Studienkolleg
Studienkolleg entrance exam: how to practice the German C-Test
Short answer: Many Studienkollegs test German with a C-Test: short texts in which, from the second sentence on, every second word is missing its second half. Practicing B1–B2 texts regularly, and reviewing every mistake, is what reduces lost points in the gaps.
How Studienkollegs test German
The Studienkolleg at Goethe University Frankfurt uses an electronic C-Test and tests German only. Studienkolleg München tests reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary at B1+/B2: besides the C-Test it uses other tasks such as sentence building, multiple choice and a short writing task, 50 minutes in total.
Format, timing and weighting therefore differ between Studienkollegs. Always check your own Studienkolleg’s page and use its sample test if it publishes one.
Studienkolleg München: German entrance exam · Goethe University Frankfurt: Studienkolleg
How the gaps are made
The first sentence stays complete. After that, every second word loses its second half, the larger part for words with an odd number of letters. You see the start of the word and complete the rest: often an ending, an article, or a short function word.
That is why the result depends so much on grammar. If you know which case follows a preposition or which adjective ending fits, many gaps take seconds.
What costs points in the gaps
Typical B1–B2 mistakes are case endings (in ei_ kleinen Garten: einem, not einen), adjective endings, verb forms, and small words like weil, dabei or auf. Every gap counts on its own, so a wrong ending costs exactly as much as an unknown word.
Blank gaps are often a timing problem; wrong gaps are more often a knowledge problem. Keep the two apart when you review your practice texts.
A two- to three-week practice routine
Start with a free C-Test and look at which topics cost you points. Review those topics in short grammar lessons, then do one or two timed C-Test texts a day.
Write down each wrong answer with its reason, for example “dative after in, question where?”, and practice the same form in new texts. If your Studienkolleg also tests writing or other task types, plan separate practice time for those.
What onSET Prep covers, and what it does not
onSET Prep is built for the onSET C-Test, but the gap rule is the same in every C-Test: 104 C-Test texts from A1 to B2, 50 grammar lessons on the forms that show up in gaps, and mistake review.
We are not a Studienkolleg and do not know their exam texts. Practice mathematics, writing tasks and each Studienkolleg’s other task types with that Studienkolleg’s own sample materials.