My tip as a german: Ignore private universities. While it may be true, that they are better in other countries, it does not apply to Germany. Public universities are good to very good and private universities usually cater only the desire for exceptionalism of elitists. They may be good, but are in absolutely no way better than public universities. In Germany, education is like it should be everywhere: Free and good for all.
Woah, hold on there guys, wtf. Most private universities exist for the purpose of dual studies (part time work part time study), not because people are rich. The costs are covered by the companies. That way the student earns a salary while studying and both the student and the company are basically guaranteed an employee and a company. They have to fulfill the same curriculum requirements as public unis if they want to give out ECTS.
@Lemonade-up9br Where did you learn that? I applied to four public ones and got accepted into all without any problems with only a 2.4 in my Abi. Hannover, mind you, so extremely overfilled universities. I decided to go with a private one, not because I can afford it, because I can't, I'm poor xD, but because my partner company covers it and I get a salary, which ultimately makes it cheaper than public uni for me. Yes, private unis are frowned upon, but not always for reasonable reasons.
@@LeegallyBliindLOL if you get your medical degree at a private university everyone will think, that you just didn't make the cut for a spot at a public university
@@roadrunner6224 That's just silly. "Not making the cut". The only reason people "don't make the cut" is because public uni is overfilled and then they sort by grade, not because you had to pass some exam to get in, lmao. I'd rather have a degree than get on a waiting list for several years just because some people are too incapable of not judging others on something that is fundamentally an issue with universities and their funding, instead of public vs private and lots of private schools are great and have very good Profs as well that public Unis simply can't afford. A lot of private unis also have actual entrance exams to filter out people that are no good to begin with. Of course there are private unis that are jokes, but the same goes for public Unis.
Small addition: Typically, the high Quality research in Germany is performed in research Institute (also publicly funded) like the Max Planck Society. Which makes the Rankings sort of stupid (comparing private US and UK universities with public ones, while the state funds the research societies to be Great in the rankings) So, check if your dream University is located in a City with such renowned institutes. If fields overlap, the directors from there will give lectures in the University and you can connect to them. The professor from there are a few of the Best in their field World wide and get a lot of applications for thesis' and if you vistited their lectures they might hire you because of knowing you. Also PhDs (Promotionen) in STEM (physics, chemistry, life sciene,...) usually take 3-5 years and are badly paid!
Sometimes the universities do also have these research Institutes. I personally can Tell you only from two universities, and both also have these research Institutes. And at least in 'my' institute in my University the people doing Research also have to teach the new students.
In very specialised fields of research lecturers might even come from across the country if a research institute shares this speciality with your study program. I had two lectures that were held by people from an institution 300 km away.
Yes, imagine someone would have the idea to unite the local Max-Planck-Institutes, Helmholtz, Fraunhofer etc. with the local Universities Suddenly the Nobel-Laurates would count! Over night we would have high ranking universities! 😉 The CVs of our Nobel Laurates show their Unis where they get their skills from.
Contrary to the mindset of plenty of international students, I would want to address certain concepts or misconception that I used to have. Hopefully this is gonna make the selection process easier. 1. A university that is "prestigious" by ranking does not automatically denote a competitive selection process. A lot of the bachelors degree does not even have a selection process, as in if you fulfill the requirement you are guaranteed to get a seat. However, the real selection happens during the first few semesters, where a lot of the people either voluntarily drop out or is kicked out by not passing exams. So looking at acceptance rates really would not be helpful in determining your chances. It would be much better for you to go to the website of your desired degree and check what kind of admission is used, and if there are admission restrictions, do a self estimation based on your grades. 2. Choose the city, not the uni. I am currently studying at a relatively high ranked german uni, and I can assure that the undergrad courses across unis are literally the same. The discrepancy between teaching quality is wrongly implied by the difference in ranking. You could even find study materials of other unis of basically the exact same course. So I would not put too much focus on picking the "best uni" as truth be told, none of them offer a siginifcant enough advantage compared to the rest. A general rule of priority goes as follows: course offered at chosen uni > course contains specializations you are interested in > the city the uni is located in > personal preference > international rankings. And for those who are asking what degrees are offered at which uni with english/german, just use the DAAD search engine. You can search up all different courses offered in all public german unis and FHs, then filter them by your preference like language of instruction or location. At least do some of your own research.
And it Mattersburg what you want to study. Maritime sciences in Munich basically make no sense, while Kiel is one of the best in that field. Still CAU can't compete with Munich
what if my desired course is only taught in German and the university is in a better location than the university that offers the same program in English??
Very good video. I like your objective view on different forms of universities. I got two points to ad: 1. It may seem unintuitive, but in germany going to a private university is often seen as "cheating" or less valuable. Since education is free here, people tend to think that if you have to pay for education you can't make it in the "normal" ones. It's more like: "if you can't make it, you have to buy it" 2. Doing a PhD in a science based topic will almost allways take more than 3 years. One of my professors used to say: "if you take less than 3 years for an engineering or physics PhD then you must have cheated."
