Support NeoGAF

[Devil]

"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.

Can non-EU students be eligible for BAföG? It's shortly mentioned in the OP but I didn't get whether you could actually apply for it.

Because during my studies, I got the maximum rate of BAföG which is 698€ per month straight to your bank account. Half of this is loaned without any interests to pay back, the other half is literally a donation to you. How much you actually get is measured from how much your parents make etc., whether they are able to support you enough or not.

Studying in Germany while living in one of the cheapest federal states, while getting BAföG and Kindergeld was a dream. Never had to take a job, not even once.

edit:
You'll only get BAföG during the number of semesters your studies are intended to be finished within. After that there are very generous student loans from the KfW for example.

 

[Palculator]

"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'm not sure all of that checks out. I'm far from spending 850€ a month, the student jobs at my Uni pay ~11€ an hour (and even then I got a much higher paying job due to being promoted from such a student job), you don't have to pay taxes at all if you're earning less than 8800€ a year and you're allowed to work however long as long as the average per week doesn't exceed 20h.

Also the free in the title refers to tuition fees, mostly. You'd have all of those living expenses in any country in which living isn't free either.

 

[PdotMichael]

Even in more expensive areas like Hamburg you only need to pay 230€ for a room in a dorm, which includes also internet.
Shared apartments aren't that much more expensive either.

You could easily live for 500€ a month.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

Come and stay

If you don't feel tied to America why would you even go back and contribute to the economy that you literally had to escape for 4 years.

 

[Bladenic]

How's Germany for gays? If good then I'm in for Master's

 

[Palculator]

You could easily live for 500€ a month.

Yeah, I know fellow students who get by on ~468€ a month easily. I mean, it's not exactly luxurious living in a single-bedroom flat but they still have enough money to get pissed and buy games so it's not exactly poverty either. The cafeteria being pretty cheap (and in our area even somewhat good) food, a bunch of places offering student discounts and the public transit being free helps a bunch, that's for sure.

How's Germany for gays? If good then I'm in for Master's

Can't tell you much about public opinion as I lack experience in that regard, but we have a bunch of openly gay public figures, politicians (hell, our former foreign minister was gay but he got leukaemia :c) and regarding the educational part, we do have a specifically gay club and an LGBT cafe on campus in addition to similar places in the city.

Pretty sure you'll still run into homophobes, but it's not like being a second class citizen either.

 

[SeanR1221]

Can someone practice psychology in America with a German PHD?

No, and I'm glad. Straight from the APA website.

In the United States, the legal basis for licensure is determined by the state, province or territory to protect its citizens – in other words, to identify qualified practitioners. The education and training of psychologists around the world varies greatly both in terms of the nomenclature of the university qualification (e.g. Diploma, License, Master's, Candidate, and so on), and also in terms of length and content of university curricula contributing to professional qualification.
At present, there is no international recognition of equivalence of degrees or in professional psychology qualifications. It is important to research and contact the board of psychology in the state where you are interested in practicing for information on education, supervised experience and examinations.
In some states, attendance at an APA-accredited program is required. Most states have a section of the law that applies to individuals who receive their education and training outside the United States. State boards can also provide advice on transcript and credential evaluation.

 

[jfoul]

I'm 36, and I'm considering this. My wife and I don't have kids, were about to relocate, and my wife might have an opportunity to work overseas anyways.

 

[bidguy]

its not exactly free though since you have to pay around 300€ a month for various fees ...

 

[A Human Becoming]

its not exactly free though since you have to pay around 300€ a month for various fees ...

Still better than what is costs in the States.

This program sounds perfect for me. Not sure I would meet all the requirements but I think I'll send an email to check out of curiosity.

 

[PdotMichael]

its not exactly free though since you have to pay around 300€ a month for various fees ...

Do you refer to the semester fee? That's every 6 month.

 

[Violet_0]

If they offered any med degrees, I'd be in. Looking for a Nursing Bachelors

Netherlands might work for you, you can study it there. I don't know about the study fees, it's not free but probably affordable

 

[scamander]

Pretty sure you'll still run into homophobes, but it's not like being a second class citizen either.

I'm a 28 gay guy and to my knowledge I've never met an adult homophobe here.

its not exactly free though since you have to pay around 300€ a month for various fees ...

