The Ugly Side of Studying in Germany (you should know this) 

Totally agree, I'm coming from Asia country and the social life at university in Germany looks so bleak compared with my home country, hard to makes friends and get into their circle

I’m German and I’m not in university but while I read your comments I feel very sorry for you 😢😂

There are things like university sport tho which are an easy and fun opportunity to get to know new people. Also going to study at smaller cities like Freiburg or Gießen helps a lot, as it is a lot more personal than Berlin for example.

Well, that's a huge advantage of the German system!

There however are "Burschenschaften" (student fraternities), some with two centuries of tradition, but as most of them are leaning right-wing it may be difficult for foreigners to get access.

Do you think it’s realistic to do a technical interview for a foreigner in German? As good as all Germans would never be able to do a technical interview in a language different than English or German Most people speak their native language + English, so it’s stupid to expect other nationalities to speak all Germans. You germans are just lucky because most of the European job market is under German occupation. The problem is that the German speaking market excludes other nationalities and cultures without giving many chances to others The US are much more forward on this

@@user-lc4gr8nx2j i attended university in italian, and i am currently leanring my fifth language, but tell me how are the US more advanced? do you offer technical interviews in mandarin or what?

@@user-lc4gr8nx2j The US is much more "advanced" in that? If you say it's more "advanced" by having technical interviews in English, that is not really the same there, is it? Otherwise, they may accommodate Spanish in some positions, though I doubt it, or very, very big, rich, international companies like Google or Amazon allow for native language interviews because they want people who are technically the best. Although English is the language of Computer Science and even though I study in German in Germany, I know more technical terms in English than in German at this point.

@@kathrinlindern2697 English is the language of tech and international business Americans are much better because if you are let’s say Spanish and speak with a thick accent or you are a first generation immigrant nobody will look badly on you, and you have strong corporate DEI policies that protect you against any form of discrimination, that just doesn’t exist in Europe If you speak with a weird accent in Germany and make a few grammar mistakes people will think you are not good and trashcan you Furthermore you must be aligned with German culture as well, so if people make a joke about a pop-culture thing they will expect you to laugh even if you were not grown up in the country so you cannot know You will never feel essentially one of them Instead you can feel american if you work in an American team Furthermore you will also see it at university: at universities in Germany during group projects German students will tend to stay together and exclude international students from their team This is much different in the US where it is easy to integrate even with classic “cheeseburger Americans” (or “Gringos” as the Mexicans call them) This is reflected in the labor market If you are from a different country, a German company will generally not hire you if they can find a German cause the German knows better the language + culture So the question is that learning the language is ok to live everyday life but to work it’s much less useful than you think A company that values internationals will hire in English or accept a flexible language model where you can talk in German with some colleagues, talk a different language with others and do most of the work in English I doubt there are skilled workers in very high ranking positions that don’t speak English (although with a strong accent) since it’s a global language and it is used in the western world for different nationalities to interact with each other The way of thinking of continental Europeans is antique, toxic and it’s not only the reason why they are not growing economically, but also the reason of why they lost WW2 (they lost many of their best scientists because they could not speak German and went to the US, check Enrico Fermi)

@@dyslexictunes248 technical interviews shall be in English They may be in mandarin for the western world I am sure you would not be able to face a technical interview in Italian. It’s ok to talk with colleagues or do conversations but for explaining technical things without any moment of blocking it is impossible unless you have not learned the language since you were a kid

Well said!

That should be common sense this late in the internet age

I don't want B-grade education run by fascists

@@maxyoko what is the minimum level of German to succeed in a German university program? Is it B1 or higher?

@@kathleenmelzer7499das ist aber nicht dasselbe was er gesagt hat.

Couldn’t agree more. I work as a career coach here and your job opportunities will multiply significantly if you speak German well ( B2 and above).

What a surprise, you need to speak a decent level of German to work in Germany

True! A study colleague was too lazy to lern german. She basically has no german friends and only connected to foreigners. If you move to any country you need to learn the language!