1. Yes, that´s true. I, as a german, have that slight negative bias, too. It´s probably not fair though and as long as you don´t plan to stay in Germany to work, it shouldn´t matter. I feel like that negative bias is getting less though the more common those programs are getting. In the end you still get an equal degree. 2. Haven´t done PhD, but the PhD programs also suffer from the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz. I think you can´t take longer than 6yrs for your PhD, but everything beyond the first 3 years is more or less "voluntarily" by whoever is in charge of that at your University/Institution and if they cancel the contract with you, you basically spend 3 years of your life for the hope of getting a PhD / doctoral degree and ended up with nothing.
I really believe the German society needs to change their ideas of why someone might choose a private university over public ones. It is not very sensible to think that those who can not make it to the public or normal ones end up in private ones, as there are so many reasons why an international student like me would choose a private university, such as my bachelor's at IU International University of Applied Sciences can be pursued online in my home country where i can work as well and I can move to campus anytime, I am getting a big scholarship from them so my tuition fees are very less, I am getting to study a specialized area of business Digitalization, in English, all within the quality standards set by the German authorities as I am getting 180 ects at the end of it. So it just makes more sense for me. With the academic background that I have, I may easily get into those prestigious german universities, but this private university supports my career trajectory. Now, if I come to Germany after a few years and I am looked down upon just for this reason, I think it will be blatantly unfair.
As somebody who hires extensively from the top 1/2 tier of the US system and Europe, it's important to note a major difference: top tier US institutions don't sell education, they sell access. They provide excellent education for those who are interested in it, but it's not what their purpose is and availing yourself of it is an optional extra. The system is entirely ridiculous since selecting teenagers based on 'merit' (mostly, how rich their parents are or how much they can pay to game the admissions system) and then effectively giving them straight A+ for showing up and not actively soiling themselves in public isn't as good as a preparation for life as the elites here think it is. But that doesn't matter since rankings are as easily gamed as admissions and ultimately, if the network places even the most impressively useless grad into a well-paying job everybody wins. Well, everybody other than society, which isn't doing so hot right now. So in short, it's hard to get into prestigious universities (unless you're part of the elite), but once you're in it's very, very easy to get out with a nice degree. In Europe, on the other hand, it's generally easier to get into universities as long as you meet the basic criteria (which does involve some social inequality and gatekeeping, but not to the same extent), but once you're in, you actually have to work to graduate, especially if you want to have decent grade. That means the top grads from Europe tend to come from a much more varied set of universities. The top people (i.e. first tier students in the US who put in the work because they choose to get an education in one of the incredibly well resourced Us and the people at the top of any one European university) tend to be about the same, except for ability to name drop famous profs. On the second rung, European universities are vastly superior, though, producing a much, much larger number of well-rounded people.
Idk why this video was recommended to me but as a German who studied in one of the best ranked universities in my field of study (because I lived there already, most Germans care less about rankings but more about saving money and work opportunities for internships 😂) I can only urge you to not choose your university because of some ranking. Yes, my university was great in research but the teaching and organisation wasn't good. An international student who did a semester abroad once said to me that in her home country it felt like professors wanted you to pass while here in Germany it feels like they want you to fail. And it really does, at least at my university. Now at work people are telling me I went to a prestigious university but quite honestly I learned nothing. Many of my friends who went to universities of applied sciences learned way more useful things for on the job.
In the US for example admission is often very selective and those admitted students are selected to match the academic requirements. Once a student is admitted it’s in the best interest of the university to graduate the student successfully. However universities typically don’t admit by major and a problem exists for popular majors like CS where the number of admitted students that are interested in the subject exceeds the number of available seats. In this case it’s common to have difficulty first year classes that filter out some of the hopefuls. That’s then a similar situation like in Germany where first year classes can be crowded.
Great content! I would like to comment from my perspective. I am a German that has studied computer science, has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering (both at a German University). I am lecturing part time at a private university and at a "standard" public university. I did lecture only at an University of Applied Sciences. So I have some background on the topic. I would like to congratulate for your concise description and recommendations! Additionally, I would like to stress things you mentioned: 1. As mentioned by you and others, Rankings of Universities as a whole are not important at all. Consider rankings of German Universities only - if at all - by faculty. Note further, that most rankings favor publications in English. German journals are not so much taken into account. So German Universities score lower in international rankings. To sum it up. Forget about rankings when selecting a German University. 2. "Standard" Universities versus the other types (universities of applied science, Duales Studium, private Universities). The standard Universities give you a lot of freedom in your study. There are less rigid and require a high degree of self discipline. That has the danger that your study takes longer. 3. The duration for a PhD with 1 to 3 years is very short. On average, it takes 4 to 5 years. But usually you are working as a lecturer (assistant to a professor) during your PhD and are paid (full-time or halftime employment). You can write a PhD also while working at a research institute (check for the "Gesellschaften" named Max-Planck, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Leibniz, Helmholtz and others) or even at a Company. 4. English courses are picking up. Note however, that Germany is very bureaucratic, i.e., you have to proof your English skills first (TOEFL, IELTS und Cambridge Certificate etc.) unless you are a native speaker coming from USA, UK, Ireland, NZ, Canada and Australia.