No, you don't?
You have to pay between 100 and 300€ every 6 months and that money is used to fund
-your public transportation ticket (often valid within the whole state)
-the Studentenwerk, which provides cheap food and housing options to students
-the General Students Committee', which is democratically elected and can reallocate its money for whatever students want (cultural events, bike rental system, parties etc)
-the culture ticket (depending on your university), which offers free or cheap entrance to museums, theatres, operas etc.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

If you don't feel tied to America why would you even go back and contribute to the economy that you literally had to escape for 4 years.

Well you'd technically have to via taxes if you didn't renounce citizenship.

But yeah I get the sentiment.

 

[Bladenic]

I'm guessing the problem would be coming back to America tho. Since (this is just hearsay knowledge) but most degrees aren't recognized in America from overseas. Although I would be getting an MBA so maybe that would count. I'll have to research.

 

[hobblygobbly]

How's Germany for gays? If good then I'm in for Master's

You won't have any problems. If you're into nightlife Germany is famous for its gay scene in the cities such as bars, clubs, etc.

 

[Arksy]

Is this possible for France? I would love to go study in France but I don't even know where to begin looking. I have an Australian law degree and can speak a decent amount of French and I'd be on the next bloody plane to Charles De Gaulle if I could.

 

[Phantast2k]

I will answer some more questions & add some more info to the op in the course of the day.

its not exactly free though since you have to pay around 300€ a month for various fees ...

Do you refer to the semester fee? That's every 6 month.

Indeed and it includes free public transportation in the city, region or even the whole state (depending on the uni & state). Watch the first video embedded in this article: How US students get a university degree for free in Germany - BBC News

(before someone asks: Cottbus is in East Germany)

"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.

The education itself is still free as in tuition free.
Of course you'll need money to cover your living expenses (just like you'd need it at home). As the above examples of American students shows, you're overestimating the expenses (when you word it like it's the bare minimum required). Up to ~950 euros you pretty much just pay the "Rentenversicherung" (but int. students can apparently claim that money back if they decide to go back and will therefore reject German social security) ~ check out p. 5 in this pdf.
I will gather info on all employment options / types and list them in the op.

2 trips back home per year (the plane tickets alone) should cost you around 1000-1200 euros (east coast vs. west coast) if you book in advance & are ok with layovers (e.g. in London if you're west coast bound: 2h or so - I did it myself).

The 5% thing is not a rule from what I understand, but STEM courses are almost never overcrowded from what I remember/know and for the most part they are not restricted either. And apparently most people here want to go into STEM. But yeah, there is definitely a problem with popular courses at some, not all, (popular) universities. Also something I should put in the op.

I'm guessing the problem would be coming back to America tho. Since (this is just hearsay knowledge) but most degrees aren't recognized in America from overseas. Although I would be getting an MBA so maybe that would count. I'll have to research.

As people found out previously in the thread it seems like psychology degrees are not recognized. The nursing education is also different in Germany. Some specific business degrees may also pose a problem (because for instance you'd lack auditing / accounting certification). Law is also completely different.
As for the rest I don't see any apparent issues. After all, Germans do work in US too ^^

Is this possible for France? I would love to go study in France but I don't even know where to begin looking. I have an Australian law degree and can speak a decent amount of French and I'd be on the next bloody plane to Charles De Gaulle if I could.

We'd need French input here. French ppl. in this thread claimed that there is tuition, albeit a low one. This link should help: http://www.campusfrance.org/en

 

[Gutek]

8.000€ per year for the visa + 1.000€ a month for living expenses is not free. That puts you at around 20.000€ a year, which is comparable to American universities/colleges (that include room & board). I would rather pay 20.000 a year for a good college in the US than have similar expenses for a random university in Germany that no employer in the US cares about.

 

[Palculator]

8.000€ per year for the visa + 1.000€ a month for living expenses is not free. That puts you at around 20.000€ a year, which is comparable to American universities/colleges (that include room & board). I would rather pay 20.000 a year for a good college in the US than have similar expenses for a random university in Germany that no employer in the US cares about.

The visa doesn't cost 8.000€ per year (that would be insane), you just need to prove you have that money (or ~660€ per month) to cover living expenses so you're not a burden. So you can subtract those 8.000€ from your calculation and instead use those for living expenses (which you have in the U.S. too) making your 20.000$ figure for tuition alone look quite steep in comparison.

