College

General remarks

Students on both sides of the Atlantic usually are completely unaware that there are BIG differences between the two countries.

Generally, one must say that Germany does not know "colleges" the way the USA know them. What you learn at college is partly taught at our secondary schools, partly at university. That is why school used to last 13 years and, starting at grade 5, students are split into three different achievement levels: Hauptschule (9-year course), Realschule (10 yrs) and Gymnasium (12/13 yrs). Only the best 30 % attend the last type. Their final 2-3 years are much like the first two years at US colleges. Once they graduate, students go on to university - that is, professional school. There they get a training to become a lawyer, doctor etc. directly. The Gymnasium graduation (Abitur) opens the way to any university. There are NO entrance examinations, no SAT etc. Your "Abiturdurchschnittsnote" (GPA) is all you need to get a placement at the institution you prefer - the better it is, the more likely you are to be offered what you want. And another difference: while at Gymnasium you cannot take any courses that get you credits at any university.

At Gymnasium students are under strict observation by teachers and their attendance at all courses is checked regularly. At German university rarely anybody cares whether you attend classes (at least in some fields). There are few courses that resemble your college system. Students usually do not know each other. Life at German universities is very anonymous and highly individual. Especially in the liberal arts every student picks the lectures and seminars he/she prefers and at the end passes the exams. Every student decides for himself/herself when he/she feels ready for the final exam. Some take the minimum 4 years, most take 5-6 years, some even used to stay for 10 years at university (often because they changed subjects several times). After 13 years at school plus maybe 1 year in the military or alternative service graduates are usually almost 30 years when they apply for their first job in life. After that little further university training is possible.

There is, however, another type of post-graduation university-like training available in Germany: the Fachhochschulen (University of Applied Science), where you can become e. g. an engineer or an administrator. They are much more like colleges in their structure since people start their courses together and graduate together and there is little choice in their schedule. This is actually vocational training. After 3 years you have a complete education and go right into specialized working life.

And one of the most important differences comes last:

All courses at the ca 250 universities and Fachhochschulen used to be - like any school in Germany - FREE. You might also say the government offers a full scholarship to everyone. This is changing, though. In some German states it is still like this, others have begun to ask for a Euro 500 fee per semester.

Figures for Germany are roughly (around the year 2000):

1,000,000 new students at all schools put together for one year
300,000 Abitur graduations
30,000 doctoral dissertations per year
1000 habilitations per year (qualification to become a professor)

After this introduction some answers to questions:

1. What factors determine which college you attend?
This depends on what the university has to offer in the subject you want to study. Not every university offers architecture or engineering but some specialize in such fields and have a better reputation than others. Another factor is the distance from home. Many students live at home. There are practically no on-campus dormitories!

And of course your Abitur GPA also means that you will not be accepted at all universities because if there are too many applicants they are chosen by GPA rank. This is called numerus clausus (restricted number).

2. How much does the Abitur affect where you go to college?
If you want to study medicine you ought to be very good (GPA 1.0 to 1.5, equivalent to 4.0 - 3.5 in USA). Otherwise your Abitur opens the way to any and all universities.

3. How much does college cost?
Tuition is free in some German states, just like high school. Some states, however, have begun to introduce a fee of Euro 500 per semester. So far, there are very few private universities. You do have to pay for your room and board plus your books. And then you must get an obligatory student health insurance (costs Euro 100 per month) and pay for some other social services for students (Euro 200 per semester). Then you can use the busses in the area for free. There are cheap rooms for students built by Studentenwerk, an independent non-profit organization founded by the state. These may cost Euro 150 (warm) per month, without any food. Otherwise an apartment can cost you Euro 500, but often students share apartments by 3 or 5 people. Food is about Euro 100 per month.

There are no scholarships in Germany! However there is a law (Bafoeg = Bundesausbildungsfoerderungsgesetz) that sees to it that needy people can get up to Euro 680 per month for 4-5 years if they or their parents cannot afford all the costs involved with studying. Part of this money has to be paid back.

4. How many courses per semester is considered "full time" for a college student?
The number of courses is fixed differently for every subject. However, if you talk about regular colleges, then you must look at Gymnasium timetables because the general college education is largely provided at these during the last three years. They have about 36 periods of 45 min per week. There are about 12 obligatory subjects: two foreign languages, one for 9 years, one for at least 3 years. Physics, biology, chemistry for at least 5, 7, 3 years respectively; math, music, art, history, German, geography, PE for 9 years. There is not such a wide choice of subjects at a Gymnasium as at a high school. But those that you take will not permit much spare time. Few afternoon activities are offered at German schools.

5. How much time does a college course meet per week?
In grades 11-13 each students majors in one subject. The other subjects are taught three periods per week. All in all, attending Gymnasium is a full-time job! The same applies to university - although about a third to one half of university students have jobs on the side, resulting in a longer stay at university usually.

6. Do college students usually live at home or stay on campus?
That depends. Most will move to the university town if it is far away. Getting across Germany from Flensburg to Konstanz takes you a full day (1000 km or 620 miles). But, as said above, there is no "staying on campus" in Germany because for historical reasons campusses are scattered all over the city. Traditionally university students rented a private room with an old widow in town to give her some extra income. This was his home away from home. That is no longer the standard but you can still find it. One third to one half of the students work to make a little extra money.

updated by Helmut Lasarcyk in October 2010