School grade

The grade scale 1-6 is used to determine the calculation value for ranking. This means that the grades from the point system 1-15, which is often used for Abitur grades, must be converted to the grade scale 1-6.

For example, if you can prove 12 points in the advanced mathematics course, select the grade "1.7 in advanced mathematics".

• A distinction is made between honors courses and non-honors courses.
• As a rule, there are no advanced courses at specialized upper secondary schools. For this reason, applicants from this type of school are not normally able to indicate which courses they have taken.
• The term "Leistungskurse" or "LKs" is not used uniformly throughout Germany. Therefore, the following designations, among others, are also recognized:
  • LK = Leistungskurs
  • LF = Leistungsfach
  • P1 = courses at Leistungskurs level (in Saxony-Anhalt)
  • Extra Leistungskursblock on the certificate
  • eA = increased requirement level
  • *) = increased requirement
  • 1) = Abitur subjects with increased requirement profile
  • P = profile subject (only Abitur Baden-Württemberg, regulation before 2010)
  • N = inclination subject (only Abitur Baden-Württemberg, regulation before 2010)
  • W = elective core subject (only Abitur Baden-Württemberg, regulation from 2010)
  • K = Core subject (only Abitur Baden-Württemberg, regulation from 2010)

If your university entrance qualification shows an advanced course under a different designation, please send us an advanced course request.

• The specified school subject grade must be evident from the university entrance qualification.
  • In the case of Abitur/Gymnasium, the fourth half-year grade must be given.
    If applicable, better grades from other (1st,2nd,3rd) half-years are not taken into account.
  • In the case of Fachabitur/Fachoberschule , the subject grade of the
    final report card must be given.
  • In the case of a specialized b accalaureate after early departure from the Gymnasium , the last (second) half-year grade must be given.
     
• For Bachelor's degree programs, exactly one school subject from the canon of subjects related to the degree program must be indicated.

If a school subject cannot be indicated, it is included in the calculation with the calculation value 6.0. It is therefore always more advantageous to indicate a school subject with a poor grade than no school subject.

• Advanced courses (LKs) are weighted 3 times (the grade is divided by 3). This means that a LK grade of 3.3 (7 points) is included in the calculation with the value 1.1. Thus, a high school graduate should generally indicate poor performance courses rather than basic courses with good results.

The choice of school subjects is made easier by the "Grade calculator".

Ex. 1: Advanced course

You have taken an advanced German course for four semesters in which you received 14 points in the first semester, 13 points in the second semester, 12 points in the third semester and 11 points in the last semester.

For the subject "German" you enter the 11 points or the grade "2.0 in the advanced course" from "the last semester" of the HZB. The grades from the first to the third semester or the final grade from the certificate of higher education entrance qualification must not be indicated.

Ex. 2: bad advanced courses, good basic courses

You have taken an advanced German course for four semesters in which you received 11 points in the last semester. You have also taken a basic math course for four semesters in which you received 13 points in the last semester.

Since advanced courses are weighted higher than non-advanced courses, it would be more advantageous for you to indicate the lower advanced course grade in this example. You would therefore enter 11 points for the subject "German" or the grade "2.0 in the Leistungskurs" from "the 4th school semester of the HZB".

In this example, the advanced course grade of 2.0 would be divided by 3 and included in the ranking with the calculation value 0.66, while the basic course grade would remain unchanged with the calculation value 1.3.

You can use the "<link>Grade Calculator" to find out the most favorable subject information for you.

Ex. 3: The Leistungskurs is not called Leistungskurs in my case

In your final report the Leistungskurs is not called "Leistungskurs", but for example "Leistungsfach". Since the designation for an Leistungskurs can vary from state to state, we also consider the designations listed above to be Leistungskurs.

Ex. 4: No Leistungskurse

Due to the type of school you have chosen, you cannot provide evidence of any advanced courses, e.g. Fachoberschule (FOS). Indicate "non-performance course grades" in the grade.

Ex. 5: My subjects are not on the list

If you cannot provide evidence of any of the subjects related to your course of study, select "I cannot indicate a subject".

It could be that you can prove a school subject that corresponds to one of the listed subjects in terms of content. For example, you have taken the school subject "Mathematical Thinking and Acting", but for the course of study it asked for the school subject "Mathematics". In this case, please submit an application for crediting the school subject, which you can find on the page of the respective study program<link>(to the study program overview).