Maggie's Farm

Here in Germany, a University education is free. In fact, parents are required by law, to pay for the support of their children (housing, food, etc.) until they're 25 or have graduated. For those parents who are financially challenged, the government does provide "kindergeld" (children's money) around €190/month to help offset costs of housing, utilities, etc. Student loans and student debt are unknown here.

Of course getting in to a German university is not easy. The final exam is called the 'Abitur' and is conducted after the 13th year of high school. This exam covers several foreign languages, math and science and includes both a written and oral exam before a board of testing officials. The 'Abitur' exams take approximately 3-days to complete and unlike the American SAT or ACT, there are no multiple choice, true/false or fill in the blank answers.

Only those who can pass this very difficult exam are granted admission into our Universities. Those with a lower exam scores or who have not completed the equivalent education, may enter our colleges which are differentiated from University. Those below this level are usually enrolled into an apprenticeship program, typically lasting 3-years, which prepares them for a full time job. Of course we also have high school drop outs, and the Turks and other foreigners typically account for 40% of this rate.

It is the belief of German society, that educating our people is a necessary part of contributing to a better society for everyone. And that only those who have proven themselves by academic excellence, earned through hard work and dedication, are worthy to attend University (typical graduates include engineers, doctors and other professionals).

Our universities and colleges don't grant degrees in subjects such as photography, art or gender studies. We consider such subjects "hobbies", not subjects of serious academia and certainly not worthy of a diploma.

But most German universities, many of which are the oldest and most prestigious in the world, offer openings to foreign students, including Americans. So you might want to put out the word that we welcome serious American students into our academia. At least to those who seek a real University education that won't put them in debt or distract them with campus 'safe places' or ridiculous sports programs.

@ Dirtyjobsguy - because being a student forever doesn't pay very well. Engineering, however, pays very well as does an apprenticeship with VW, BMW or Mercedes. That and the fact you can't just "keep going" to university.

As to the age of students who enter the workforce, you have to understand that a bachelors in engineering, for example, is of little value here. So every engineer gets their MS or as we call it "diplom ingenieur" which is very highly respected. As in the US, the next step would be a PhD, but they're not so common unless they pursue research and development.

Having said that, the few extra years of study does provide our workforce the advantage of maturity and the fact they are generally better educated when they show up. The flip side is we don't have an equivalent to "silicon valley" or the entrepreneur mentality that has worked so well in the US. You have to understand the German economy is a bit more conservative, less willing to take risks and to be honest, a bit more old school. But it's worked for us quite well so far.

But yes, you are correct. There is a movement to change the German system closer to the American system. Not everyone is happy about it either.

As with our medical system, the costs of university are strictly controlled by the government because medicine and education are not considered "for profit" institutions. Costs are therefore much lower and have been supported by tax revenue for over 100-years.

Actually our social health system goes back to 1890's and was implemented by Bismark to ensure workers were cared for. Consider Germans have been paying for insurance since then and we have a century of insurance premiums and tightly controlled costs structure going for us which is why our social health care system works so well.

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I would argue your comment that public funding of universities takes away from the poor. How about public parks, public libraries, public pools, etc.? I hate to scare you by using this term, but those are very "social" concepts which are clearly very much a part of American society.

And how is the idea of public University any different than a public elementary school, or public high school? Why do you provide "free" education only up to the 12th grade?

As with the examples above, using taxes to provide advanced education is no different than paying taxes for other public services which everyone is "free" to use (e.g. roads, highways, libraries, parks, pools, etc.)

You could argue a poor child who doesn't have the smarts would never benefit since he wouldn't get into college in the first place. But that's like arguing people who choose not to walk through a public park or not use a public library are being forced to pay for something they don't use.

Of course there will always be a few won't benefit, that is clear. However the larger society in general does benefit from public parks, public schools, public libraries, and public education.

Consider that couples without children in the US are still required to pay school taxes, which obviously doesn't benefit them, but it does benefit other children, thus society in general.

Perhaps the term 'free" isn't the best one to use, but compared to US students being indebted to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars upon graduation, German universities come very close to "free".

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