Is the IPSP at University of Leipzig Right for a Future in Theoretical HEP?

[Doyeon Jin]

Have you guys been notified by Univ. Leipzig already?

 

[Yasmine Gelbman]

Have you guys been notified by Univ. Leipzig already?

Nope, I have a feeling that i will soon though!
What about you?

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Not yet. Hopefully soon!

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Have the Uni-Assist notified you anything?

 

[Yasmine Gelbman]

Have the Uni-Assist notified you anything?

Nope still nothing, have they contacted you?

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Well, they did send me a confirmation email saying they received my documents. But no further notice since then. Just staying patient nowadays.

 

[gargi kodgirwar]

Hey guys...when they tell you to send passport photo...they mean passport size photograph of you right?

 

[gargi kodgirwar]

I am sending my application now because my jee advanced result came late . I am from India btw. So hope to meet you guys in the program.

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Passport can be uploaded to your uni-assist application portal. They mean the whole passport page of you, with the photo and info.
At least that's what I did, and it was okay. Hope it helps!

 

[PiaM]

I sent a photo of me, not my passport, and uni assist already approved my documents and sent them to the university.
Anything with your face on it should be fine though, I believe it is for the profile they make with your information

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Hi PiaM, do you mind if I ask approximately how long it took for uni assist to send your documents to the university?

 

[PiaM]

It took about a month, but that varies depending on where you're from, somewhere in the uni-assist Website they give approximated processing times based on where your documents were made, but it should take from 3 to 6 weeks.
I'm from Chile btw, one of the longest processing times is for documents from Latin America, 4 to 6 weeks, so maybe yours will take less time to be processed (:

 

[gargi kodgirwar]

Do you guys know if we can get any kind of scholarship in this program

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Do you guys know if we can get any kind of scholarship in this program

Generally, there isn't a scholarship as they say on their website, "because there are no tuition fees." However, you can qualify for the German gov. scholarship after one year with high marks at Leipzig. If you need it now, I suggest you look for scholarship organizations in and out of your country.

 

[gargi kodgirwar]

Generally, there isn't a scholarship as they say on their website, "because there are no tuition fees." However, you can qualify for the German gov. scholarship after one year with high marks at Leipzig. If you need it now, I suggest you look for scholarship organizations in and out of your country.

Ohh... anyway thanks for the information!

 

[Thor4Four]

Greetings incoming freshers, second semester American here!

It is completely normal for uni assist to take a long time, I actually didn't get my admission until the end of September after i already arrived in Europe. I recommend looking into housing a lot before you come here as I got stuck without permanent housing for a long time. A popular thing Germans will do is choose a flatshare (the student housing is decent, but it is generally nicer to share an apartment with other students). You can check the website WG gesucht for housing in Leipzig. Another option is to go on the Leipzig Erasmus page and look for housing offers. Many international students will be looking for students to fill their vacancies. There is also a whatsapp group for erasmus students, you can ask about it on the facebook page (Links below). I had some Taiwanese friends that were without housing for a month and they had to find people to live with before permanent housing. I also had to stay in a hostel for almost two weeks before I found a WG (and later moved to student housing because its a little cheaper and Philip Rosenthal is at the Physics faculty) . I recommend Meininger if you are looking for a hotel or hostel to stay in when you get here.

If you are worried about your application package, I recommend calling uni assist and ask them what is going on, I called 2 or 3 times and i think this helped with the processing and eventually got everything through.

On public transportation, your tuition is 216 Euro for the first semester and 206 euro for the rest (10 euro for the card) and this will include your transportation (bus, sbann, Strassenbahn, and even includes bike repair shops. You can bring your bike on the sbann always, and on the strassenbahn and buss after 8pm and before 5 or 6am.

I recommend the housing closer to the center for convenience but some of the further out housing is cheeper and newer (thus a little nicer and cleaner).

Just a heads up on the math. It will be very overwhelming as we begin with set theory and then will slowly get into high school calculus, mean while in theoretical physics you will be using multivariable and linear algebra right away hahaha! BUT it is doable because the exams are much easier than the homeworks and the professors are generous about exam admission. Most of the time your whole grade is based on the exam which may sound stressful but its not because that means if you mess up on homework or forget to turn it in, it won't hurt you in the end (as long as your willing to ask the professors for exam admission or extra points)

A warning on learning German, many people stick within the IPSP bubble and don't learn so much German, but if you have a stronger will and go to parties and meet Germans on your own, and have the passion, you can and will learn German quickly. There are also many Spanish, French, and Arabic speakers here so that is kind of cool. The city is full of international students and there are a lot of international parties you can go to to meet foreign students and i think that is special and pretty dope. Just don't get too overwhelmed by the maths and crazy homework, keep calm, go have a beer, and study have study groups and you will be okay.

