Uni-assist e.V., the German centralized application processing service for international students, has recently announced a change to its admissions process for Indian applicants. Since November 2022, the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) has required that all Indian applicants must provide a valid Academic Evaluation Centre (APS) certificate in order to be considered for admission. Due to the long waiting times for APS certificates in Delhi, uni-assist e.V. has decided to adjust its process for Master's degree applicants in the 2023/24 winter semester.

Starting from March 15, 2023, uni-assist e.V. will forward qualified Master's degree applications from Indian applicants to member universities even without the APS certificate. The member universities will be responsible for verifying the validity of the APS certificate before enrolment. However, all documents, such as the preliminary review documentation (VPD) and the evaluation report, will be marked with a note indicating that their validity is dependent on the presence of the corresponding APS certificate.

In order to make the process more efficient, uni-assist e.V. will also provide member universities with a suitable sorting option to differentiate between qualified applications with and without the APS certificate. Any APS certificates submitted after the initial application will be documented and exported upon request.

The aim of this change is to reduce the high rejection rate of Indian applicants in the first step of the application process, which is currently over 60%. This will also reduce the potential workload on the uni-assist e.V. office and member universities due to the expected complaints from rejected applicants. The new process will also allow member universities to adapt more flexibly to the changing application process and volume. This could include more precise registration for early processing at the APS or the submission of the APS certificate as part of the enrolment process.

This special rule will come into effect on March 15, 2023, and will only apply to the specific group of applicants in the current 2023/24 winter semester. Previously rejected applications due to the lack of APS certificate will be promptly reviewed from the specified date.

If member universities still wish to reject Indian applicants without the APS certificate, they must inform the uni-assist e.V. office by March 10, 2023, in order for the old policy to be applied to all Indian applications for the 2023/24 winter semester. More details about the process adjustment can be found in the attached document and in the members' area.

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Original link: https://www.uni-assist.de/fileadmin/Intern-Mitglieder/Mitglieder-Bereich/Verfahrenskommunikation/APS_Indien/News_APS_Indien_im_ua_Verfahren_20230303.pdf

See also

• Ultimate guide to studying in Germany
• All about APS certificate
• Student community for higher education in Germany