umop_3pisdn
Member
And a Canadian I think Berlin is probably the coolest city in the world right now
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Americans can study in Germany for free, in English
- Thread starter Phantast2k
- Start date
And a Canadian I think Berlin is probably the coolest city in the world right now
loaf of bread
Member
Good for Masters but not a whole lot of options for bachelor's
Winters there are brutal
paradise_circus
Member
yeah, we almost forgot how snow looks and feels
Me as well
BreezyLimbo
Banned
So, for anyone who's done this, can you apply to FAFSA and then take that money to study over there? >_>;
Palculator
Unconfirmed Member
Don't quote me on this, but the only thing I remember about my University application forms were them asking if I was above 50 or something. 29 doesn't seem that crazy and I've had plenty of people in my classes who look like they're in their 30s.
AnathemicOne
Banned
I graduate next semester... damnit
Canada is amazing. But cool?
eot
Banned
Sweden used to be free for all, but now it's just free for EU citizens. I think the tuition fees are low by American standards though.
kruis
Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
Germans are crazy for subsidizing education for the rest of the world. Education there is not really free, it's paid for by German tax payers and when thousands of people make advantage of this, the tax bill goes up or education won't be free for German students anymore.
Did you even bother to read the article? Theres an economic incentive to motivate foreigners to study in germany.
YourMaster
Member
It isn't free, but it isn't 'paying for' it's 'investing in'. This may come to as a shock to some, but some government expenditures actually have a net-positive return on investment.
In western europe highly educated people don't make many babies, we have shortages in highly skilled labor, so if every second foreign student stays several years after their education to work and pay taxes they'll pay back their education and then some.
And many people stay, because it's easy to get a job with their eductation.
You're outgermanangsting Germans.
Thug Waffle
Member
I'd be all over this if I could pass the financial qualifications (proof of sufficient resources).
Really disappointing. I've been enamored with the idea of continuing my education. I'm too poor to do it here in the US, and I'm too poor to do it in Germany where it's free. :/
Really disappointing. I've been enamored with the idea of continuing my education. I'm too poor to do it here in the US, and I'm too poor to do it in Germany where it's free. :/
Tuition fees were state based and in 2009 there were already several states that cancelled them again or never introduced them in the first place, like Hesse or Berlin. So, you could have studied for free.
yeah, I know.
but I would have had to move, pay for an apartment, and so on..
yep incredible dumb idea, foreigners who never paid any tax in this country get a free education with tax payer money and then leave again to go back home with their german tax money education
hobblygobbly
Member
BBC had a segment of this a while ago, here's part (of I think a larger?) video. US students head to Germany for free degrees.
Funyarinpa
Member
Guess who's going to Germany
Palculator
Unconfirmed Member
Well, I'm sure the people in charge were completely oblivious to this very obvious observation and didn't at all consider it when weighing costs vs. benefits.
Funyarinpa
Member
Okay GermanGAF, I need an urgent beginner's guide to STEM in Germany right now
anonymous_abc
Member
There is a very large open university in Germany.
They offer various courses in English and you can often take exams abroad.
https://www.fernuni-hagen.de
anonymous_abc
Member
Can you be more specific?
I studied Electronical Engineering at Paderborn University, a nice friendly town with a decent campus and reputation.
Funyarinpa
Member
Haven't fully decided beyond STEM myself. Thinking along the lines of physics/astronomy/astrophysics. I understand and apologize if I'm being too vague (halfway through HS and feeling rather lost).
anonymous_abc
Member
I'm still not sure what you want to know though.
So I'll start by saying: yes it is possible to study all those in Germany and a multitude of Universities.
On thing is very important to know about the German university system. It is really not that important at what university you study.
We don't have an ivy league where everything else is a waste of time.
PdotMichael
Banned
You can study for free in Germany but you will outsell your heart to socialism.
Palculator
Unconfirmed Member
And then they go back to the States and maybe help fix them.
This link brings up so many "How does Germany work", "Why is Germany so great" and "Can we learn from Germany" videos. They are fascinating to watch.
A Human Becoming
More than a Member
Well I already dropped out of graduate school once but at least if it happened again I wouldn't be $30k in debt.
anonymous_abc
Member
Funyarinpa
Member
That's quite a relief to hear. Thank you so much.
