I applied for the integrated life science program since may and I have gotten no response from them yet. I don't know if they are done or I still have to wait. has anyone got feedback from FAU ?

I applied for the integrated life science MASTERS program since May and I have gotten no response from them yet. I don't know if they are done or I still have to wait. has anyone got feedback from FAU ?

Let us completely unpack Question 3 so that this never trips you up again. This is the single most common trick format on German university entrance exams for bioinformatics, because it tests your attention to directionality.

Here is the question from the practice set:

If a double-stranded DNA sequence is written as 5'-GGAA-3', what is the correct sequence of its complementary antiparallel partner DNA strand written in the standard 5' to 3' direction?

Step 1: The Golden Rule of DNA (Antiparallel)

DNA strands are like a two-lane road where cars drive in opposite directions. They are antiparallel.

• If the top strand runs from left to right as 5' to 3',
• The bottom strand must run from left to right as 3' to 5'.

Let us line them up and apply standard base-pairing (G pairs with C, A pairs with T):

Top Strand (Given):      5' ──  G  ──  G  ──  A  ──  A  ── 3'
│     │     │     │
Bottom Strand (Match):   3' ──  C  ──  C  ──  T  ──  T  ── 5'

If you look at the bottom strand from left to right, it reads: 3'-CCTT-5'.

Step 2: The Exam Standard (The Flip)

In biology and informatics databases, sequences are always written starting from the 5' end on the left. If a question does not specify an orientation, you must assume the answers are written in the standard 5'-to-3' direction.

Look at our matching bottom strand again: 3'-CCTT-5'.

To write it starting with the 5' end on the left, we simply read it backward from right to left:

Read from right to left:   5' ──  T  ──  T  ──  C  ──  C  ── 3'

Therefore, 3'-CCTT-5' is exactly the same molecule as 5'-AAGG-3' when flipped around to look standard.

The 3-Second Exam Shortcut

Instead of drawing it out every time on your scratch paper, you can find the answer in two steps:

1. Find the complement: Swap the letters (GGAA becomes CCTT).
2. Reverse the result: Read it completely backward (CCTT backwards becomes AAGG).

This instantly gives you Option A) 5'-AAGG-3'.

Does seeing the physical alignment of the two strands clear up how the directionality flips? Let me know if you would like to run one more rapid sequence matching question to test this shortcut!