I’m a US citizen and I want to work in the US government, maybe a senator. If I learn law in Germany will it be about German Law or can I learn about US law as well? Can anyone suggest me schools or degree programs where I can learn US law? Also my dad is forcing me to go to Germany and I have an “unusual” academic background moving from country to country so the US is not an option. Thanks
Errr;;;; why would they teach US law in Germany? They’d teach German law!
You’d have to be fluent in German, too.
To work in US government, you need to attend a US school. Is there a reason why your parents don’t want you to attend school in the US (costs?)
Note that US colleges are used to expat kids who’ve moved from country to country, and appreciate the perspectives they bring.
Why Germany? Are you fluent in German? Do you have family there?
There’s Bard-in-Berlin…
If the Us is out, I guess you could try Canada. Sherbrooke has an unusual program that’s bilingual, and both common law and civil law; you get certified for law in the US and in Canada.
Are you a senior?
@MYOS1634 yes I am a senior but I finished high school and I’m taking a German class right now to go to Germany. My dad wants me to go there for the “culture”. Not even for the engineering or the medicine degree which I find ridiculous. Are there any other programs like that you could recommend me? I’ll look up Sherbrooke right after this.
As an undergraduate, you wouldn’t be “learning” US law even in the US, because law is studied on a post-graduate level after completion of an undergraduate degree. Study whatever interests you, whether in the US or Germany (perhaps political science or public policy would suit you), and if you still have an interest in law by the time you start your last year in college (unlikely), you can apply to law schools then. Keep in mind that 1) you don’t need to have majored in any particular subject to be accepted to law school in the US, and 2) you don’t need a law degree to work in government.
Unless you’ve been raised speaking the language, It’s hard for me to imagine that taking “a” German class would give you enough fluency to study successfully at a German university.
Go to Germany and study German for a year in a language program. Or attend a Gymnasium for a year, live with a family, and become fluent (+ study some subjects with a different approach). Yes, it’ll be culturally beneficial. Nacel, ASSE, YFU, all offer this opportunity to high school students. There’s this excellent program you could participate in:
http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org/app/
But at this point, unless your parents spoke German with you since your birth, you can’t just jump into a university course that’s in German. You’ll have to take a German test before you can study there. If you have AP level, it means 10 months of language study before you can start a degree. If you DON’T have AP level already, it means 18 months of language study before you can start any program.
It’s very possible your parents haven’t saved money for your college and figure that since German universities are free, it’ll be a solution for you.
Except of course that they’re only a solution if your goal is to get married and live in Germany :).
A downside is that the universities have zero support services (the vast majority students fail and repeat, not because they don’t work hard, but because they have one exam, the format of which they know little about, so they try to study everything and hope to be lucky) and they have nothing you need to get a job or get into grad school in the US: no career center, no research opportunities, no contact with professors who’d know you and be able to write letters of recommendation.
You may wish to look into Fachhochschüle, which are like our technical institutes but you’d have to be interested in computer science/technology, and again, you’re looking at one year of language study post-AP or 18 months of intensive language study if you’re not at the AP level yet.
Oh I think you misunderstood; I’m taking an intensive German course which can get you through B1-B2 level which is the Studienkolleg level and that is the college thing I have to go before I am able to go to University because the Germans hold they’re academic standards as the best and think most countries don’t hold that level. Anyway, thank you MommaJ I am very new at this, and frankly quite lost, so this is definitely a big help, and also thank you MYOS1634. College confidential always helps! 
Not to say that Germans aren’t snobbish about their educational system, but not all foreigners have to go through a Studienkolleg. Americans can enroll directly at a German university with an SAT score of 1300 or 4 passing AP scores (3+), plus documentation of German skills at the B-2 level + a high school diploma with a GPA of 3.0.
@audrxyc: are you in Germany? What’s the end goal? To spend a year abroad? To be fluent in German? Does your family live in Germany?
@MommaJ that might be true for the us, but there’s no such thing as undergrad/grad when it comes to ‘Jura’ (law) in Germany. If you want to study law, you have to do it from the beginning
Here are some answers to your questions: you don’t have to have a degree in law to work in a non-legal capacity for the US government. And while many Senators and Congress Representatives have a background in law, it’s not a requirement.
In Germany you will study German law, although there are programs where you can do international law. Google is your friend here; lots of information online.
Obviously if you want to PRACTICE law in the US, you will have to pass the US bar exam, and in many states, you can’t sit for the bar exam without having a degree from an American law school.
As someone upthread noted, you and your family will have to discuss how you see your future - in the US or in Germany - and realize that studying in Germany may have long term (and expensive) repercussions if and when you return to the US.
Well, I took the SATs and scored a 2100, not that great but I was depressed at the time. Looking to take it again in the future. I did not take any AP classes since I didn’t grow up in the States, but my GPA is 3.4. I didn’t know a lick of German so I guess I should go to Studienkolleg. This was entirely my dad’s decision, he knows nothing about Germany but just wants me to go there, and frankly I don’t have a say in it so here I am. But what’s the worst that can happen if I go to Germany for my Bachelors taking Business & Political Science? And either my MBA or Law in the US? Will I be charged anything? Could this jeopardize my future? What are the long term repercussions @katliamom ?
