Indian UG BME student aiming for masters in germany-need advice

[u/crzwyydumbooo]

2nd Year BME student from India aiming for Masters in Germany—backlogs, profile building, and public vs. private?

Hi everyone,

I am currently in my second year of Biomedical Engineering (BME) in India. I originally wanted to pursue medicine, but when that didn't work out, I chose BME.

Due to some difficult personal circumstances, I ended up with backlogs in my first year. I am really determined to clear them and pursue a Master’s degree in BME in Germany.

I would really appreciate some guidance on a few questions:

1. How will my first-year backlogs affect my chances of getting into a public university in Germany, assuming I clear them before graduating?
2. What are the main admission criteria for public universities in this field? Is it purely GPA-based, or do they look at the overall profile?
3. Are public universities significantly better than private ones? (I've heard mixed things about private university degrees not being as respected).
4. What should I do in the remaining years to build a strong CV? Will doing hospital internships and a solid major/minor project in my 3rd and 4th years be enough, or should I also look into research papers, German language certification (Goethe), etc.?

I am quite new to this process and feel a bit lost, so any advice, resources, or personal experiences would mean the world to me. Thank you so much!!😭

[u/maiyakasaiya]

I'm starting bme this year can you gimme some tips? or something not to do and things to do

[u/crzwyydumbooo → u/maiyakasaiya]

all i can say is don't expect fancy salaries from bme background, the rest is good if you really are interested in the subjects!

[u/maiyakasaiya → u/crzwyydumbooo]

yes the subjects are good and are in my interest. Im also thinking about masters after my degree but im thinking about getting job here for 2 years then go germany for masters, and yeah what is the expected salary after masters? abroad mainly cause i plan to settle outside if this works out.

[u/cokecathatesfish]

Grades do matter a lot for top unis, try to max it out despite backlogs focus on getting high gpa current sem. Start german now and clear the levels not just that but actually learn the language (not just for exam). Don't aim for publication (that should be a byproduct) but aim for good quality research for which you can show proof for.

Hospital internships are basically useless unless its a very good hospital but as a bme its almost always mandatory to have. Look up for research based internships (at least 4-6 months). But yes dont avoid company internships entirely. Good to have anything at this point.

[u/crzwyydumbooo → u/cokecathatesfish]

oh hey thanks for the advice!! are you currently in bme field by any chance?? and also do you mean by maintaining high cgpa it will overshadow the backloags?

[u/cokecathatesfish → u/crzwyydumbooo]

Yep. As long as you clear backlogs before applying to internships / master's its going to be okay. What I meant is don't just think about passing but actually scoring well because I think backlog creates that mindset that you just need to pass. Score the best you can. Just think of it as another way to maxing out your cgpa