Hey Markus thanks for your valuable input. i do have a question, Do you have to be fluent in German to take classes in those research universities ? i know in Sweden most (or some) is taught in English.. thx
@@leonardoorellano6652 In Germany, it is the other way round. Unless explicitly mentioned, assume that the courses are taught in German. This includes the lectures and the written and oral exams. The daad database has in total 22 000 course (45% bachelor degree and 45% masters degree). Nearly 20 000 are held in German but 2067 are English courses spanning from "3D Animation for Film and Games" to "World Heritage Studies". Note further that only 334 English study programs are for a bachelor degree. Most German universities require you to present a proof of upper intermediate to advanced German language skills (level B2/C1) to study in German.
Personally, I would always go for a public university with only a few exceptions that would make a private university more suitable for your studies (like if you're looking for a specific (nieche) programm or certain double majors in STEM). My main reason for this is that a public school will make your life easier. They offer semester tickets for public transit, access to a wide variety of online libraries and publications like JSTOR, Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, ScienceDirect, Wiley, etc. through a national public university network. This network negotiates research publication licensing for all German public universities. This is especially important if you want to study social sciences. It will make your life so much easier and save you so much money, you have no idea. Books that you might have to purchase for 100€ and more at a private university are free to download as a pdf. The online libraries of most public universities are much more extensive than the physical libraries. I never had to step foot into my university's library for a term paper or something like this. And on top of that, being a student at a public university might grant you other advantages like free entry to public museums in the city and free entry to other amusement and education places like zoos. There are discounts for renting bikes or cars. There are some private universities who might offer some of these things as well, but never all of it. That's because the AStA (student self-organization and advocating group, exists at every public university) negotiates those deals for you. You want to go to a university to study, to learn something, but do not underestimate the importance of campus and student life. For many, it's what makes them keep going when things get though. A public university will always offer you a more complete package in this regard.
Again, most private unis are also part of the Studentenwerk, so they also get Semestertickets, the same libraries and the same caféterias. All of the stuff public uni students get, most private uni students get as well. What is up with all of these comments filled with misinformation and hatred about private unis? xD I get it, some are filled with rich kids, but a lot of us are not that
That's absolutely not the case. "Most private unis" is an overstatement. There's a distinction to be made. It might be the case for Universities of Applied Sciences (there are many half-private among them) but definitely not for Fachhochschulen. Or why else would my friends who study at private Fachhochschulen regularly hit me up if I can look up a book or article for them in my university's online library? And it's not communicated upfront either, like written on their website or something. So someone looking for a university in Germany should be aware of this and not only rely on rankings and what's written on the university's website to determine whether or not the university will be a good fit. In this case, you would have to ask around, preferably someone from that university to know.@@LeegallyBliindLOL
@@mopsmensch Where did I say to rely on rankings? Rankings are stupid. Your personal experience does not equal reality. I am in a "Fachhochschule", which is just another word for private Uni. We are part of the same Studentenwerk as everybody else in lower Saxony. It ultimately boils down to the students voting in the student council to represent them. For somebody looking to get into a German university from another country, if they even have a choice with the university, given that they're all overfilled, then they can very easily look up that information, instead of disregarding a lot of valid universities due to the personal experiences of a guy in a UA-cam comment section. If you study anything that is in science, then you, more than anyone else, should know not to generalize so broadly based on your own personal sample size. Edit: to address the fact that it's not advertised. You can look it up online or just check the "Semestergebühren". It will say it there, beforehand.
