experience reports

for people who are interested in studying psychology

Do you have questions about the BaPsy test? Here we have collected experiences from people who have taken the BaPsy. They talk about how easy or difficult they found the test and offer tips.

"Hello, I took the test and also many others that I have met in Gießen so far. I studied for about 4-6 weeks, around 2 hours a day, and achieved 73%. Using the MedGuru preparation materials, but only the ones available online, so I didn’t buy any books.

"https://medgurus.de/produkt/bapsy-dgps-elearning/ Learning mental arithmetic and written calculation is worthwhile"

"Hello, I took the BaPsy last summer 😊 I found it very manageable with good preparation 👍🏼
Unfortunately, there is hardly any official practice material for the BaPsy online, but if you buy something from unofficial websites or on Amazon, you can really prepare well for it!

Since it's often about logical reasoning (I think in 3 out of 6 parts), you usually only need to understand the task principle once to be able to work on all of them.
The BaPsy really helped me in terms of getting into universities and being accepted, and I would recommend it to everyone! 😊"

"Hey, I took the BaPsy test. I would personally say that my strengths are not in fluid intelligence, which is what the BaPsy tested in particular, so I actually studied a lot for it. I tried everything from various exercise books to seminars and an online platform. Since my high school diploma was already a few years ago, I also took some math tutoring at the same time. Looking back, it wasn't an excessively intense study period for me, but rather constant practice, which I think is also the key to a good result."

"Hey :) I took the Bapsy test in 2023. That was one of the first rounds and I studied a lot for it.
Especially math, because my high school exams were already a few years ago. But if you have just finished high school and didn’t have any problems with math, that part is manageable. You should have good reading comprehension, especially in English.
It's mainly about the time. Time was really tight for all tasks.
There were practice exercises on the website for logical and numerical reasoning. However, I would also recommend doing additional exercises for those.
More is more!
It's not mainly about your skill, but about how quickly you can use it. So, the best of the best are filtered out through time pressure."

"I prepared for about 2 months and would say I studied around 1-2 hours every day.

I found the test quite difficult; some parts of the test were a bit easier, but overall it was challenging. There was also a lot of time pressure during the test itself, but you shouldn't let that affect you. To maybe ease some of the fear: I only had a high school diploma with a GPA of 1.8 and a test score of 53%, and I was accepted by several universities with that.

When I got my test result, I honestly thought I wouldn’t be accepted anywhere.

I used the e-learning from Medgurus and found it very helpful. They had countless practice exercises.

Back then, it cost 60€."

"Hey, I wrote the Bapsy and for that I studied with the Med-gurus platform. Because I took the test between my written and oral Abitur exams, I couldn't really study a lot for it, but it was totally fine anyway.

They seem to want to test you more through the stress and time pressure than through the tasks themselves (at least that's how it felt to me)."

"If you don't have a good GPA and really need a good test result, it's best to take the test a year after finishing high school, since the dates are often right in the middle of the final exams (or very shortly after), which means you simply have much less time to prepare thoroughly.

During the test, there was really intense time pressure. It's actually designed so that most people can't complete all the tasks (don't let that unsettle you). Back then, I got the online preparation program from MedGurus. Unfortunately, I didn't find it all that helpful, but since the test was so new, there were just too few free practice opportunities (though many people did find the program quite good).

During the test, you shouldn't get stuck too much on tasks that are difficult for you, but just keep going and, if necessary, guess. If you get easily unsettled, it's best not to talk too much with others on-site, as many will then talk about their high school grades or that they have been preparing for months, which can be really disconcerting if, for example, you had less preparation."

"Hey, I took the test (with an Abitur grade of 1.7) and I think I got 56% :/ Even so, I still got a study place in Gießen and Siegen (just in case anyone is asking about the chances/how 'good' you need to be… of course, it changes every year 🤷).

About the test in general, I can say: it's obviously very expensive (100€ test fee + travel, etc.), and if you want to buy study materials, that's extra. Since there is no really official study material, like there is for example with the TMS, a lot of the study material available for purchase is pretty flawed and really expensive… Still, it's better than nothing, and it helped me in my preparation in the sense that I had something I could work through instead of just studying blindly."

