The Hype and Hard Truth of Studying in Germany
26 Sept 2025 6:20 AM IST
Description: Just last week, the US slapped a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applicants. This is one of many moves that's turning Indian students away from the US and UK. But there’s a new destination rising too: Germany.
According to consultancy Upgrad, only 13% of students applied to study in Germany back in 2022. By 2024, that number jumped to 32%.
So what’s pulling Indians toward Germany? Is the reality as rosy as students might think? Find out in the latest episode of The Signal Daily.
The Core produces The Signal Daily. Follow us wherever you get your favourite podcasts. To check out the rest of our work, go to www.thecore.in
NOTE: A machine transcribed this episode. A human has looked at this text but there might still be errors. Please refer to the audio above, if you need to clarify something. If you want to give us feedback, please write to us at [email protected].
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TRANSCRIPT
Kudrat (Host): It’s not a good time to study in the US right now. Or for that matter, even in the UK, another favourite destination of Indian students. Since US President Trump returned to power in January, the US has cut study visas by 27% this year. Officers are also scrutinising applications much more closely. Some students told us that embassies rejected their visas simply for liking protest content on social media.
And just last week, Washington announced a $100,000 fee for all new H-1B visa applicants.
The UK too has tightened rules — shorter work visas, and warnings of serious consequences if students overstay.
But, though these traditional players are losing their shine, there’s a new sheriff in town – Germany.
According to education consultancy Upgrad, there’s been a surge in interest in students wanting to go to Germany. In 2022, just 13% of surveyed students wanted to study in Germany. By 2024, that number jumped to 32%.
At the same time, consultancies like Upgrad, IDP Education, KC Overseas Education have been advertising Germany aggressively as well. They say that Germany has a strong economy, quality educational institutions and wants skilled labour. Moreover, while knowing German is a plus, many institutes now teach courses in English too, making the country more accessible to everyone.
Kudrat (Host): My name is Kudrat Wadhwa and you’re listening to The Signal Daily. We don’t do hot takes. Instead, we bring you deep dives into the how and why of consumer trends.
In this episode, we’ll learn about what distinguishes Germany from more traditional study abroad destinations. Is the reality as rosy as students might think?
Kudrat (Host): Shaina is 28 – she moved to Germany in 2022 for her Master’s degree in Technology and Innovation Management from the Technical University of Hamburg, situated in North Germany.
Shaina: so for me, uh, one of the main factors was that it's a bit close to home. I don't have to travel across the seven seas, uh, to get home, uh, to my family. Another point was also the course curriculum that I really liked.
Um, and I'm someone who doesn't like following the herd mentality a lot and, uh, which is why I was looking for, uh, some upcoming destinations for Indian students. And that's when I stumbled upon Germany.
Kudrat (Host): Now that she’s working in the country, she says she is happy with her decision to move there.
Shaina: For me, it's work-life balance, which is very important. And when I was working in India, in my company, uh, but because of my particular team, um. There was no work-life balance.
And I thought, okay, maybe it's just the start. You know, when you start off, you have to do a lot of work. You're expected to work a few extra hours. And then I saw my manager who's been working for 10 years, 12 years, and they are also, um, working really hard over time. Uh, you know, and there's not. A lot. I mean, there's hardly any work-life balance.
Kudrat (Host): The other Indian emigrants to Germany reiterated this sentiment – working in Germany offers them a much better overall balance.
The Signal Daily also interviewed Praneet Singh, Associate Vice President at Upgrad, about the big boom in Indian students going to Germany.
Praneet Singh: So the, the pivot here largely is that Germany is being preferred largely because it is, um, a lot more stable as an economy. There are very little geopolitical tribulations, if at all. It's, it's just much easier to predict what will happen tomorrow.
Um, Germany is liberal with its post-study work Visa also called, um, the job seeker visa.
Kudrat (Host): Praneet added that Germany is also cheaper than the US and the UK.
Praneet Singh: Germany is a lot more affordable. You know, one average year in Germany for studying is not more than 15 to 20 lakh, which is the living cost of the United States for just a year. So, so I'm saying, uh, it's affordable. It's a lot more predictable to say the least.
And third is it's just as a study destination, a lot more stable, a lot more foreseeable for students. And of course, you know, notwithstanding the fact that, um, you know, whatever's happening in the world, we must keep in mind that Germany as an economy. Has been one of the top five. It's at number three.
It's the third largest exporter in the world, and it's the third best education system in the world.
Kudrat (Host): Praneet is right, the students The Signal Daily spoke to said they liked how Germany’s universities focused on teaching students practical skills. Internships are common, which helped them pad up their resumé and become industry-ready.
Kudrat (Host): Given all these factors, many more Indian students have chosen to study in Germany. At a time when the US and the UK are looking inward, Germany is forging a stronger bond with India.
Earlier this month, Germany’s foreign minister said Berlin wants to invite more Indian students and skilled workers. The country faces an acute labour shortage — 1.4 million positions in healthcare, IT, education, construction and transport remain unfilled.