 

[Jisgsaw]

Is this possible for France? I would love to go study in France but I don't even know where to begin looking. I have an Australian law degree and can speak a decent amount of French and I'd be on the next bloody plane to Charles De Gaulle if I could.

It should be.
France is a bit of an oddity for the universities though. Namely for engineering and economic studies, the best regarded establishment aren't universities, but grande ecole, which recruit via entrance exams. For which you usually have to study for for two years in a prep school (I don't know the exact requirements to participate in the exams, but trying without these two years preparation is pretty much useless; these exams are brutal), which themselves choose (usually through your highschool results) who gets to get in.
The grande ecoles also have exchange programs with universities in other countries, which would be the best way I think for andoreigner to get in... but then you have to pay for your home university (plus if you do an economic grande ecole, these are expensive). There's also parrallel admissions into grande ecoles from french universities.

But french universities themselves are open to foreign students like german ones to my knowledge.
Prep schools also may take foreign students as far as know, but you'd have to make your case in front of them.

Oh, and I hope you like maths. French studies (economic and engineer) are all about maths in France.


Edit: didn't see you have a law degree. Universities are open to foreigners, and not much more expensive than german ones. Life is a bit more expensive than in Germany though (a LOT more in Paris). And you may have to prove you're fluent enough in french.

 

[Gutek]

The visa doesn't cost 8.000€ per year (that would be insane), you just need to prove you have that money (or ~660€ per month) to cover living expenses so you're not a burden. So you can subtract those 8.000€ from your calculation and instead use those for living expenses (which you have in the U.S. too) making your 20.000$ figure for tuition alone look quite steep in comparison.

You basically need to make 8.000€ a year while you're spending 12.000€ a year on cost of living. You need those 8.000 up front to prove you can sustain yourself. Also, room & board is included when you think of total college cost in the US. Making cost of living much, much lower than living on your own.

 

[Jisgsaw]

You basically need to make 8.000€ a year while you're spending 12.000€ a year on cost of living. You need those 8.000 up front to prove you can sustain yourself. Also, room & board is included when you think of total college cost in the US. Making cost of living much, much lower than living on your own.

12000€/year for living?
I was living fine with 800€/month (from a student job, which there are a lot in Germany) in Munich, aka the most expensive city in Germany.
I had a dorm room though, which are hard to get.

 

[Arksy]

It should be.
France is a bit of an oddity for the universities though. Namely for engineering and economic studies, the best regarded establishment aren't universities, but grande ecole, which recruit via entrance exams. For which you usually have to study for for two years in a prep school (I don't know the exact requirements to participate in the exams, but trying without these two years preparation is pretty much useless; these exams are brutal), which themselves choose (usually through your highschool results) who gets to get in.
The grande ecoles also have exchange programs with universities in other countries, which would be the best way I think for andoreigner to get in... but then you have to pay for your home university (plus if you do an economic grande ecole, these are expensive). There's also parrallel admissions into grande ecoles from french universities.

But french universities themselves are open to foreign students like german ones to my knowledge.
Prep schools also may take foreign students as far as know, but you'd have to make your case in front of them.

Oh, and I hope you like maths. French studies (economic and engineer) are all about maths in France.


Edit: didn't see you have a law degree. Universities are open to foreigners, and not much more expensive than german ones. Life is a bit more expensive than in Germany though (a LOT more in Paris). And you may have to prove you're fluent enough in french.

Thanks for the info. My French probably isn't good enough (yet) to be able to survive at a French University. So are the grandes ecoles for undergraduate degrees? The website I'm looking up is confusing the hell out of me regarding how the French organise their tertiary qualifications.

 

[scamander]

You basically need to make 8.000€ a year while you're spending 12.000€ a year on cost of living. You need those 8.000 up front to prove you can sustain yourself. Also, room & board is included when you think of total college cost in the US. Making cost of living much, much lower than living on your own.

My sister lived some time of 400€ per months (and she had to cover tuition fees from that, too). Go figure.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

Can non-EU students be eligible for BAföG? It's shortly mentioned in the OP but I didn't get whether you could actually apply for it.

