Poornima Mani Review at Saarland University [SAARLAND UNI], Saarbrucken | Collegedunia

Saarland University Masters Experience

7.0
Verified Review (Out of 10)
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Academic
10.0
Accommodation
10.0
Faculty
10.0
Infrastructure
10.0
Placement
2.0

Student's Snapshots

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Classroom
Campus
Campus
Campus
Events and Fest
Poornima Mani
Saarland University, Embedded Systems
Reviewed on Mar 15, 2025(Enrolled 2023)

Colleges Where I Was Accepted

Reason for choosing my college

  • Saarland University is one of the most reputed colleges in Germany for computer science. There are 2 Max Planck institutes and top research organisations such as DFKI, KIST, HIPS, CISPA and many more inside the campus. So the possibilities for doing HiWI jobs are also very high.
  • It is a small city so the cost of living is very low as compared to bigger cities. The education here is also top-notch. I have to admit that the university is extremely good.

Colleges Where I Was Rejected

Reason for Rejection

  • Actually, I don't know. I think I was fairly qualified. But I got a rejection. No idea why. I couldn't apply to RWTH because their applications close super early and I had not completed IELTS or some other exam. I don't remember exactly.

Required Exams for Admission

IELTS (8)
GRE (306)

Scholarship Received

Deutschland Stipendium 
EUR€ 4,800

Required Documents For Admission

CV

Tips to enhance your application

  • I was working while I wanted to study abroad. So I took help from MsInGermany. Their service was extremely good and they prepared an extremely good SOP, LOR and CV for me. I think having work experience helps. Also, if you have a GRE score, that can help you.

Admission Experience

  • Initially, I wanted to go to the US. But my GRE score was only 306. Also, the US was way too expensive and we didn't have so much money. When we consulted MS in Germany, they said that education in Germany was free of charge and that based on my profile, I could get into a top university. So I chose to pursue education here.
  • Saarland University was my high-shot option. The university's QS rankings were extremely good and the computer science department was top-notch. I applied for embedded systems since I chose ECE in my bachelors. I also preferred Saarland as it was smaller than big cities like Munich, which were also very expensive. I had talked to a few seniors and since they mentioned that it is easy to get a hiwi job here as there are many research organisations, I decided to come here.
  • My overall experience was phenomenal. I got a housing at the student housing and I pay 250/280 euros per month as rent. Hochschulsport offers many sports courses for free and with payment. There are many big libraries with a lot of space to study.

Class Schedule

10

  • It completely depends on the number of courses you take. For a core lecture, normally its 4 hours a week for the lecture and 2 hours per week for the tutorial. For an advanced lecture: 2 hours per lecture and 2 hours per tutorial. Classes can be anytime from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. For core lectures, we can expect a full house of even 400 students. For advanced lectures, 50-200.
  • Saarland University's computer science campus looks like a mini-India. There are many Indians. If you study and do assignments regularly and wish to do 30 credits per semester, you have to dedicate 2 hours extra per day apart from lectures.

Faculty

10

  • Faculties are very down to earth, unlike India. They genuinely want you to learn from their course. If you do well, you can work and do your master thesis under them. I did mine under Prof. Anja Feldmann and she is extremely well reputed in her field. If you do well, then you can even get a PhD position in these groups.

Campus Life

10

  • There are many departments other than computer science. Ours is one big campus with many buildings. There are 5-6 big libraries and one big library is entirely dedicated to the computer science department.
  • Saarland University also has Hermann Neuberger Sportschule, which is an Olympics training academy. Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu and many others train on this campus. There are also many Indian celebrations that happen, so we don't feel left out.

Part Time Jobs

  • I think most students prefer working at the university or at a company as working students. When I came here two years ago, it was quite okay to find working student jobs. But I have heard from a few students lately that it is getting difficult.
  • But I still believe that it is easy to find a part-time job without knowing German. Many people also work outside in restaurants but most people I know work inside the campus.
  • You can get TA roles if you score 1.0 or 1.3 in the course. Normally they approach you for such jobs. Pay is normally minimum at the university. There are many part-time jobs; you just have to look for them. The maximum allowed time is 20 hours a week. I think they allowed 24 now but I'm not sure.

Placement

2

  • I think it is quite difficult to find full-time jobs. I am just finishing up my thesis and until now I could only get one interview after applying to so many companies. I think initially we should not set high expectations for salary, especially because we are less preferred than native Germans.
  • Starting salary is normally anywhere between $40,000 and $60,000. Students normally find jobs on LinkedIn.

Accommodation

On Campus
10