Here’s a clip from his visit to New Delhi – in it, we’ll hear from Johann Wadephul and India’s S Jaishankar.
Kudrat (Host): But, though Germany wants skilled labour, that doesn’t mean that all Indian students who study there will coast by and find a job. The biggest hurdle to getting a job for Indians is the inability to speak German fluently – more on that later. That’s not all, though.
Sarang: the job market is currently not that good all over across the world. But of course, yeah, there are jobs, but you need to like, fight for it..
Kudrat (Host): That was Sarang, another student-turned worker The Signal Daily interviewed. Posts on Reddit corroborated what he said. People talked of struggling to find employment. They also said that the jobs they saw on Linkedin turned out to be fake. They talked of struggling to pay bills, which forced them to return to India. They also said that study abroad consultancies are “lying through their teeth” about how open and happening Germany is for immigrants right now.
Sarang told The Signal Daily that he noticed this lying as well when he was researching about studying in Germany.
Sarang: the student abroad consultancy services are basically, they try to put you in, uh, private university and they try to, uh, gring you some money from you. Almost all the student at, uh, consultancy services are doing in India. And like I I, I have done all my things by myself, but before that I was like, I was also trying to, uh, like understand how the consultancies work. So I booked many demo classes, or sorry, many, many demo meetings with them and all of them has the same pattern.
Kudrat (Host): You see, there’s two kinds of colleges in Germany – private versus public. Public universities are a lot harder to get into but attending them is cheap. The private ones, on the other hand, are much more expensive but liberal with who they take in. Public universities also have a higher ranking, meaning employers respect them more too.
Sarang said that when a student attends these demo classes, study abroad consultants try to knock them down. They’ll either tell you that your scores are too poor for you to gain admission into a German public university. Or that yes, while you could get in, you should apply to private ones too, just in case. Sarang added that these consultancies earn a commission if they send students to schools that they partner with.
Kudrat (Host): It’s true, if you go to any of the websites of major study abroad companies like Edwise, Campus India and Upgrad, you’ll see a list of ‘partnered universities’ or ‘recommended courses.’ Based on the digging The Signal Daily did, these are all private institutions.
Praneet from Upgrad said that it’s true that Upgrad partners with private universities. He’s aware that public universities rank higher but didn’t agree that employers preferred them too. According to him, the private universities Upgrad works with provided more practical and industry knowledge to their students. He didn’t answer whether Upgrad earns a commission from sending students to these schools.
Kudrat (Host): Sarang and Shaina both attended public universities. Sarang warned students to do research on their own, and avoid getting carried away by big promises.
Another must-know for people who want to move to Germany is that you absolutely have to learn some basics of the language before you go there. It’s of course even better if you’re fluent. It will help you in your career – if you’re pursuing a Management degree, your job will probably involve you engaging with people face-to-face.
Shaina: the only one thing I would say if students are looking to come to Germany is learn the language.
That is your key to so many opportunities, at least up to B one. Learn it and come, and life will be way easier than if you don't learn income. That actually makes a difference, a huge one, especially when you're looking for jobs, because for universities you can find English speaking courses, but if you know German already, you are also open to take German speaking courses so that again, you know, opens your uh, doors to more courses that you can choose from.
And then job hunt. And also if you want to integrate with the society, if you know the language, it's much easier. Like in India, if you speak in Hindi or whichever state you are, if you speak the language, it's much easier. Right. So it's the same here.
Sarang: I'll probably say, please do your research very, very honestly in like. It should be very on. You should be very honest with yourself that your research is, you are doing good research, like which college you want to go, which course you want to study. Is that course aligned with your like previous study or not? Because if it doesn't aligns with your previous course of study that you are definitely not getting an admission in a public university over there.
If you have work experience it also count. And the last thing is, I think Germany skills, like, uh, if you are, if you are, if you have a two level, a, one level, if you're learning, like for me, I'm also on a one level. So basically if people are learning and they go to a two level, uh, or the students which are currently studying, they go to a two B.
Kudrat (Host): So, is Germany India’s next favourite study abroad destination? Maybe. But like with all big moves, students need to separate trend from truth.
At the end of the day, Germany isn’t a golden ticket. Yes, it offers affordable degrees, work-life balance, and a chance at Europe’s strongest economy. But those advantages come with conditions — fluency in German, patience with a competitive job market, and the discipline to research universities beyond what consultants pitch. For Indian students weighing their options, Germany is no doubt on the rise. Just don’t confuse a booming trend with an easy path.
Kudrat (Host): That's all for today. You just heard The Signal Daily. We don't do hot takes. Instead, we bring you deep dives into the how and why of consumer trends. The Core produces The Signal Daily. Follow us wherever you get your favourite podcasts.
To check out the rest of our work, go to www.thecore.in.
If you have feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Write to us at [email protected] or you can write to me personally at [email protected].
Thank you for listening.