Because during my studies, I got the maximum rate of BAföG which is 698€ per month straight to your bank account. Half of this is loaned without any interests to pay back, the other half is literally a donation to you. How much you actually get is measured from how much your parents make etc., whether they are able to support you enough or not.

Studying in Germany while living in one of the cheapest federal states, while getting BAföG and Kindergeld was a dream. Never had to take a job, not even once.

edit:
You'll only get BAföG during the number of semesters your studies are intended to be finished within. After that there are very generous student loans from the KfW for example.

BAföG is incredible when compared to american student loans.
I heard in the US students have to pay interest on their student loans, they can't default on it and they have to repay it fully.
BAföG has no interest rates and you only have to repay half of it, but its mostly intended for germans who need to support. I'm german and I can't get BAföG because my parents are able to support me. So its not something you can get easily.
The hurdles to get it quite high.

For international students its even harder to get it, even for EU citizens, you only get it if:
-one of your parents has german citizenship.
-you're married(or have been married) to a german citizen
-you have been granted asylum
-one of your parents has worked in germany for at least 3 years during the recent 6 years
-you have been working in germany for at least 5 years.

BAföG is basically one half free money and one half loan without interest, Germany wants to make sure that people who get it contributed in some form via taxes or have family members who contributed.

And as you said, you only get it for the expected study time. So if you can get your degree in 3 years, but you need 4 years, you only get BAföG for 3 years.


Overall it should be said for international students that you should make sure that you're living expenses are covered, even if you can't find a mini job or if you get sick(not that you have to pay for treatment, health insurance is mandatory, but you won't be able to work and mini jobs aren't required to pay you during sick leave(unlike normal jobs).

There are ways for international student to get financial support in germany, but thats mostly privately organized and not something you should count on.

For example, one-off financial support can be applied for from the catholic or the evangelical student community of the universities. At some universities there are also private societies that support international students.

Many Studentenwerke have access to emergency funds for international students or can help with a bridging loan. You can draw on the emergency fund in case of hardship; for example, if you momentarily cannot finance your cost of living during examinations or due to a longer period of illness. However, you do not have a legal claim to the money in the emergency fund. International students can borrow money at a reduced rate of interest from the loan association at the Studentenwerke.

http://www.internationale-studierende.de/en/prepare_your_studies/financing/financial_difficulties/

 

[Palculator]

You basically need to make 8.000€ a year while you're spending 12.000€ a year on cost of living. You need those 8.000 up front to prove you can sustain yourself. Also, room & board is included when you think of total college cost in the US. Making cost of living much, much lower than living on your own.

But I don't spend 1.000€ a month/12.000€ a year on living expenses whilst renting my own place. Even the OP doesn't state a figure that high and as others have pointed out, that figure seems quite high. And you keep pointing out room & board as if that isn't figured into the cost of living we keep going on about. My current living expenses are probably around 5.900€ a year and that includes room (~22 square metres with kitchen and bathroom), food, internet, health insurance, course materials, getting pissed in bars, films, video games and whatnot. If I had a car it would be much more, I guess, but public transit is free for students so why would I.

 

[Phantast2k]

You basically need to make 8.000€ a year while you're spending 12.000€ a year on cost of living. You need those 8.000 up front to prove you can sustain yourself. Also, room & board is included when you think of total college cost in the US. Making cost of living much, much lower than living on your own.

You come to Germany with 8k in your account. You earn money while in Germany or get supported by your parents or live off your own money (or a mix of all of that). What's so hard about keeping the 8k in your account?

Also it seems like the 8k in you account is just one of the ways of proving sufficient funds to finance your studies. See here:

There are a number of ways to show that you can finance your studies. The following forms of proof are possible:

• Your parents can submit documents certifying their income and financial assets.
• Someone with permanent residence in Germany can guarantee the Alien Registration Office to cover your expenses.
• A security payment can be deposited into a blocked account.
• You can present a bank guarantee.
• You can present a scholarship award notification from a recognised scholarship provider.

 

[Jisgsaw]

Thanks for the info. My French probably isn't good enough (yet) to be able to survive at a French University. So are the grandes ecoles for undergraduate degree? The website I'm looking up is confusing the hell out of me regarding how the French organise their tertiary qualifications.

Yes, it's confusing as fuck.
No, grande ecole deliver only a diploma that is akin to (and since a dozen years recognized as) a masters degree.

