Free University in Germany--it's probably not what most Americans are envisioning

One of my excuses for the recent neglect of my blog is that it was a lot of work and effort helping Marika decide what to take back to the US with her and pack up and sort and then we all went over to the states for just over a month (which is the longest trip I have ever been on) to visit family and drop her off at University in the US.  Yes, my little girl has moved back to the states, and yes, it does feel weird living on a different continent than my teenager.

Dropping Marika off at school was a lot of fun, but while we were busy moving her into her dorm room and attending parent orientation, I couldn't help but think of the many conversations we have had with her friends here in Germany about how very different the university systems in the two countries are, and wondering how that (along with the much higher taxes in Germany) play into the debate about "free university" in which i so often hear lately that the US should offer free university, "just like Germany" does.

 (it should be noted that I absolutely feel university costs have risen far too high and too fast in the US and that something needs to be done to stem this;  however I think when looking to what other countries charge, it is important to know what we are comparing to, and I think many, if not most Americans that I hear speaking about this are imagining US style universities offering free tuition, which is simply not the case in Germany--thus my blog post).

Taking my cue from The Sound of Music, perhaps I should start at the very beginning: The (potential) Students.
In the USA the vast majority of students attend highschool together.  Some may take more rigorous course loads and some less, but that is decided primarily by the student and on a year by year basis, and all of the various courses are in one building, one highschool which is for ALL kids in that area.
Nearly any student who graduates from high school can go on to college if s/he wants to and is able to finance it.  Those with better grades and test scores and AP classes are more likely to be accepted into the most prestigious universities and to receive substantial scholarship money, but even lackluster students who took pretty simple classes and bombed their SATs (standardized tests whose scores are often used when determining college acceptance in the US--they can be retaken many times in attempts to get the best score possible) can probably find 4 year schools to take them (often school which offer a great education, by the way) and there is also the option for a low performing student to take classes at a local community college for a year or two, show a good track record there and then transfer into a 4 year school (and receive credit towards the degree for the classes taken at community college).

While the Americans are busy getting ALL (or nearly all) kids ready for university and pushing that option for nearly everyone--the German system is set up very differently.  The standard German system tracks kids at the end of fourth grade (yes, you read that correctly, FOURTH grade, primarily 9 year olds) into one of three schools for the remainder of their pre graduation years.  Only the top track (gymnasium)  eventually goes on to attend university (and in recent decades there is an option for graduates of the middle track to then go into the top track with an extra year and possibly go on to university, but my understanding from speaking with many teachers and parents is that this is almost never done).  Even once a child "makes the cut" into the gymnasium track, they can be demoted down at any time if they fail to keep up and maintain strong grades in German, English, a third language, math and history at a minimum--estimates I see often in new articles are that 80% of students have at least one paid outside tutor for most of their years from grade 5 and up in order to maintain this.  Most do stay on track though, and take the abitur exam as 12th graders (it used to be in grade 13--this is a recent change).  This is a ONE time exam taken over several days and scores on that will be the primary factor which determines what fields someone is eligible to study in.

So, I guess that the first major thing that I think many Americans fail to understand when speaking about how Germany offers free university, so why doesn't the US is: Germany provides a free university education for a pretty limited number of its citizen (I never could find a definitive number when googling but approximately 30%, up from only 10% as recently as the late 60s, seems to be the most thrown about number).

Germany does also  take in qualified foreign students  tuition free (for the time being, at least)----largely to attract talent to the country in the hopes that people stay (and enough are doing so right now to make it worth while to continue).  I wonder if this will continue with no extra fees for foreign students if all the recent publicity about Germany "no longer" charging tuition brings in a much bigger number of foreign students on a long term basis?  (my hunch is that this tide will be short lived, and I put "no longer" in quotes as even prior to the new ruling tuition was non existent in many states and only a few hundred euro per year in the others).
  I find it an interesting commentary on the German lower school system that it is entirely possible for students who would not have made it into the German gymnasium system if born here, to use their foreign credentials to attend university here.

