy here on the niraland who applyied for evaluation of transcript frm uni assist on scale 5, a university student, 5.00 the highest 1 the lowest, uni assist email him is cgpa was 3.08/5 , meaning after conversion it was 2.9, instead of 2.4sumtin, so the guy told them that his minimum grade is 1 wile 5 is the highest, uni assist said that dough 1 is the minimum but from source anabin say for a degree 2 is the minmum pass mark for a degree na dia allam com blow , instead of 1 dey use 2 knowing fully well on the transcript that 1 is lowest 5 d highest, see film o, what happens in this case, gurus i leav this to u ooo

He should write to uniassist that the 2.0 used as minimum on anabin is a new directive that was not in effect during his time. Or he should obtain same from his school on a letterhead and forward to uniassist. These are his options...