@@LeegallyBliindLOL First of all, the same way my personal experience shouldn't be counted as a universal truth, your experience also shouldn't be counted as a universal truth. My comment is merely one opinion among many. And the part about rankings obviously in regards to the video, not your comment. Neither did I say that no Fachhochschule will offer these things to their students. You're right. Many do have semester tickets, but again, not all. Some are part of the national library network, others are not (this is also not a thing that you can easily look up; I would find it on my university's website only because I know where to look for but a Fachhochschule website is often much smaller and simply structured; I know of public and private universities who do not write that anywhere on their website). I didn't say that you can't look up if a semester ticket is included in your Semestergebühren. I said it's rarely communicated upfront (publicly) if you will have access to online libraries at that specific university. It's also rarely communicated at a public university, but that's okay because it's as good as guaranteed there. Furthermore, there is a huge, huge difference between STEM-related Fachhochschulen and social sciences/arts/religion-related Fachhochschulen. Fachhochschule is not simply a different word for private university. Fachhochschulen are called that because they specialize in a certain field and only offer a selection of majors. I didn't generalize. I offered my perspective and opinion based on my experience. Everyone can consider what I said or leave it. You just assumed a lot of stuff about me, the same you assumed I'm a guy. Also, why are you so hung up about my comment if you think my opinion doesn't matter or is incorrect? You're welcome to correct me if I said something factually wrong but you cannot correct my perspective or discredit my experiences. And if you correct me, please do it based on what I actually said.
Hey nice video :) A small addition, you said a PhD in Germany typically takes between one and three years. That's not entirely true and missing a big part of the picture. In Germany, contrary to most other countries, you are not regarded a "student" but treated as someone who already has expertise. This means most of the time you will be paid while doing your PhD and a lot of the time you will have some sort of teaching duty. Because of this teaching duty a PhD in Germany can take up to five years in total which makes the country one of the slowest in producing new researchers.
Can you tell me how a doktor is different from a Phd? The international norm in my country, US and UK is after masters, students do a phD programme, defend their thesis to get the doctorate tag and eventually professor. Can you tell me where a Doktor from Germany stands equivalent ?
@@uditabhattacharya2824The degree in the end is the same. There are some PhD programmes in Germany as well, but most students start working in research fields, find a topic and supervisor on their own and then write the thesis either as part of their job or in their free time. That depends on your job direction, in computer science it's easy to find a job as a researcher at a university or research institute full time including time to work on your PhD, while in things like philosophy you'll most likely get half of a position and have to use your free time for the PhD. You could also find a contract in the industry with the possibility to do your PhD in parallel. PhD programmes are centered on the PhD itself, while in the other cases you work on research related to your topic, thus often taking more time (3-6 years is common).
This video is why i like your content....it is just the most efficient and perfect video possible...keep up the good work man! Feel motivated seeing your channel grow!
Just a small remark as to campus size: here in Münster, you could argue that the campus *is* the city - university buildings (and sometimes parts of buildings) are all over the city. Just for a very small example, I worked for the uni computing center as a student ... in a side street, in a house that looked exactly like all the "normal" houses in the street, except it was filled with computer stuff and offices. (That one was not open to the public, it was strictly back-office.) But the computing center main building, right next to the math building and across a major street from the physics building (and others) ... you can see the twin towers of the uni hospital in the distance, around it is what looks like normal housing and contains the medical faculty of the uni. I don't think you can the castle (Schloss) from there where the central administration is located (and some other faculties and the botanical garden) ... and so forth.
The types of universities are something nobody talks about on youtube. I have been researching a lot trying to find "co-op" programs but it seemed very confusing. Hoping I'll find a lot more applied science and internship focused unis and courses when I wake up tomorrow!
My tip is look into the city your potential uni is in. Do you want a big and international city? Something a bit smaller? Some with good traffic connection? A really cheap city? At most uni there is a professional consultation that can also help you with the application, etc. But if you really want to have a full picture, there are also “ask a student” possibilities. Mostly it’s students of the specific major youre looking into. So they can give you insights into uni, the city, the teaching and stuff. Ive been told that they’re honest and not trying to sell the uni to you. Also if you life close to the uni in germany, there are “open days” where theyll show you the uni and sometimes they have online versions of that so international students can also take part.
My experience: I studied at an internationally unknown University of applied science in my hometown. Studies were terribly hard, exams on almost unreachable levels. Huge amount of work. Students who failed at any exams even in high semesters got kicked out quite fast. But those who survived had all chances. Being the "German Engineer" on any construction site of this world gave me some unbeatable authority. Not kidding... I recommend to study in Germans southern areas. Most beautiful landscape, nice people, great culture...