Yes, that is like not speaking English in GB or wondering why you should speak Spanish in Spain.. it's just logical that you should speak the language of the country you're planning to live in. At least at a quite good level.

Great!

Ausgezeitnet !

​@@albertgrant1017 👀 may I correct you on what you're trying to say here?

Beeindruckend

Bruce, you got the best advise to go to learn german at the Goethe Institut. I recommend that to everybody who really wants to learn the language relatively quick. It's the best there is! And of ccourse having chosen Tübingen and Max Planck! I can image in 65 you where the odd man out ;o))

I think it is acutally a basic requirement for studying. You have to be independent, able to work on your own, be able to solve problems without anyone yapping it all out for you...I think that is the heart of studying, that is what it teaches! Having everything planned for you and just memorising what you are told is not studying.

@@endlessstudent3512 Memorisation shouldn't be underestimated. A lot of subjects ( including math) require it. It"s not everything, but definitely part of the deal.

@@charlottepeukert9095 of course it is. But specially the subject you mentioned, math, does not need much memorisation, but understanding. If you really understand the logic, you need not memorize and higher math usually is not even calculating anymore, its describing a theoretical solution. There are subjects that need a lot of memorisation, law and econimics for example. But university should teach critial thinking, problemsolving, self-organisation and the ability to apply the learned outside of the box. Tbh i think even highschool should teach that already, but the do not.

@@endlessstudent3512 Even math , at university level, requires memorisation. Not as much as other subjects, that's true.But even in math, you're not reinventing the wheel.

Most countries understand academic studying as a self-directed exercise. The vocational studies offer a more school like approach for the ones who prefer that

I think the the original complain about a high plank of Academics in Germany is just stupid, to begin with. It comes from a brainwashed, mental pervert. The Academics must have a high plank, and it is NOT for everybody. Period. Nobody needs fools, imbecils and/or lazy demagogues in a real university.

Appreciate your comment 🫶

You're very welcome ^^

Glad to hear that 🫶

happy that I could help 🫶

Where do you study?

Chemnitz?

You're very welcome 🫶

@@maxyoko can you make a video about „dual Studium“ ?

@@aleddineabsi4268 Next week ;)

Love u

Glad it was helpful 🫶

You're welcome!

It depends on the region😅 In my region o2 is pretty good but Vodafone is terrible (i have never tested Telekom, i think its still the best but also the most expensive choice)

O2 ist best. Vodafone is shit

O2 is not as bad as it was some years ago. Nowadays it's actually the only one functioning in some otherwise dead spot areas when it comes to mobile reception.

Internet in some eastern european countries is much better. But in comparison to mobile internet in the US, home of Apple, Microsoft and Tesla, believe me, Germany is like paradise.

​@@helmrichharms2225in the US most people have fibre glass in their home though, unlike Germany

Love u!

Glad you liked it ❤️

About the Internet Speed, it’s bad, but Not THAT BAD. I guess it depends mostly on the internet you have

@@erandishirelmirandabarajas5568 yeah you have to check the provider too. My chinese friend got herself some weird sim card and I often have to provide hotspot despite only being in D-2 network myself.

Love this attitude, most of the people usually just bash the difficulty of RWTH.

Good luck!

Lol! Yes.... a good idea to learn German... for Swiss people. Very hard,... but some did it... 🤣😉👍

@@AltIng9154 Of course it depends on where you are in Switzerland. We have four national languages.

Thanks a lot!

Yes... it worked like a Swiss clockwork.... but than they got the idea to follow the Anglo-Saxons business model! Find a wealthy idiot to do the investment! Uhm... not easy to find wealthy idiots... . Meanwhile it is rotten to the core! Terrible! It will take 20 years to repair the mess!

Ralph, the complaining about trains can only be made by people who commute much on a daily basis (or even more by those who never take a train and nag about it just by hearsay). I travel extensively throughout Germany and everywhere the trains are fine and almost always on time. And it takes me everywhere even to remote places. Or you have very good bus lines. We are complaining on a high level! Moreover the last 3-4 years the DB had extensive work to do with building new rails for the fast trains, which until then had to take the rails of the regional trains. And that nationwide! Can you imagine that effort with a net of rails which add up to 40.000km? And of course those works affected all lines throughout the country.