Alright, so everyone should know that Germans tend to be taxed much higher than in the US, and now you know that the German system expects to put a much smaller percentage of people through university than the US, but I think it is also important to understand that university in Germany and university in the USA are really very different things anyway:

In the US we talk a lot about "the college experience" and it is an experience which is in many ways unique to those attending university.  American universities are designed, by and large, to create communities.  Students are meant to feel like they belong, like they are a part of the campus.
Most American college students live on campus in university owned housing (dorms) for at least the first year (many universities require this) where there is an onsite resident adviser to help a lonely student through homesickness or squabbling roommates work out an agreement if needed and meals are eaten in communal dining halls during set hours;
they belong to clubs or intramural sports teams on campus,which often practice in university owned facilities or have a staff sponsor to oversee things;
 they attend football or basketball or other sporting events featuring the school sponsored teams in school owned stadiums or gyms or ride buses as a group to watch away games held in stadiums or gyms owned by other universities;
 they wear clothing in the school colors bearing the school logo or mascot (a large variety of which is available for purchase at on campus "book"stores);
when ill, they receive medical treatment at fully stocked on campus health centers where the anxious or depressed can be given counseling treatment as well;
and so on.

Marika in her on campus dorm room, which comes furnished with the basics seen here

and the same room after she rearranged and brought in a pick up truck load of extras to make it hers

In a nutshell, undergrad programs in the US are about so much more than just learning a particular subject (in fact, many students do not even know what they want to major in when they begin and many more change their majors midway through anyway--this is possible partly because the vast majority of US universities have "core" requirements in a broad range of categories for ALL students).  US universities are set up to be about growing independence, learning who you are and what you are good at, trying new things, volunteering, meeting new people, building a community, getting exercise (nearly all have lovely recreation centers full of great equipment and gyms which they love to feature on tours), etc.
And the learning which takes place can be in large lecture halls with little to no interaction between professors and students, but MANY universities have moved away from that model even for Freshmen courses and have smaller class sizes and more discussion based approaches.  Marika is taking 18 credits (6 classes), one has 80 students but her other classes have around 20-25.  All of her professors provide office hours for extra help or simply to further discuss class ideas, the university provides free math tutoring if needed, a writing lab for free help in with essays, and a myriad of other support systems to help students achieve at her school and virtually every school she considered no matter how briefly--this is the norm in the USA.

About 400 students heading across campus towards one of the on campus dining halls during one of several "new student orientation" sessions this summer.  Orientation is two days long and includes campus tours, working with advisers to sign up for classes as well as learning about many on campus clubs and activities, talks from campus police, campus health care, etc.  

By contrast, German universities are mostly all about providing that education, primarily in the same large lecture format that gymnasium students proved themselves able to learn from from an early age.  Students enter into one degree program and it is virtually unheard of to change majors--and if it does happen it is nearly always a very minor shift, such as switching from one focus in Computer Science to a slightly different focus still in Computer Science.  On campus housing does not really exist (though universities can usually point students toward lower cost housing meant for students, and often maintain lists of those looking for roommates).  There are no school sponsored sports teams.  No mascots.  Few recreation centers and no  large lists of clubs and organizations vying for student attention.  The university is there to provide the classes needed to earn the degree, and proctor the exams.  If you happen to want to have fun or build a community at the same time, that is up to you but the university is not really putting resources towards making that happen.  Nor is the university interested in helping students learn to live on their own and making it easier with that home away from home step of housing, on site meal plans (there are lower cost cafeterias though), etc.
And if you cannot keep up with the course load for whatever reason (anything from it just moves too fast, to you failed to show up for most of the lectures), well, just sign up to take the test at  another time instead of this session and redo the class, only the final test score will show up in the end, not how long it took you to decide you were ready to take and pass the exam--heck you never specifically sign up for course anyway; you just decide what you plan to take and show up for lectures (at least, this is how Marika's friends at a nearby technical college tell us it works and they seem to be under the impression this is pretty normal nationwide and not some special program).


Both systems have their pluses and minuses. I am not posting this blog to argue that one is better than the other--only to point out that they are tremendously different and should not be compared without a decent understanding of how they also contrast.

--Hadley