One important thing to note is that some of the factors you mentioned as advantages of private universities: smaller class sizes, better access to lecturers/professors, you also get at public universities if you study in a smaller city. Bachelor programmes are often mostly the same across universities, so you get a much higher teaching quality if you study in a small city
@@maxyoko Oh? I assumed you were an international student. Seems like I misjudged since I would expect such a video from a person who was not born in Germany lol
Don’t know why I got this video recommended as a German with a finished degree. But great video with good advice about ignoring the ranking and so on 👏
This is a half-tangent, but if you go to a German University, please consider seeking out the "Fachschaft." That's basically the student council, except it's less formal than student councils tend to be in other countries (although that depends on the faculty). In the best case it's a win-win for both sides: you are better connected to your fellow students and lecturers and are more informed on the inner workings of your university and study course, and you also get to play an active role in shaping the studies and social life at your faculty. Also, it looks good on the CV 😉
Vielen Dank fürs Video. Hier in der Schweiz ist es ziemlich ähnlich. Wir haben zwar kein Dualen Universitäten an sich. Jedoch kann man an den Fachhochschulen ein Teilzeitstudium absolvieren, was 1 -1.5 Jahre länger dauert. Da ich nur einen Lehrabschluss habe, werde ich nur an der Fachhochschule prüfunsfrei zugelassen. Du hast aber dazu beigetragen, dass ich mich dabei weniger dumm fühle, weil die Fachhoschule an und für sich auch etwas gutes ist und es im Nachhinein auf die Eigenleistung ankommt. Nächsten September werde ich wohl mein Studium in Informatik oder Elektrotechnik beginnen. Danke nochmals, hab gleich ein Abo dagelassen
Danke, dass du deine Story hier geteilt hast ^^ Es ist wirklich nice zu sehen, dass Fachhochschulen heutzutage immer höheres Ansehen genießen Ich wünsch dir auf jeden Fall viel Erfolg im Studium!
Another thing I might add is that it is also good to look at smaller universities in smaller cities or even towns. There are multiple benefits for this. 1. It is cheaper. Housing costs in Germany can quite differ and the monthly cost for a room in munich can be multiple times higher than in other German cities. This is especialy true in eastern germany where the costs of living are in general lower. 2. There is not that much of a quality difference. Yes you might not get a nobel price winner as your proffessor but aside of that will you mostly have the education quality. 3. You will know your teachers and proffessors by far better and they will have time for every student asking questions per E-Mail or after lectures. I might add that there is a special type of town in Germany which is called "Studentenstadt". These are cities and towns between 50.000 and 120.000 residents in which a quarter or sometimes even more of the residents are students of the local university or are working there. An example for this is Göttingen with 120.000 residents including 28.500 students and 13.000 additional residents who work at the university.
Such a weird video for UA-cam to push into my Startpage, just as I am done taking my final exam as a native German at a German university. I really enjoyed your video and it had a great quality that really made me believe you got more subscribers. Keep up the good work!
Yeah, almost exactly the same here. Penultimate exam on Friday 😅 perfect time to waste 14 minutes on something that will not apply to my life in any way
The rankings have more or less an entertaining character, such as "what's the best city to live in". You don't choose your place to live by a ranking. So you don't with universities. To have an academic degree is a high value by itself, and recruiters don't distinguish between schools very much. If at all - ranking must be done by subject, who's the best in medicine, who's the best in economics etc. But however, that's more or less unimportant to get a bachelor. The special qualities you will only experience in Master and Ph.D. programs, not before.
@@maxyoko management information systems or computer information systems please big fan 💗😚 and I don't like to do code I am cs student studying +2 so I am thinking to start non tech job related to computer and management after study how is the scope of mis or cis there and difference please make one full video on this topic and what are the career opportunities scope hope I get reply soon thank you mryoko ❤️....
Great Video - thanks! Few additions concerning the PhD: doctorates oftentimes are scheduled for 3 years, but can take decades to finish (averaging at about 4 (years - thx for the comment @johaquila)). A PhD can be earned in Germany, but "Doktor" is more common and differ from PhD programs. Most Common ones are the Dr med (medicine), Dr-Ing (engineering), and Dr rer nat (Science). Doctorates are less structured and usually don't involve as much credit or course work and more 'free' research - so writing and publishing papers IS the main and sometimes only task. Teaching can be a requirement If you are employed at the Uni (often the Case and actually well paid), but does Not have to. (And as you said: one must almost always have earned a masters degree before pursuing a doctorates). Lastly, the selection process for whom to become a PhD candidate can be very competitive, as being a Doktor comes with more social Prestige in Germany compared with other countries and mostly the supervisor is able to decide upon whom to enroll all by him- or herself.
Just to make that clear: The average time for getting a doctorate is not 4 decades. 4 years sounds about right for the average. The median will probably be a bit lower. People who finish their PhD after 20 years or so distort the average. The reason they can do this is that it's free, or essentially free, so it is possible to start your PhD, then fully focus on work or your family, and return to it much later.
Somehow you forgot the first private university which was founded in Germany: University of Witten/Herdecke which offers medicine, dentistry, economics, psychology and ppe. But great videos!
Very good and broad. And I never heard of a company, that has vacancies to say: "Oh no, those guy has just a degree from that university, but not from those one." A little issue, you missed the "n" in the first Kunsthochschule. But only Germans would see that and they know their Hochschulen.
one thing: MA programs in sciences are often in English at public universities, thats when it gets a lot easier to find strong programs at public universities, like the Max Plank programs at Heidelberg University.