@@juttaweise Thanks for that, Jutta. After 35 years in London, I have totally lost contact with Germany so I cannot judge which views are accurate and which ones aren’t.

There are English speaking programms... If you want to study in French, Spanish or Italian, study in France, Spain or Italy.

As soon as possible :) There are currently a lot of videos in the making

He is half Japanese ,half German.

🫶🫶

Thanks for being here from the beginning!

uhh 👀

It's also the never ending strikes like each 2-3 months. When you depend on trains you might have no way to get to work or maybe with a delay of half a workday.

@@Ultrajuiced during the year it's reliable, even strike you know in advance and take a bicycle or ask friends to join in the car. Is brasil or indonesia better? It's only worse than our expectations. Are there less strikes in france or uk ?

​@holger_p Trains in Germany are bad. To say that expectations are the problem is absurd: we have the financial and technical means to solve DB problems but politics, bureaucracy and negligence get in the way. So next time if you go to a hospital and you don't get the treatment you need, or you get it too late, I hope you won't simply set for: "well it's just my exaggerated expectations that I should've got a timely, decent medical treatment. Never mind, it would've been worse if I lived in Indonesia". I hope you are not a university student, because that would mean that German universities have serious problems too.

@@sug1733 Universities don't teach in a style of good or bad. There is always a way to do things better, but it's german mentality to transfer this idea into "everything sucks", or into always complaining, commonly spoken. (Is there any topic Germans wouldn't complain about ? Your comment proofs me right). Be aware of what you got, not so much on the things you haven't got. "Bad" has no meaning, if you don't say what you compare with. Worse than in Switzerland: Yes, worse than in UK: No. If you compare with the best, Germany is not among the 10 best maybe, but maybe it's on place 11 ;-) Running trains as a profitable company was an idea of the 90ies. They forgot, profit means saving on investments, or closing down nonprofitable lines. It was a mistake, but not really a matter of bureaucracy. Actually running the trains by bureaucrats, without intention to profit, would be the fullfillable vision you might talk about. I finished university already. You talk like economy or business management was not part of your studies. Cause the problems with trains is exactly in this ambivalance. Is it economy (infrastructure) or business (profit).

@@holger_p I hope that you're lying and are actually really young. Your "arguments" are banal and sound like from a 8-9 Klässler. Otherwise it is not like German Universities have serious problems, but Germany is doomed.

The 'newer' citizenship rights, only relate to your miminal stay period. It's reduced from 8 years to 5 years residence. This is not really an option for students, if you want to stay 5 years first, before starting to study. Childrens of German citizens are automaticly German citizens. So your case of having a German mother but not German citizenship must be very rare and special, unless with "beeing german" you don't talk about citizenships. A german mother not teaching their kids german sounds very strange also. If this is a 3-generation problem, you talk about your mother and your daughter ? This doesn't count.

If you mum is a German (and didn’t give up the German citizenship) and you can bring the needed papers you should be able to get the citizenship.

actually taking into account my own case, your mother should apply for your german citizenship. Which takes a lot of papers. It's easier if you have lived with your mother in Germany for a time and get a doc from that towns townhall of your registration. I did that for my 2 children at the end 1980 where I had just 2 weeks time to the deadline. After that it became much more difficult. Maybe it is easier today with new laws. Btw I always talked to my children in german, one reason being I wanted them to have a good connection to their german grandparents and family. Even though not living in Germany at that time they had no problem and are both fluent. I never understood mothers not doing that, taking away the advantage of learning a difficult language effortlessly, compared to when having to learn it as an adult.

@@holger_p the automatic citizenship only applys if they live or have lived in Germany a certain time. If they have been living abroad every parent has to apply for their children to get the citizenship, one does not get it automatically.

Nursing isn't a university degree in Germany. It will not qualify you for a Msc in Psychology.

Hi, you can apply with your mid-term record and whatever degrees you've got and tell them, that you will hand in your highschooldiploma when available.

