Information for Admitted Students

Admission Notification
Admitted students will receive an information package by regular post. Additionally, they will receive an information package by post.

Please note: The information package is only a service and contains hard copies of all documents that we send to you with the original admission email. The information package does not include any extra documents that are exclusively needed to accept your admission. Please use the soft copies of your admission documents to get the visa application process started, for example.

Confirmation of your Admission to RWTH Aachen University
To confirm your participation in the study program organized by RWTH International Academy, you will need to send back a signed copy of the study contract (participation agreement) by June 30.

The fees for the first semester are also due on June 30. The payment information will be included in your letter of admission. You can find out more about the payment of fees in the section Fees | Expenses.

Visa Matters
You should appropriately calculate the time you will need to apply for a visa. This process may take between two to six months for non-European citizens. Please start your visa application process immediately after receiving your admission and make an appointment with the German embassy as soon as possible.
Please see also: RWTH Aachen Visa Information

Travelling to Aachen
Travel options and approximate costs from several airports to Aachen.

Planning your Stay
Please take note of our semester dates when planning your stay:

Winter Semester: October 1 to March 31
• Lecture period: middle of October to the beginning of February
• Exam period: beginning of February to the end of March

Summer Semester: April 1 to September 30
• Lecture period: middle of April to the end of July
• Exam period: end of July to the end of September

Upon enrollment at RWTH Aachen, you will receive the following documents to finalize your student status:

Bank Transfer Slip / Pay Form

Following enrollment at the university, you will receive a bank transfer slip and pay form so that you can arrange your university fees payment. Using the transfer slip, you can pay the due amount from your bank account by electronic transfer. Alternatively, if you do not have a bank account in Germany, you can pay the amount in cash into the university account at one of the branches of Sparkasse Aachen. For this transaction, a small fee will be charged. We advise you to use the bank transfer slip as it includes all relevant information, like your student ID number, your number of enrolled semesters, the amount due, as well as the university's bank account details. As soon as the university has received your payment, the enrollment procedure will be completed and you will have formally joined RWTH Aachen. Therefore, you are advised to pay your semester fees as soon as possible.

Temporary Student ID Card (Enrollment Certificate)

During the enrollment process at RWTH Aachen, you will receive a temporary enrollment certificate which will serve as a substitute for your student ID card for a few weeks. This certificate will be valid until you receive your enrollment and semester documents from RWTH Aachen. Furthermore, by presenting this certificate at the ASEAG Services Centre – the local public transport provider – , you can obtain a preliminary public transport pass. For more information, please contact the Info-Service Center of the International Office.

Enrollment and Semester Documents

About four to six weeks after RWTH has received your payment of your semester fees, you will receive a semester package containing all the relevant documents for the upcoming semester by post. Therefore, please make sure to keep the Registrar's Office and the International Office informed about any changes of address. This also applies throughout your studies.

Please read all documents sent to you carefully. You should now have the following documents:

• Your personal data sheet ("Stammdatenblatt") containing all necessary information concerning your studies, such as your degree program, the number of semesters studied, your student ID number, etc. Please keep this data sheet in a safe place, as you will need it at a later time during your studies, e.g. when registering for exams.
• Your Student ID card which replaces the temporary enrollment certificate.
• Further certificates stating your student status to be presented or submitted when dealing with authorities such as the Residents' Registration Office, the Foreigners' Registration Office, the local Bafög Agency, etc.
• Your public transport pass or Semesterticket AVV/NRW, which entitles you to use most of the public transport system in and around the city of Aachen, as well as in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia free of charge. Please read the information on the transport pass carefully as there are some restrictions which you should be aware of – you can use most public transport facilities within Aachen and the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia, but not all of them.
• The bank transfer slip / pay form for the next semester, so that you can re-enroll on time.
• The access code is needed to use the services provided by RWTH's IT Center, e.g. your RWTH email account. You can find the access code on your personal data sheet

Activating Your IT Center Services

RWTH's IT Center offers students a variety of services, such as free internet access (WiFi and wired), your personal email account, user access management (TIM) for IT Center services, and CAMPUS Office, an online information system which gives you access to your study plans, the university's lecture and seminar list, and various other organizational functions. You are able to activate these services online by using your personal access code which you will receive as part of your semester package. Please note that the temporary enrollment certificate does not provide you with an access code. In order to activate your communication services, please visit the Services Activation web page provided by the IT Center, where you will be required to enter your matriculation number as well as your access code. Upon successful activation, you will receive your personal access data.

Before using the services, please note the following:

• Your email address is typically firstname.lastname@rwth-aachen.de. It is essential that you check your RWTH email regularly as important information sent out by the university will only be sent to this email account. Of course, you can forward your RWTH emails to another email account.
• Please note that you are required to protect your personal computer by installing and maintaining an up-to-date version of a reliable anti-virus software program. For this purpose, RWTH provides students with Sophos Anti-Virus software. You can download the software as well as the latest virus information free of charge.
• For further information, please visit the IT Center's website.

Source: http://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Vor-dem-Studium/~egh/Einschreibung/lidx/1/