Grande ecoles used to be a completely parralel education system to universities.
It works like this:
Highschool --> apply for a prep school and universities.

Prep school --> study hard for two years --> take entrance exam --> three years of grande ecole --> "master"

University is like in the rest of the world.

With the european university reforms, to be compliant, the prep school have begun to register their students in partner universities, and your two years get recognized (you earn ects points like in any european university), in case you don't get any grande ecole.


With all that said: I don't know what kind of degrees you want to do. Grande ecoles are known for either engineer (polytechnique, ENS, Central...) or for economic (HEC, ESSEC...) studies. For other fields, Universities are usually the best way to go and you don't have to deal with all that headache.
Depending on what you want to do though, I think you may be interested in SciencePo, which is a special case on its own, and I don't know much about how admission works.

 

[Gutek]

You come to Germany with 8k in your account. You earn money while in Germany or get supported by your parents or live off your own money (or a mix of all of that). What's so hard about keeping the 8k in your account?

Also it seems like the 8k in you account is just one of the ways of proving sufficient funds to finance your studies. See here:

Ok, we can squabble over price all day long, but it only serves to prove my point, which is: ITS NOT FREE.


And, when you spend thousands of dollars, why not get a great degree from a place like UofI, MIT, Calarts, etc. Going to a German university is like going to community college.
Which you could do for much cheaper.

 

[Palculator]

Ok, we can squabble over price all day long, but it only serves to prove my point, which is: ITS NOT FREE.

The studying is. Living isn't. Not rocket science.

 

[Bad_Boy]

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.

Hmm.. thanks. Well I sent an email to my education department on base to see if they can help out with the process. I'm seriously considering this.

 

[Jisgsaw]

Ok, we can squabble over price all day long, but it only serves to prove my point, which is: ITS NOT FREE.


And, when you spend thousands of dollars, why not get a great degree from a place like UofI, MIT, Calarts, etc. Going to a German university is like going to community college.
Which you could do for much cheaper.

The university itself is free.
Ddoes the tuition for e.g. MIT cover all living expenses?
I mean, these "thousands of dollars" are dollars you'd have to spend anyway, as they are purely living expenses...
(And you're talking like getting and staying at an ivy league is an easy thing to do...)

 

[Gutek]

The university itself is free.
Ddoes the tuition for e.g. MIT cover all living expenses?
I mean, these "thousands of dollars" are dollars you'd have to spend anyway, as they are purely living expenses...
(And you're talking like getting and staying at an ivy league is an easy thing to do...)

1. It's not totally free
2. You could spend less total $ and go to a community college in the US
3. Tuition and Room & Board technically are two superate things, but when you talk about cost of college in the US you think of both.

The studying is. Living isn't. Not rocket science.

+ you need assets in lieu of 8.000€. That's more than some people have that take on a student loan.

 

[PdotMichael]

I'm not sure why people suddenly getting so defensive about it.

And pretty sure that community colleges can't provide you with full bachelor, master degrees or doctorate.
Which all give you the option for a further academic career in the USA.

 

[ZackieChan]

I'm an attorney that's interested in getting a science/compsci education, which will allow me to sit for the patent bar in the US (need either a bachelor's degree in a science field or 32-40 credit hours in science). That would increase my earning potential by a lot. I have a bachelor's in History and a JD.

1) What kind of time am I looking at to get a 2nd bachelor's degree in comp-sci? Does my existing degree take care of part of the necessary credits?
2) I have my own solo law firm that provides me income. I could scale back my workload during school, but would it be acceptable for me to continue doing that work virtually (I already run the law practice remotely from a number of different countries)? Or do I have to give that up and get a shitty minimum wage job in Germany during school. That would be unacceptable.

Thanks!

 

[Jisgsaw]

1. It's not totally free
2. You could spend less total $ and go to a community college in the US
3. Tuition and Room & Board technically are to superate things, but when you talk about cost of college in the US you think of both.



+ you need assets in lieu of 8.000€. That's more than some people have that take on a student loan.