There are some IPSP and Physik beginning of the semester social events you can go to. it would be wise to ask for advise from furtrher semesters here and learn how to study. You really need to learn to read textbooks and teach yourself as lectures aren't enough, also don't be afraid to ask for help and message people.

Also if you come from somewhere that doesn't have a winter (eg los angeles, taiwan, mexico), it is easy to get depressed by the weather but if you go clubbing its not so bad. There are also lots of opportunities to travel around Germany, Poland, and Czech with Wilma, I recommend this.

I will post the math prof's website so you can see the books we use (she has free downloads) Also in theoretical physics we use Wolfgang Nolting which is pretty overwhelming and dry for first semester, but mechanics is never that interesting. The more interesting stuff will come later (unless you like mechanics, then good for you but imo Electro, thermo, quantum etc are more interesting and you will cover later).

Oh and on age it ranges from 17 - 40, most people are in there 20s though, you will meet people from many places in life. We are also in the middle of finals right now so that is probably why not so many people are responding from higher semesters. I will try and get more people on here and check regularly to answer any questions. I remember last year many people were kind of lost as German Bureaucracy can be complicated. Also a warning, Meldebestätigung is different than Aufenthalterurlaubnis (residence permit), just make sure you have a visa. If you don't have one you could stay here illegally without knowing it and nobody will tell you until you try to leave, i made that mistake when i came here and spring break got a bit complicated.

There is also Barfög scholarship, but is usually hard to qualify.

I hope this answers most of your questions and feel free to ask anything else you want to know as it can be hard to find information, especially up to date information.

WG Housing
https://www.wg-gesucht.de/

Erasmus Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/exchange.leipzig/

IPSP Class of 2017/18 Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/108084599889314/

Math Webpage Semester 1
http://www.math.uni-leipzig.de/~bellova/ipsp/

 

[PiaM]

Thank you so much for your comment! It really helped a lot.
I found the FB group that would be for us, 2018 freshmen
https://www.facebook.com/groups/315777465625123/

 

[Thor4Four]

No problem :) Hope you guys hear back about your applications soon

 

[Doyeon Jin]

It took about a month, but that varies depending on where you're from, somewhere in the uni-assist Website they give approximated processing times based on where your documents were made, but it should take from 3 to 6 weeks.
I'm from Chile btw, one of the longest processing times is for documents from Latin America, 4 to 6 weeks, so maybe yours will take less time to be processed (:

No problem :) Hope you guys hear back about your applications soon

Thank you!

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Greetings incoming freshers, second semester American here!

It is completely normal for uni assist to take a long time, I actually didn't get my admission until the end of September after i already arrived in Europe. I recommend looking into housing a lot before you come here as I got stuck without permanent housing for a long time. A popular thing Germans will do is choose a flatshare (the student housing is decent, but it is generally nicer to share an apartment with other students). You can check the website WG gesucht for housing in Leipzig. Another option is to go on the Leipzig Erasmus page and look for housing offers. Many international students will be looking for students to fill their vacancies. There is also a whatsapp group for erasmus students, you can ask about it on the facebook page (Links below). I had some Taiwanese friends that were without housing for a month and they had to find people to live with before permanent housing. I also had to stay in a hostel for almost two weeks before I found a WG (and later moved to student housing because its a little cheaper and Philip Rosenthal is at the Physics faculty) . I recommend Meininger if you are looking for a hotel or hostel to stay in when you get here.

If you are worried about your application package, I recommend calling uni assist and ask them what is going on, I called 2 or 3 times and i think this helped with the processing and eventually got everything through.

On public transportation, your tuition is 216 Euro for the first semester and 206 euro for the rest (10 euro for the card) and this will include your transportation (bus, sbann, Strassenbahn, and even includes bike repair shops. You can bring your bike on the sbann always, and on the strassenbahn and buss after 8pm and before 5 or 6am.

I recommend the housing closer to the center for convenience but some of the further out housing is cheeper and newer (thus a little nicer and cleaner).

Just a heads up on the math. It will be very overwhelming as we begin with set theory and then will slowly get into high school calculus, mean while in theoretical physics you will be using multivariable and linear algebra right away hahaha! BUT it is doable because the exams are much easier than the homeworks and the professors are generous about exam admission. Most of the time your whole grade is based on the exam which may sound stressful but its not because that means if you mess up on homework or forget to turn it in, it won't hurt you in the end (as long as your willing to ask the professors for exam admission or extra points)

A warning on learning German, many people stick within the IPSP bubble and don't learn so much German, but if you have a stronger will and go to parties and meet Germans on your own, and have the passion, you can and will learn German quickly. There are also many Spanish, French, and Arabic speakers here so that is kind of cool. The city is full of international students and there are a lot of international parties you can go to to meet foreign students and i think that is special and pretty dope. Just don't get too overwhelmed by the maths and crazy homework, keep calm, go have a beer, and study have study groups and you will be okay.