I also think it is important that the time indicated for each task section includes the time to read the task and not just to complete it. That is obviously logical to some extent, but I was not aware that the instructions are read out separately, i.e., that you are not allowed to read them at your own pace. In other words, you effectively have 2-3 minutes less per task section, regardless of whether you are a 'fast reader' or not. I found that a bit confusing, or I simply was not aware of it beforehand. Additionally, it is questionable whether this is actually handled the same way at all locations (Context: a friend of mine took the test at the same time at a different location and had very different experiences in this regard. Plus, at her location, already used notepads were (unintentionally) handed out, meaning notes from the previous session.) Of course, this raises the question of fairness and equal opportunity.

Nevertheless, it allowed me to secure a place at university, so I would definitely do it again. Anyone who really wants it and has the financial means can give it a chance, especially because, of course, regarding the 'unfair' conditions, you can also be on the side that benefits when others do worse. 😂 Finally, since the time for completing the tasks is very limited, almost everyone I talked to guessed on the last questions, so it's obviously associated with (a lot of) luck. Still, you can get a lot out of it through preparation :)"

"Hey, I had to take the BaPsy because I only had an Abitur grade of 2.5, and I've heard from most people that they took it too :) I mainly prepared with the book and the MedGurus website, and I think that was completely sufficient. The hardest part for me was the math section because it covered the entire math Abitur. Other than that, most of it was more about logical thinking, which you were well-prepared for if you understood the strategy behind the tasks or practiced mental arithmetic a bit. During the test, time pressure was especially a problem, which meant that some parts couldn't be completed. Overall, though, it was totally manageable. I prepared for about a month and scored 69%. Theoretically, I could have practiced more, but I think it really depends on the person. I've also heard of people who only prepared for a few days and still did well or even better :)"

"Hey, I took the BaPsy 2023 in May. I don't know what impact it ultimately had on me getting into the program. I had an Abitur grade of 1.4, but my test result was pretty 'bad' (38%), plus I had done a BFD as two waiting semesters. The percentage result indicates that, in my case, I performed better than 38% of the other participants. I actually found it quite difficult, but I had signed up very spontaneously (2 months beforehand). The types of tasks were exactly the ones listed on the website along with a few practice exercises. Overall, it resembled more an IQ test with extreme time pressure 😅. At that time, I had ordered the study set from MedGurus, which included a study book and an online practice platform. However, I mostly practiced with the online exercises, which on average were a bit easier than the tasks on the test."But the strategies were very helpful in checking the ideas behind the different tasks.
And it was relatively expensive; the registration for the test cost 100€ back then, and the practice materials another 100€."

"Hello, I took the Bapsy 2023. I only prepared using the exercises from the official site, and only those types of tasks appear (there were also study books circulating that you could use to learn, but apparently with partially different tasks, so that’s nonsense. Just having more practice exercises is, of course, good for practicing). The math part was not a problem for me (because of Advanced Math), but I know that many people prepared specifically for that part, especially those from federal states where math was not mandatory in the Abitur. At least half of the stress on exam day comes from the organization, the many people, and constant waiting (hopefully that has changed somewhat in recent years). I didn’t put too much time into preparation, because the tasks were all solvable anyway."

What later struck me is that the problem is time pressure. I can especially recommend, for the reasoning tasks (numerical, verbal, and figural—which, as far as I noticed, were not too difficult for many), coming up with a strategy to solve the tasks within the time limit. That cost me a few points, but all the tasks are structured similarly. There was definitely potential for improvement there. Reading comprehension was fine for me. I hadn’t done much practice for that beforehand. Anyone who generally has difficulties or struggles with English will surely benefit from reading a few technical articles beforehand. All in all, I would say the test is already challenging due to the time constraints. You can feel the pressure on participants who are placing their future on the outcome of the test. In some parts, I was able to solve almost everything, and in others, I solved as much as I could and guessed the rest on the answer sheet. Perhaps as a point of reference: I had 79% or 105 in the standard score evaluation. You have to factor in a certain luck rate for all the unanswered questions that I randomly marked. And I didn’t take the test with the goal of getting perfect scores. Accordingly, the knowledge I had, which was expected in the math final exam a year earlier, was enough, and I didn’t really study intensively again, and I counted on a few lost points. However, if you notice that the practice problems really don’t work at all, it’s of course recommended to study more. I think on the day itself, - staying calm, - bringing a few quiet snacks, and - accepting that you won’t get 100% and some questions will remain unanswered - (bringing the most analog watch you have and hoping it is accepted) are good prerequisites for the day. And for preparation: practice Bapsy problems, timing strategy for deductive thinking, math review, reading specialized articles."