1. Technically it is. Practically, it's dirt cheap for what you get.
2. Aren't community colleges considered like shit? Because you can go to really good universities in Europe, that are recognized as such at the very least in Europe, regardless of what very partial rankings say. (and even then, TU München is 11th here, and 60th here. How well do the community college fare?)
3. So, how much for all would you say you need per year to got to MIT? I'm genuinely curious. As I already stated, I was living fine on 800€/month in Munich.

 

[RSP]

It's a great opportunity to experience different cultures. I would encourage Europeans to study in the US as well for similar reasons.

 

[hypernima]

What are the most "tolerant" places in Germany? I would like to look into it but I've heard things, at least about Saxony.

 

[oti]

Ok, we can squabble over price all day long, but it only serves to prove my point, which is: ITS NOT FREE.


And, when you spend thousands of dollars, why not get a great degree from a place like UofI, MIT, Calarts, etc. Going to a German university is like going to community college.
Which you could do for much cheaper.

Keep winning America.

Spoiler

Jeez

 

[PdotMichael]

I'm an attorney that's interested in getting a science/compsci education, which will allow me to sit for the patent bar in the US (need either a bachelor's degree in a science field or 32-40 credit hours in science). That would increase my earning potential by a lot. I have a bachelor's in History and a JD.

1) What kind of time am I looking at to get a 2nd bachelor's degree in comp-sci? Does my existing degree take care of part of the necessary credits?
2) I have my own solo law firm that provides me income. I could scale back my workload during school, but would it be acceptable for me to continue doing that work virtually (I already run the law practice remotely from a number of different countries)? Or do I have to give that up and get a shitty minimum wage job in Germany during school. That would be unacceptable.

Thanks!

1) It would take you three years to get a bachelor in computer science in Germany. The question would be if the patent bar would accept non-American degrees.

2) You can work full time if you want but at some point you would need to pay taxes etc if you earn more than 8000€ a year.

What are the most "tolerant" places in Germany? I would like to look into it but I've heard things, at least about Saxony.

Even the cities with universites like Dresden are more than "tolerant" even in Saxony. But you can't do wrong with Berlin, Hamburg, Munich which are also the most interesting places for foreign students for all kinds of non academic reasons.

 

[Gutek]

1. Technically it is. Practically, it's dirt cheap for what you get.
2. Aren't community colleges considered like shit? Because you can go to really good universities in Europe, that are recognized as such at the very least in Europe, regardless of what very partial rankings say. (and even then, TU München is 11th here, and 60th here. How well do the community college fare?)
3. So, how much for all would you say you need per year to got to MIT? I'm genuinely curious. As I already stated, I was living fine on 800€/month in Munich.

1. I just don't agree with OPs clickbaity title
2. Sorry, nobody knows what TU Muenchen is in the US. It's akin to community college. It's a degree, nothing less, nothing more.
3. MIT is crazy expensive. Probably around 50k a year. UofI would be around 30k. Both including room & board.

 

[Jisgsaw]

1. I just don't agree with OPs clickbaity title
2. Sorry, nobody knows what TU Muenchen is in the US. It's akin to community college. It's a degree, nothing less, nothing more.
3. MIT is crazy expensive. Probably around 50k a year. UofI would be around 30k. Both including room & board.

1. Fair enough. Technically true though.
2. Yeah sure, "it's just a degree". Well, unless you really are US-centric, no, a degree from a community college is nothing like a degree of a good european university. Heck, reading up on them, community college don't even deliver any masters degree...
3. Yeah, so you are looking at something at the very least 3 times as expensive... You serious?
And again, that's not even taking into account that the best universities in the world dont have unlimited places; you have to get in.

 

[PdotMichael]

1. I just don't agree with OPs clickbaity title
2. Sorry, nobody knows what TU Muenchen is in the US. It's akin to community college. It's a degree, nothing less, nothing more.
3. MIT is crazy expensive. Probably around 50k a year. UofI would be around 30k. Both including room & board.

1) The aricle claims free education in Germany, which is true.

2) That's plain wrong, you wouldn't have a problem in getting into research and doctorate programs of even top tier American universities with a German degree - just see all the Germans doing exactly that.

 

[Gutek]

1) The aricle claims free education in Germany, which is true.

2) That's plain wrong, you wouldn't have a problem in getting into research and doctorate programs of even top tier American universities with a German degree - just see all the Germans doing exactly that.