There are some IPSP and Physik beginning of the semester social events you can go to. it would be wise to ask for advise from furtrher semesters here and learn how to study. You really need to learn to read textbooks and teach yourself as lectures aren't enough, also don't be afraid to ask for help and message people.

Also if you come from somewhere that doesn't have a winter (eg los angeles, taiwan, mexico), it is easy to get depressed by the weather but if you go clubbing its not so bad. There are also lots of opportunities to travel around Germany, Poland, and Czech with Wilma, I recommend this.

I will post the math prof's website so you can see the books we use (she has free downloads) Also in theoretical physics we use Wolfgang Nolting which is pretty overwhelming and dry for first semester, but mechanics is never that interesting. The more interesting stuff will come later (unless you like mechanics, then good for you but imo Electro, thermo, quantum etc are more interesting and you will cover later).

Oh and on age it ranges from 17 - 40, most people are in there 20s though, you will meet people from many places in life. We are also in the middle of finals right now so that is probably why not so many people are responding from higher semesters. I will try and get more people on here and check regularly to answer any questions. I remember last year many people were kind of lost as German Bureaucracy can be complicated. Also a warning, Meldebestätigung is different than Aufenthalterurlaubnis (residence permit), just make sure you have a visa. If you don't have one you could stay here illegally without knowing it and nobody will tell you until you try to leave, i made that mistake when i came here and spring break got a bit complicated.

There is also Barfög scholarship, but is usually hard to qualify.

I hope this answers most of your questions and feel free to ask anything else you want to know as it can be hard to find information, especially up to date information.

WG Housing
https://www.wg-gesucht.de/

Erasmus Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/exchange.leipzig/

IPSP Class of 2017/18 Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/108084599889314/

Math Webpage Semester 1
http://www.math.uni-leipzig.de/~bellova/ipsp/

What is the requirement for Barfög scholarship? Are Non-EU citizens qualified to apply?

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Thor4four,

When you applied, how did you submit your test scores (SAT/ACT)?
Did you just download the scoresheet from the CollegeBoard (or ACT) and printed it, then got it certified?

 

[Thor4Four]

Thor4four,

When you applied, how did you submit your test scores (SAT/ACT)?
Did you just download the scoresheet from the CollegeBoard (or ACT) and printed it, then got it certified?

I'm not sure if they accept the screenshot, but I sent the screenshot with my package too because I wasn't sure how the submission worked at first either, but it is good anyways in case College Board takes longer to send the letter and Uni Assist may accept it anyways (depends on who looks at your package). The rest of the documents I just printed and sent in, I scanned a copy of my high school diploma, and also asked my high school for a signed transcript and included that in the package. Somebody in the thread mentioned the original documents, but you shouldn't include the originals because uni assist will not return it to you. Also my documents were not sent to the university until August 29th and I was accepted September 5th. The admission is unrestricted for IPSP so I think if Uni Assist forwards your application you are pretty much guaranteed admission but don't quote me on that.

You have to find uni assist's code and type that in (7217) and then you can send it to them. You also have the option to expedite it but depends on you if you want to spend the extra money. I called College Board and persuaded them to give me a free expedite because uni assist didn't receive my scores the first time (or so I thought) so you can try that, but you also get one free send I think. I made a tutorial below and there is a link to the send page. I didn't submit ACT so I'm not sure how to do that, but SAT is probably enough. You can check the uni assist link below.

Uni Assist Admission Qualification
https://www.uni-assist.de/en/tools/check-university-admission/

Submit SAT Scores
https://account.collegeboard.org/login/login?idp=ECL&appId=115&DURL=https://nsat.collegeboard.org/satweb/login.jsp

 

[Thor4Four]

What is the requirement for Barfög scholarship? Are Non-EU citizens qualified to apply?

Usually you have to be German but if you have a special financial circumstance you may qualify. There is also a relocation bonus of 150 euro you get for moving to Leipzig when you register your address at the Bürgeramt (called Zuzugsbonus) I will put a link to both applications below. Also if you choose Sparkasse as your bank you might get 25 euro. If you have the option to open a bank account in Germany, I recommend Sparkasse because they are much friendlier than Deutschebank and it is much cheaper to open a blocked account with Sparkasse (also Sparkasse has a lot of ATM's). There are advantages to banking with Deutschebank as well but I wouldn't worry about the bank accounts until you are in Germany.