With regards to public vs private universities: Public universities are available to everyone but only the best and the ones working the hardest will make it. Top universities ("Exzellenz" universities) like TUM, RWTH and so on accept around 1000 students per semester in popular courses (like CS or engineering) but only like 50-100 of those will make it to the masters degree (which is usually what Germans aim for as bachelor only studying is not that common). So only 5%-10% of students will make it In private universities on the other hand are built so pretty much everyone will finish (would be a bad business model if your customers are already gone after 1 semester) This then also of course results in the perception especially for employers that those people that went to private universities were either not skilled or tenacious enough to make it in a public university, and instead you just payed your way through. If this is justified or not is of course debatable, but this is definitely the perception that studying at a private university invokes. Therefore, anyone who can study at a public university should do so.
I attend a private Uni/ college whatever you could call it, german universitys are known not to use the correct terms for their schools. In my case my course only exists as a private one so there is no choice between public or private. The expenses for a private school are no joke, not to mention the additional expenses you'd have to pay for the materials, every semester and before the DB made that new train ticket for cheap, I had to pay almost 300€ for a ticket to travel between my uni and home monthly, as I lived far away from the uni.
I really believe the German society needs to change their ideas of why someone might choose a private university over public ones. It is not very sensible to think that those who can not make it to the public or normal ones end up in private ones, as there are so many reasons why an international student like me would choose a private university, such as my bachelor's at IU International University of Applied Sciences can be pursued online in my home country and I can move to campus anytime, I am getting a big scholarship from them so my tuition fees are very less, I am getting to study a specialized area of business Digitalization, in English, all within the quality standards set by the German authorities as I am getting 180 ects at the end of it. So it just makes more sense for me. With the academic background that I have, I may easily get into those prestigious german universities, but this private university supports my career trajectory. Now, if I come to Germany after a few years and I am looked down upon just for this reason, I think it will be blatantly unfair.
The best university in Germany is LMU just gained a new Nobel Laureate in Physics in 2023. Every university will have an office for foreign students who will help with the application processes and other stuff you would need to know.
I think it's great that public universities in Germany are highly ranked. The same can't be said of public universities in the USA. Here there are fantastic public universities but internationally speaking, most people think of Stanford, Harvard, etc when they envision prestige. Honestly I think that says more about the rankings than about the schools. If you aren't invested in rankings, there are many public schools that are glorified. In 2019 there was a scandal involving famous people bribing coaches to guarantee acceptance for their kids. There were also scandals about rich people paying for perfect ACT scores. It's disheartening when most of these schools cost something like $70,000 a year. Some people associate college kids and entitled behavior. It feels like people who work hard can't afford college, while others can due to luck. You speak very smoothly 😁
For tuiton: Yes, it technically may be only up to 100€ a semester (or 200€ a year), but at many universities a "Semesterticket" for public transportation is MANDATORY and only in rare circumstances you can apply to not pay it (and not being able to use it). In my case, this ticket was roughly 200€/Semester on top of the fee. So, if you go to a university, be aware of that. It can change drastically from university to university. Other than that: I agree with what most people here say: Don´t waste so much tuition on a public university. It´s really not worth the money. Especially if you have to do a job just to survive (like Minijob up to 520€) or even Part Time (You are not allowed to do more than Part Time (roughly 20hrs a week on average), be aware of that), you will spend extra time working just to pay your semester fee... University is tough, don´t make your time harder than it already will be. And the living costs can vary a lot. Especially when you don´t get a 20m² ish apartment in a Studentenwohnheim and when you live in a big city (e. g. Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main, München). That´s all I could tell you as a native german that finished his Bachelor´s degree at one of the Top 10 Universities in Germany.
Besides SWE and CS programs, an average engineering student at a (Public) German university has the training of a recently graduated engineer from North America with a MEng. I got a feeling that the 2020-2022 lock down has driven this gap even further. In late 2022, we had a batch of new American MechEngs attending mandatory training in EU and 60% of them have never been working or practicing in a machining workshop. Only 10% knows how to configure and operate a CNC router. They learned fast but if they had already paid a considerably high tuition to attend university, while did their program exclude all the hands on training (as well as a few important courses and basic industry practices)? Perhaps it's similar to the private system in Germany and if you can pay, they will let you in.
Hi, this is my second time watching your video, very informative and thoughtful❤. I would like to ask im thinking of studying computer science as a international student,can you make video of how you were able to get admitted and your experience
For computer science you will be admitted almost everywhere because we have a very high need for every kind of engineer. But the quality of teaching can vary from university to university so you should focus your research on that. Somtimes less renowned universities have better teaching. Also think about studying at an university of applied science because they can be much more hands-on if your goal is a job as an engineer in a company rather than beeing a researcher.
