I was having a discussion with an Australian couple a few days ago about some of the differences between universities in the US and universities in Germany (or I suppose European universities in general). Here is mostly what we came up with:
- Cost (duh)
- German uni professors are more hands off in regards to students whereas professors in the US are expected to “nurture” students more
- The absence of dorm life in German universities
- Quite different party/drinking culture (obviously this has a lot to do with legal drinking age)
- We weren’t quite sure about this, but do most bachelor degree programs in Germany only take 3 years?
Does anyone have anything else to add in from personal experience or just general knowledge of it? Anything wrong or you disagree with? Any input would be much appreciated!
It’s not just ‘hands off’. German professors don’t know their undergraduates and don’t expect to know them. They may be surprised to hear that in the US professors are supposed to think of their lecture 's reception. Students understand, or don’t. They may or may not assign homework but certainly won’t correct it. Your ‘smaller’ lab sessions may or may not be interactive. You may well discover you had no clue about something for your first exam, in January. Your professors don’t think of themselves as your mentors and aren’t interested in what you have to say about topic Z. There are very few discussion sessions, experiential learning opportunities, innovative offerings.
Another difference is that you’re locked into an academic field. You can’t explore. You’re supposed to know what you’re going to study and stick to it, or go back to start almost from scratch. Another big difference is the failure rate (very high) - it’s not unusual for 40-50% students to get the equivalent of F.
Yes, because ABITUR is equivalent to many AP 's, bachelor degrees are six semester long, although most students take longer due to failing classes.