Bafög Application:
https://www.meinbafoeg.de/bafoeg-anspruch/

Zuzugsbonus and Anmeldung:
https://english.leipzig.de/construction-and-residence/residence/application-for-relocation-bonus-for-students/

Also my roommate and I applied in September for Zuzugsbonus and didn't receive it until July so it is normal if you don't receive it right away.

 

[PiaM]

When should we apply for zuzugsbonus? Once we are there? I had never heard of it. Is there any other thing, besides the obvious (residence permit, matriculation, accomodation), that we should do once we arrive in Leipzig?

 

[Thor4Four]

When should we apply for zuzugsbonus? Once we are there? I had never heard of it. Is there any other thing, besides the obvious (residence permit, matriculation, accomodation), that we should do once we arrive in Leipzig?

You apply when you go to register your address at the Burgeramt. Other than that there isn't anything you have to do. Later you will get something in the mail asking you and your flatmates together to pay 17.50 euro a month for Deutschlandradio (the broadcasting fee). You can do this online after you register your address at the website below:

https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/

Or just wait for the letter to come in the mail and send it by post (post office will not ask you to buy stamps when you send it so that's nice)

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Thor4four,

What happened when you sent the screenshot of SAT?

 

[Thor4Four]

Thor4four,

What happened when you sent the screenshot of SAT?

They just said they received "Certificates" and "Other Documents" somehow my payment was missing 5 euro and they told me my application was incomplete because of that but they didn't mention any problem with using a printed off version of the SAT. I think that they will tell you your application is incomplete if the SAT isn't okay in the form as is. You can also ask the Studienbüro at uni Leipzig if it is okay if they receive your application in this form as Uni Leipzig will decide on your admission. Uni assist will send the package to Uni Leipzig if it is complete, and you will know if it is complete or not as they will send you an email telling you if it is missing something.

 

[Sirius Mukari]

I would also like to mention to everyone that Leipzig is known as being a VERY cheap city to live in, and if the whole Studentenwerk doesn’t work out, you can only find an apartment on your own. There are many great options and this is exactly what i am doing, and I advise looking on some popular German apartment rental websites! The best part about getting an actually apartment is that it most of the time will come furnished and the utilities are included in the monthly rent, I think it’s worth checking into!

This is true! Leipzig, thankfully, is very cheap city to live in. As you said, getting an apartment from a private person is not hard or expensive, if Studentenwerk Leipzig doesn't work out! We'll all be fine.

 

[Sirius Mukari]

Have you guys been notified by Univ. Leipzig already?

Nothing yet here either!

 

[Doyeon Jin]

They just said they received "Certificates" and "Other Documents" somehow my payment was missing 5 euro and they told me my application was incomplete because of that but they didn't mention any problem with using a printed off version of the SAT. I think that they will tell you your application is incomplete if the SAT isn't okay in the form as is. You can also ask the Studienbüro at uni Leipzig if it is okay if they receive your application in this form as Uni Leipzig will decide on your admission. Uni assist will send the package to Uni Leipzig if it is complete, and you will know if it is complete or not as they will send you an email telling you if it is missing something.

If it was okay sending the SAT screenshot, why did you send the score through CollegeBoard?

 

[Ahmed el tantawi]

Hey guys,

I'm from Egypt and i applied for this program and uni assist already sent my application to the university.. the university application says it has been received from 25 of june.. any idea when will they answer and send their reply?

Also, i alredy have a BSc in architecture but my gpa is very low.. was wondering if that will effect their decision of accepting me or not

Thanks a lot and hope to see you all soon in Leipzig at the start of the semester.

 

[Doyeon Jin]

Hey guys,

I'm from Egypt and i applied for this program and uni assist already sent my application to the university.. the university application says it has been received from 25 of june.. any idea when will they answer and send their reply?

Also, i alredy have a BSc in architecture but my gpa is very low.. was wondering if that will effect their decision of accepting me or not

Thanks a lot and hope to see you all soon in Leipzig at the start of the semester.

Don't worry, you'll be fine!

 

[HasanTanveer]

Hello everyone!
I'm Hasan, from Pakistan. I got my acceptance from the university at the end of May, I applied as soon as the they started taking in applications. Looking forward to seeing all of you, hope the university is as good as it sounds.

 

[Isaak_528]

Hey guys,

I'm from Egypt and i applied for this program and uni assist already sent my application to the university.. the university application says it has been received from 25 of june.. any idea when will they answer and send their reply?

I'm in a similar situation, my application was received at the university on June 26th and I still haven't heard back either. Please let me know when you get their reply!

 

[Doyeon Jin]

It generally takes about a month I heard. So you guys should get notified sooner or later.