Kollego

Reference

Glossary

Plain definitions for every TestAS and Studienkolleg term used on this site.

APS Certificate
A certificate issued by the Akademische Prüfstelle (APS) confirming the authenticity of an applicant's academic credentials — required by some universities for applicants from specific countries (e.g. China, India, Vietnam), separate from and in addition to TestAS.
Aufnahmeprüfung
The entrance exam required to be admitted into a Studienkolleg course. Bayern and Hessen run one centralised exam per state; every other Studienkolleg writes its own.
C-Test
A German-language proficiency format used in Studienkolleg entrance exams: a passage with the second half of every second word deleted, which you fill in.
Core Module
The mandatory first part of Digital TestAS, taken by every applicant regardless of subject: Figure Sequences, Mathematical Equations, and Latin Squares, 20 items each.
Digital TestAS
The current, primary format of TestAS (since ~2024), taken on a computer at a test centre. Consists of a Core Module (3 subtests, 20 items / 25 min each) and one Subject Module (90 min, 10-15 testlets).
Figure Sequences
A Core Module subtest: identify the transformation rule (rotation, fill, count, shape) applied across a sequence of figures and pick what comes next.
Latin Squares
A Core Module subtest: deduce a missing symbol in a grid where every symbol must appear exactly once per row and column.
M-Kurs
The Studienkolleg course track for medicine/biology fields — largely the T-Kurs math syllabus minus its hardest ~20% (typically no vectors or heavy integration), plus statistics.
Numerical (Continuing) Series
A Paper-based TestAS Core Test subtest (called 'Continuing Numerical Series'): find the next number in a sequence governed by an arithmetic, geometric, or other rule.
Paper-based TestAS
The older, pencil-and-paper format of TestAS, still offered in 2026 (e.g. April and October) but being phased out in favor of Digital TestAS. Has a differently-structured Core Test (4 subtests, 110 minutes).
Scaled Score
TestAS results are reported on a scaled score (roughly 40-160), derived via item-response theory rather than a simple raw-correct percentage — the same item at different difficulty levels contributes differently to the final score.
Studienkolleg
A mandatory one-year preparatory college for applicants whose school qualification isn't directly recognized as equivalent to the German Abitur. Ends in the Aufnahmeprüfung (entrance exam) for the course itself, and later a Feststellungsprüfung.
Subject Module
The second, discipline-specific part of TestAS — one of six: Engineering, MINT (Maths/CS/Natural Sciences), Economics, Humanities, Life Sciences, or Medicine. Testlet-based: a shared stimulus followed by several applied questions.
T-Kurs
The Studienkolleg course track for technical/engineering fields — math-heavy, including calculus, vectors, and analytic geometry.
uni-assist
A service many German universities use to pre-check and process international applications before they reach the university itself. Separate from TestAS or Studienkolleg — some universities require it, some don't.