FAQ

To visit any school in Germany students need to have a very good command of the German language. They need to complete level B2 at the Humboldt-Institut at least. The duration of the German course depends on the prior knowledge of a student. A total beginner needs at least 25 weeks to reach level B2. Some schools additionally request a 5-week school transition course which is offered at the Humboldt-Institut as well (please note: the prerequisite to attend this course is the completion of Humboldt level B2). Students are welcome to do our online test in order to find out their approximate German level.

English is a compulsory subject at all of our partner boarding schools. For this reason, applicants are required to have sufficient English knowledge, evidenced by the school certificates of their home country.

Our program is designed for students between 10 and 17 years of age. Furthermore, it is important to note that students requiring a visa can usually attend a school in Germany starting at grade 9 at the earliest.

During the German course additional private lessons are available on request. The German course program already includes several elements of students’ support and care.

All partner boarding schools offer remedial teaching for international students either included in the general program or on an individual basis.

The common subjects at German boarding schools are German, English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, religion (or ethics), sports, music and arts. Some schools also have additional subjects such as IT or economics as well as additional foreign languages. Furthermore, most schools offer branches of study, so students may put a slight emphasis on certain subjects (for example, branch of natural sciences, social sciences or fine arts).

During the German course students are accommodated in twin rooms with a room-mate of the same sex, a similar age, a similar German level but a different native language.

At the secondary school girls and boys are accommodated separately, either in shared rooms (normally twin rooms) or single rooms. Accommodation with host families is not possible, as all our partner schools are boarding schools.

All of our partner schools are boarding schools, so students live and learn in a boarding home. Day schooling may be an option if the student's family lives nearby and has a permanent residence in Germany.

We partner with many boarding schools spread all over Germany. Most of them are well-known even abroad. Please find an overview and relevant information on those schools either on the page German Boarding Schools or in our "Boarding Schools in Germany" brochure.

Prices depend on the boarding school and can be divided into the following groups:

• EUR 27,000.- to EUR 37,000.- per year
• EUR 37,000.- to EUR 47,000.- per year
• EUR 47,000.- per year and higher

For more details, please download our price list document.

German courses at the Humboldt-Institut take place year-round (365 days per year). Even over Christmas and New Year students are welcome to attend a German course with us.

Holidays at the boarding schools generally follow the school holidays of the respective federal state.

Some schools offer the possibility to stay at the boarding home during short holidays. During summer holidays as well as Christmas holidays boarding schools normally close their doors. A possible option to make good use of the school holidays is to attend another German course at the Humboldt-Institut in Bad Schussenried or Lindenberg.

Students who arrive at the Humboldt-Institut by plane have the option to book a transfer service from several nearby airports to our institutes in Bad Schussenried or Lindenberg.

Furthermore, after completion of the German course at the Humboldt-Institut, we may organize a transfer from our course-centers in Bad Schussenried or Lindenberg to the boarding school upon request.

After transition to the boarding school, our partner boarding schools may offer airport transfers as well upon request.

Our counseling service is free of charge.

You will receive all necessary documents for the German course and the boarding school attendance by us. With those documents you need to apply for a national visa (category D) for both purposes, language course and school attendance.

With regards to the visa application itself, this needs to be done autonomously by the students at their responsible German diplomatic representation (embassy / consulate). However, we will gladly assist regarding questions concerning visa or in case of difficulties in obtaining the visa.

Applications can be sent to us at any time. However, as our partner boarding schools have limited capacities for international students, we recommend to send the application documents in good time before the relevant school year begins. Furthermore, for students who need visa, a lead time of 4-6 months should be taken into account from the application to the start of the German course.

For an application we will need the following documents sent to us by e-mail:

• Application Form for Secondary Education in Germany
• photocopy of the student’s passport
• transcripts of the previous 2-3 school years (copy of the original and translation in English or German)
• motivation letter written by the student (in English or German)
• letter of reference by at least one teacher (in English or German)

After receiving the application documents our counseling team will give you a feedback in timely manner to start the application process accordingly.