1. From the OP

The semester fee is generally payable at all universities and for all students in Germany

2. Different situation. They make butt loads of money with foreign students. Of course they will take foreigners.


Let's be clear, if OP was something like 'Americans can study in Germany cheaply' I would be fine with it.

 

[Palculator]

1) What kind of time am I looking at to get a 2nd bachelor's degree in comp-sci? Does my existing degree take care of part of the necessary credits?
2) I have my own solo law firm that provides me income. I could scale back my workload during school, but would it be acceptable for me to continue doing that work virtually (I already run the law practice remotely from a number of different countries)? Or do I have to give that up and get a shitty minimum wage job in Germany during school. That would be unacceptable.

1) The Bachelor's for compsci itself requires 180 ECTS, which is scheduled for basically three years or six semesters. However, besides certain courses not being available in every semester, there's no natural minimum, I think. I know people who have done it in half that time because they're huge nerds who can cram like nobody else. One of those ECTS credit points basically stands for 25-30 hours of work you have to do, so you can maybe use that to gauge how long it would take you.

Getting any credit acknowledged doesn't seem like a thing I can just say yes or no to right now. For switching Universities within the EU they usually compare the respective programs and decide if the courses you want to have acknowledged fit their standards. But I have no idea how it is for Non-EU institutions, sorry.

2) For work you can basically do whatever, but it's important that your work load during the semester does not exceed 20h per week. If it does, you can still enroll for what's basically called "part time studying", but that's an area I'm again not too familiar with. I just know that I'm doing fine working 10h per week during the semesters and full time in between. I'm also not sure if they actually enforce those rules, but it's something my employers have been very anal about, so I guess someone's watching.

I guess for the more detailed questions about your particular situation it would indeed help to contact the German embassy like the OP mentions in certain spots since most of the people in here are just Germans who went through the system the "normal" way and are probably not too familiar with the kinks that arise in situations like yours.

2. Sorry, nobody knows what TU Muenchen is in the US. It's akin to community college. It's a degree, nothing less, nothing more.

I know plenty of people who use their German degrees to start PhD positions in the UK, Japan and, yes, even the States. And the bulk of the external funding for the compsci faculty I attend is provided by American companies like Google, Intel and Microsoft, and I don't even attend a more renown University like the one in Munich, so I'd say you're way off. Stop thinking the U.S. is the centre of the world.

1. From the OP

The semester fee is generally payable at all universities and for all students in Germany

The semester fee isn't to finance tuition, it brings you most of the external benefits like free public transit. And, at least at my university, you can opt out of several of those benefits and bring the fee down to basically 73€ per semester, which is nothing.

 

[PdotMichael]

1. From the OP

The semester fee is generally payable at all universities and for all students in Germany. It has nothing to do with the course fees, and is compiled of fees for the student union and for the student administration (AstA). At many universities the semester fee also includes a semester ticket for local public transport.

The concept that education is free in Germany while living isn't shouldn't be that hard to understand.

 

[Gutek]

The semester fee is generally payable at all universities and for all students in Germany. It has nothing to do with the course fees, and is compiled of fees for the student union and for the student administration (AstA). At many universities the semester fee also includes a semester ticket for local public transport.

The concept that education is free in Germany while living isn't shouldn't be that hard to understand.

Can you study without paying that fee?

 

[scamander]

2. Sorry, nobody knows what TU Muenchen is in the US. It's akin to community college. It's a degree, nothing less, nothing more.

lol, you can't be fucking serious. How ignorant can one be? News at 11: There exists, in fact, a world outside of the US.

2. Different situation. They make butt loads of money with foreign students. Of course they will take foreigners.

No, they don't? They make absolutely no money with students. The small semester contribution covers expenses for campus life, subsidizes living costs and food for students and funds public transportation costs (you can often in use it within in the whole state), that are much cheaper that way, because every student has to contribute. If you use all of that (and I don't see a reason why you shouldn't) you save overall much more money.

 

[Kabouter]

Netherlands might work for you, you can study it there. I don't know about the study fees, it's not free but probably affordable

For nursing I think you're looking at about €7500/year as a non-EU/non-EEA citizen. It's usually about €10,000 a year for university degrees. NL is not that expensive (Under €2k/year) for people from the EU/EEA, but for anyone outside, you're very nearly paying what the education actually costs.