You are 14 1/2 and you have finished high school, and your dad is ‘making’ you go to Germany for university but lasat week it was for engineering?
Your threads don’t line up- can you clarify?
It’ll be MUCH harder for you to get into a Law School with decent job prospects from Germany. It’s likely you’ll have to do 2 years in the US, but since you’ll already have a BA you won’t have financial aid. For the MBA, you’ll need to work a couple years in Germany.
Why don’t you attend Gymnasium after Studienkolleg if you’re under 19?
As MYOS expained, the longterm repercussions involve the likely hood of having to redo some/much of your Germann education if you want to work as a practicing lawyer in the US. The selective MBA programs may also require some undergrad-level work to be done in the U.S. and require work experience, so you couldn’t apply right after finishing your studies. That said, there is nothing wrong with studying in Germany, but if you want to return to the US afterwards, your path to a graduate program may not be as seamless (and will cost more) than for those who did their undergrad education here. You may want to have your dad read up on American grad school requirements to make him aware that.
How old are you?
Because if you’re under 19 the cheapest and most effective system for you is to attend a Gymnasium and do very well in Abitur - you could even get up to a full year’s worth of credits at an American college if you pull excellent grades in your exam.
Then you’ll return, fully fluent and with up to a year of free college credits under your belt. Top colleges with an international bent like Middlebury and Dickinson would certainly be interested and you’d likely get merit scholarships from colleges such as St Olaf and Kalamazoo.
Based on another thread, OP appears to be 14/15 (was 14 in Sept 2015).
If you have indeed graduated from secondary school anywhere in the world with a GPA of 3.4 and an SAT of 2100, there are a number of places here in the US where you would be guaranteed admission and a full-ride (tuition, fees, housing, meals), and several more that offer significant merit-based aid on a competitive basis for student loans and other federally determined financial aid. Provided you are old enough to hold a job in the state where you are studying, you can also get a part-time job. http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
Are you being packed off to Germany because your parents consider you to be too young to be on your own in the US for college? For a more age-appropriate US educational option, you could contact http://www.afs.org/ Several years ago one of my siblings was host mother here in the US to a US citizen AFSer who had grown up outside the US, and whose non-citizen parents had wanted their child to have an opportunity to spend a year in the country of birth.
My dad wants me to take engineering but if I could I would much rather take Business/Law/Economics. I haven’t decided what I’ll take. I am 15, 16 this year but I finished earlier because I took an accelerated program in China, I did not have Summer & Winter break because of that. My dad says I would be able to get my MBA in the US after I get my BA, doesn’t matter where, is this true? I have thought about attending the Gymnasium before I finished my HS early but after emailing some schools they said you need to be a citizen of Germany or something and have a home and I don’t… Honestly I don’t know what to take and what to do, although right now I think my only options are to go to Germany for my BA.
You need to find a gymnasium with a boarding school. Those do exist.
All accredited MBAs require a minimum of 2 years of meaningful work before they admit you. You would be able to get your MBA in the US, but it’s HIGHLY unlikely you could get your 5-year degree in Germany, work for 2 years in Germany, then return to the US for the MBA right away. And of course, if you’re too young, this may be held against you (the average age for top MBA’s is 27. The exception is Harvard where I think the medium age is 24. But MBA’s, like all grad schools, want to see maturity, not a kid who rushed through all the steps.)
And of course, you can’t discount the fact that during these 7 years you may find a partner and want to get married/settle in Germany.
Do you have European citizenship?
Does your dad want Germany because it’s free? Is he unwilling/unable to pay tuition anywhere?
If you’re interested in Business/Law/Economics, the Sciences Po Reims/Columbia or Sciences Po Reims/Berkeley or Sciences Po Reims/UBC exchange would be perfect, but there’s a tuition cost (about 12K a year I think).
Would you be allowed to apply to one of the Scottish or Irish universities?
In Germany, you can only study a subject. Law is the least practical, since it depends on the country itself. If you studied Law in Germany, you’d have to start from scratch in the US. If you have a German engineering degree, then you can go for an accredited American MS degree - they may or may not require you take classes in the US first (with no financial aid). Then after that Master’s degree you can work for 2-5 years in the US. Then go for an MBA. But with a foreign credential you’ll always have extra steps compared to having an American degree.
Well, I did find several Gymnasiums with a boarding school but they’re more of an international school and it costs a lot of money. Yes, my family has financial issues.
So if I were to get my BA in Business Administration/Economics, can I work in the US for sometime instead of Germany and get my MBA then? I do not have a European citizenship, and my dad wants Germany for the culture and engineering. But right now, I’m too worried on what I’m doing to do after if I do get my BA in Germany.
Is that a high school exchange program?
I think so? What about Scottish/Irish universities?
The extra steps don’t worry me because I suppose that’s the price I have to pay for listening to my dad, but will this have any prominently bad problems for the long run?