PdotMichael
Banned
You could just pick Physics and get all your listed topics.
In my experience are German degrees less specialized than American degrees.
You know. We try to help people in need as much as we can. And who needs more help than students trapped in a terrible education system.
Funyarinpa
Member
Thank you!
Palculator
Unconfirmed Member
One thing I'm not sure about: Don't American colleges usually go through a bunch of "general education" courses before you actually fully focus on your major? That's not really a thing here since our highschools cover enough of that already and Universities can just assume you know all of that already. So maybe you'd have to read up on some stuff that gets taught in regular highschool here, but since I have no first hand experience or know people that went through both I can't tell you how much that of a problem that could be.
Edit: Lol, you're not even American. I just assumed since the thread was targeted at Americans. My bad.
I started my Bachelor degere with 34 years and there was never a mention about it.
From the University's side I don't thik there's a limit. From the side of the office for foreigners where you get your visa, though, I think there's a limit, don't quote me but I think is 45 years.
people can and will take advantage of this option, both locals and foreigners.
.- The Semester Ticket, which grants you full transportition in the city and sometimes a whole state ist worth paying your 14 semesters.
.- your health insurance is also like 20% of the actual price compared to when you are a normal person who just works.
.- you are also allowed to work half time and in most cases you are exempt from paying taxes just because.
.- Student and a parent? here! there's money for you!
it sounds easy but it's very very hard and you need a strong character and resilience. People just look at the article and think "yay, here's my ticket for a better future" but leaving friends and family behind for years is a huge thing to do.
I am Mexican, and I put my house in Mexico for rent and every single mexican peso I got from that has been spent in Germany, pure benefit for the german economy.
regarding Uni, the first year you need to have the complete amount of money for that year up front, then every year you have to show more money again.
you know, Germans are very smart regarding finances.
when Merkel lets all those refugees in and they "help" greece and stuff, they know very well it's for the benefit of Germany's economy,
They know very very well what they are doing.
Reading HSV with an english voice and pronunciation for the first time ever makes it sound like a nasty illness even more
PdotMichael
Banned
Best thing being a young student was the fact that you would get €150 every month until you are 25 years old because you are awesome.
It is. The Bundesliga is trying to get rid of the HSV for 50 years now.
We are like syphilis.
Reading HSV with an english voice and pronunciation for the first time ever makes it sound like a nasty illness even more
It is. The Bundesliga is trying to get rid of the HSV for 50 years now.
We are like syphilis.
darkinstinct
...lacks reading comprehension.
"Free" is a very relative term. You need about 850 a month to cover your living expenses. To make that money you have to earn about 1050 before taxes/social insurance. You are allowed to work 120 days a year fulltime, that means you have to find a job that pays 13 an hour to actually cover your cost. That is if you don't do trips home, which can be another 2k a year. The standard student job pays close to 9 an hour.
I know this is in the OP but it's buried between the other stuff. Also because studies are free the popular courses are incredibly crowded (300 students in a room for 250 is the rule, not the exception). Or they have strict requirements to take them. And only 5 % of all students are allowed to be foreigners. So yeah, it's not that easy.
I know this is in the OP but it's buried between the other stuff. Also because studies are free the popular courses are incredibly crowded (300 students in a room for 250 is the rule, not the exception). Or they have strict requirements to take them. And only 5 % of all students are allowed to be foreigners. So yeah, it's not that easy.
Can't help sneaking that in there, can you
Reading HSV with an english voice and pronunciation for the first time ever makes it sound like a nasty illness even more
Says the Devil.
Yep, I moved to UK 5 years ago leaving my family behind and it was a tough decision, after those 5 years in UK I already started feeling "settled in" enough to decide against moving to Germany.
And not to mention the fact that a lot of students stay and work there, and pay taxes..thereby pouring it back into the system.
We already established it is the one German city cooler than Canada so don't rain on my parade
What kind of trips home costs 2k a year? Unless you are going back 2-4 times a year (why would you do that anyway?) A return ticket from UK to India (which is quite some distance) costs anywhere between £350 to £500 for me.
The % is something that's not really a hard limit and on top of that I am sure they get much less applications than that from internationals.