@@proserpina4448 thank you .I will do this

yes we always rant on a very high level. Maybe too spoiled? ;o))

I believe it's Open Sans :)

Die meisten Unis in Deutschland nehmen international Studenten, die auf dem B2 Level Deutsch sind. Nicht jede Uni hat eine Aufnahmeprüfung Sehr gut, dass du B2 hast, informiere dich am besten über die Voraussetzungen für den jeweiligen Kurs

Danke für deine Antwort! Dann kontaktiere ich direkt sie Unis.

Man kann an den Unis einen sogenannten DSH Kurs mit Zertifikat machen, wenn B2 nicht ausreicht. Man muss sich dann via Uni Assist bewerben als würde man sich beim Studium selbst bewerben. DSH wird normalerweise uni-übergreifend anerkannt d.h. Man kann es auch an einer anderen Uni machen als der, an der man wirklich studieren will. Ist aber dann ggf. bei der Bewerbung umständlicher.

There are German grade calculators online

hello user-ps5ez6lt6y. I think the way you conduct yourself in max yoko comment section is just plain rude. Please in future be less of a twat and keep cap locks off. And please and thank you would also go a long way. Has your mother not taught you anything?

@maxyoko bro has a point

This is only for Inside Cities btw

It depends: if you're already used to learning foreign languages, you can obtain a good level (just for living, buying, etc) in a year. If you've never learnt a different language it can be somewhat harder and take longer. I'm a teacher and it really depends on every student.

It's supposed to be working.

You will build that confidence in no time just don't worry😁👍

@@wooshmeifurgay7452 😊😇

A good idea is to ask the few contacts you have and feel somewhat comfortable with to stark speaking German with you. They won't be bothered by all your mistakes and will help you learn this way.

I know that issue... My personal recommendation would be to just look for people with the same hobbies/interests, e.g. to join a club and not to focus solely on the language side. This way it's easier to get to know people and actually make friends. And imo it's easier to learn a language if you combine it with activities that are actually fun.

If you want to get over your shyness, in Germany when in public transport, say something nice to an older person next to you. You can say "I like your jacket" or even just talk about the weather. Most old people in Germany will like having a small chat in the bus and so you can practice speaking to strangers this way.

Nah fuck them. I'm German and I love the Swiss accent. They're just jealous.

Hä wieso studierst du in Deutschland wenn ich fragen darf?

We make fun of every other dialect as well. I'm just jealous, because I don't have any accent and I love them, especially the swiss one is very cute

Skipping university to go to Japan?

@@maxyoko I have a better idea ;)

You need to ask the university you want to apply to. Universities in Germany are quite autonomous, meaning they don't need to follow external rules but rather set their rules for themselves. Every uni has these rules slightly different.

You might be able to transfer the credits from the courses you already completed if the degree program in Germany has similar courses and the course is seen as equivalent by the course coordinator. Though that really depends on how accepting the specific chair is😅

The train system is still vastly superior to the US one and not even comparable, especially the public transfer part… That being said Germans expect a punctuality of the SBB (Swiss railroad, 2nd best after Japan in terms of delays) while not aknowledging that the Swiss railroad system has significantly higher maintenance costs per passenger that get paid by the state. Meanwhile the Germn railroad got privatised and was supposed to be profitable, leading to neglect of infrastructure and frequent delays in intercity transport. At least they are reliable and will make sure you reach your destination even if delayed. The employees are also usually very helpful if you ask them (and then they have to take the rage of the passengers😢)

and as if i summoned a demon .. i had to use a s-bahn yesterday .. which was stopped and we where released to do some u-bahn hops to get to the right ubahn to then get home because some one decided to use the bahn to end him/her self ... *sigh*

Gonna have to pick up and actually study it for your life to be a bit easier. It's the same everywhere if English isn't the first language, learn the local language.

And uhm the ausländermelde amt is different in citys. In colone its very strict while in some cities besides that its much more gentle and agreeable.

@@sharisad9730 What's he ausländermelde amt ?

@@lawtraf8008 it is where you get a residential permit