Success Story: Student From a Hindi-Medium School Studying Abroad
Ramkesh from a Hindi-medium government school in Rajasthan believed English fluency was a barrier to studying abroad. This is the story of how he got to Germany.
Ramkesh from Alwar — Hindi-medium school to B2 German and TU Munich
Ramkesh Sharma studied at a government school in Alwar district, Rajasthan. All his subjects, including engineering (he did a diploma in mechanical engineering), were taught in Hindi. When he first researched studying abroad, he encountered two apparent barriers: English language requirements and visa eligibility. Then he discovered Germany.
Germany has fully German-taught programs at public universities where tuition is free. If your German is strong enough, the English barrier disappears entirely. Ramkesh made a decision that his friends thought was extreme: he enrolled in a German language course and committed to reaching B2 level before he applied.
Two Years of German Language Learning
Ramkesh started from zero — not even a single German word. He attended a language institute in Jaipur and supplemented with Goethe Institut certified exams at each level: A1, A2, B1. Each exam cost approximately ₹3,000–₹5,000. Each level took him roughly four to five months of focused study.
- A1 Certificate: 5 months of study
- A2 Certificate: 4 months
- B1 Certificate: 5 months — his language now functional for daily interaction
- B2 Certificate: 6 months — the level required for university admission in German-taught programs
- Total language investment: approximately 20 months and ₹65,000 in course + exam fees
- Application to TU Munich's German-taught Mechanical Engineering master's program: accepted
People thought I was wasting two years learning German. But those two years gave me admission to TU Munich — one of the best engineering universities in Europe — with zero tuition. What two years of saving money would have given me ₹10 lakh. German gave me €0 fees.
— Ramkesh Sharma, Alwar
The Application and Visa Process
With a B2 Goethe Certificate and his APS certificate (the Indian academic verification required for German university applications), Ramkesh applied to three German universities with English-taught and German-taught programs. He was accepted by TU Munich. His German student visa was processed in six weeks. He is now in his second semester, studying in German, tutoring other Indian students in German in his spare time, and planning his Aufenthaltserlaubnis (German residence permit for job seekers) after graduation.