The rankings really don’t mean anything. The LMU has been called the German Harvard when it comes to studying law and is frequently ranked 1st in Germany. In Bavarian rankings Passau (and I think Bayreuth as well) has been ranked higher a few times and it is well known that a lot of students change uni from Munich to Passau since it’s not as overcrowded. Prestige depends heavily on history and since not all universities were allowed to stay open during WWII or were forced to change their studies that’s not really a realistic comparison. At the end it’s important to know what you’re looking for in your university and choose accordingly.
rankings don't matter - just be aware that university in germany ain't a cakewalk... I tried to study computer science and that shit was extremly hard, I ended up dropping out because the math exams were hard as fuck - like 60% of ppl failing (and those 60% already made it trough 12 years of math in school and most likely have an affinity for numbers and logic)
Is it bad that I'm curious about my University's international ranking now? (FU Berlin) Also, I'm not quite sure why this is being recommended to me as a native German studying in Germany (the algorithm works in mysterious ways, I guess), but what an interesting insight into our University system!
I think the reason why Germany isn't popular for their private schools/universities, is the reason they want to give everyone chances to a good education and jobs. If everything is about being always the best to enter private schools it lets other people (students) that can't afford to pay thousands of euros a year, stay in the dark. Germany just makes sure that there's not a too big gap between the top(wealthy) and bottom. Considering this, it allows us to go to decent schools, afford decent universities to get a decent(/good) job to life a good and at least decent life.
Sometimes rankings can make sense, however imo only when they are specific to a course of study. E. g. there is the CHE ranking for medical schools which is pretty reliable, and looking at the Studycheck scores doesn't hurt either. Just don't think that the number of papers per professor or something like that should dictate where you study, there is way more important things than such empirical values.
Even still you should look at the last few years of the CHE ranking and check who has been reliably good as they tend to fluctuate a little every year. They do give a pretty good approximation tho.
Just saying that THE rankings works with Elsevier, which basically seems to gatekeep knowledge for profits, which probably leads to higher fees for students with higher costs. Not a great look or a university to be lauded by Elsevier.
Hi, i like your Video very much. But why do you have that small number on subs? With the quality I thought you‘d have way more! But another thing: I find it really important to mention the things around the university, like sports and formula student, because this is the other port of a student, I think everybody must do a sport, so thats why
Your content and info is 💯. I share your videos and info with friends. Thank you so much for your effort! P.S: Kindly make a video on how people who want to migrate to Germany via Ausbildung program can do so from outside Germany.
hi max, i am going to be studying abroad in Germany in a few years through my college's study abroad programs. i am wondering about the following questions: 1. how can we tell, that a certain university will fit our interests/course of study? a lot of international students tend to focus on rankings and quality of teaching (at my campus, we use ratemyprofessor. most of the professors here are really bad according to reviews). my intended major is history, and i heard LMU is great for history. other than that, what should we specifically look at before we apply? 2. i will either be in Berlin or Freiburg when i study in Germany. i was told by my advisor that Berlin is too international and practicing German will be very difficult. can you make/do you have a video on what to expect when international students arrive in Germany/study in Germany? 3. do you have a video that explains the application process of German universities? my high school advisor told me that most European universities tend to send you admission results relatively quickly compared to US results, which can take up to 2-3 months. thanks for the information in the video, i am only relatively worried about culture shock, admission, quality of teaching, including if my German is even good enough for me to survive when i actually do directly apply and study in Germany (i will be taking a mix of German and English courses).
1. Ignore rankings, they usually focus on research output. if you're looking to be a normal student, not a researcher, focus on the contents of the university: what courses do they teach? what are their topics? If you study history (or anything, really) I'd recommend checking out the Vorlesungsverzeichnis (lecture register) of the universities you are interested in. In your case, also check out the website of history institute, there you can usually get an idea of what they focus on. At most universities, you will be able to learn about modern german history. However, if there is an area you are particulary interested in (East German history, medival history, Gender topics...) you should take a look around to figure which university offers courses on the topic. If you don't know it already: For interesting humanities classes, you usually need to be good in German. Understanding German well enough to follow a lecture is vital, should be possible if you are at an intermediate level (unless the lecturer has a strong dialect, then only god and local students can help you.) Most younger lecturers will know English well, so it's probably fine if you write your term papers and exams in English, but you'll need to discuss that with your (prospective) lecturers. If you don't know German, or are at a really low level, make sure that you go to a university with a couple classes in English. 2. Berlin is extremely international. If you speak English, it's relatively easy to develop a live and routines without using much German. However, that can happen at any place you go to, given that there is a sizeable amount of international students. But your teacher is right: The smaller a place, the more likely it is that you will need German in your every day life. If people can figure that you are an English native speaker, they will likely want to practice their english with you. The less people around you know English, the less they expect someone to be speaking English, the more chances you will have to practice German. 3. German universities don't have a common application system. Afaik, you apply directly at the individual University. Usually every University has it's own deadlines, so check that well in advance on their website. If you can't find infos, e-mail the international office of the University you are interested in. What matters most is the system sending you? Which program are you going with? What are your college's conditions? Depending on these factors, application process, deadlines, etc. may differ widely. Choosing classes is often different for international students than for Germans, again, it will depend a lot on what your home university wants from you. If your home university doesn't care at all, you will likely have a lot of flexibilty. Home students usually apply through an online system. As an exchange student, you might be integrated into the online system or you might need to send a list of courses you want to take to (whoever the person in charge is).
@@RyfkahChan Completely agree here. Also would say that both cities are really good, famous and loved by students. (Have friends of mine studying in both places and they love it all.) So the main questions you should ask yourself is what kind of person I like and what kind of enviroment I need. Berlin is bigger, huge infrastruccture but because of the size of the city you still need a lot of time to get from spot a to b. Freiburg is smaller more family like, still has good infrastructure but everything is closer which also make driving with a bike far easier. The other Quests is the free time offers. There is a lot in both place! But still different. Uni sports programm, parks, Amusement parks, ... are given at both places but what really makes the difference is the surrounding offers like beeing close to the mountains, like of constans, the french border in Freiburg where you have in Berlin more the "city" feeling where you don´t have such places but indoor ski halls or something like that and are closer to the ocean. I personally would prefer Freiburg, especially since I am a huge soccer fan and one of the best clubs in the german scene is located there. But be sure to make your own choice ^^ ps. Also finding living room is hard in both places. But still much harder in Berlin since you are fighting with more workers for the same kinds of appartments.
Writing this preemptively, so maybe you'll adress this anyways ^^ For smaller fields like the one I studied (geosciences, officially; mainly palaeontology), the better uni *for you* may also simply depend on your preferred topic. I wanted to study palaeontology to study dinosaurs specifically and just went to the next best uni that offered geosciences (which is geology + palaeontology + mineralogy) only to find out that basically only the one in Bonn offers extensive courses on vertebrates. Münster, meanwhile, has the only institute for planetology (the geology of other terrestrial bodies in our solar system) in the country. So depending on what you want to learn, you may have to pick where to study based on that.
I really believe the German society needs to change their ideas of why someone might choose a private university over public ones. It is not very sensible to think that those who can not make it to the public or normal ones end up in private ones, as there are so many reasons why an international student like me would choose a private university, such as my bachelor's at IU International University of Applied Sciences can be pursued online in my home country where i may continue to work and I can move to campus anytime, I am getting a big scholarship from them so my tuition fees are very less, I am getting to study a specialized area of business Digitalization, in English, all within the quality standards set by the German authorities as I am getting 180 ects at the end of it. So it just makes more sense for me. With the academic background that I have, I may easily get into those prestigious german universities, but this private university supports my career trajectory. Now, if I come to Germany after a few years and I am looked down upon just for this reason, I think it will be blatantly unfair.
Hi Max. I love your videos and i would like to study computer Science like you. But i am not sure if it's better to study in an aplplied Science Uni or in a regular Uni. Can u give an adivse?
Placing German universities in a global ranking is difficult because (like many other things in Germany) the university system is polycentric. There aren't one or two big prestigious institutions that get the best of everything. Instead, advanced competencies in different fields are spread out across the country. That's also why Germans don't pay much attention to the national rankings. Nobody here is going to be very impressed that you graduated from Heidelberg University specifically, like they might be for MIT or Oxford. It's much more granular than that.
@@Szcza04 The German university system is quite good, I'd say. The problem is with schools, because they segregate pupils into different "levels" of school very early (from 5th grade), pretty much locking in their educational prospects after that point. At such a young age, a lot of your school performance depends on your background -- how educated your parents are, how much German is spoken at home, etc. etc. So it reinforces existing class divisions instead of lifting people up.
@@HeadsFullOfEyeballsI think the options for rising through later are very good, though. Both my younger sisters transferred, one from Gymnasium to Realschule and back again for Abi. If you want to, it is fairly easy. And with our low supply of teachers, more homogeneous classes can be a blessing.
can you make a video about application process for bachelor( for international students) make a list of unis to APPLY for intenational students,,,,,,,,, looking forward🤗
I'm grateful for your appreciation. Your videos on the education system in Germany have been very helpful. I'm currently residing in Bangladesh and have plans to pursue studies in Germany. I've already scheduled an appointment for this purpose. My academic background is in commerce, and although most German universities offer programs related to business, economics, management, and technology under the Bachelor of Science (BSc) designation, I'm not from a science background. Can I still apply to these universities? Moreover, Where can I find university programs for international students aside from the DAAD?
You can find more than 2000 English taught programs on the website myGermanUniversity You can apply to the universities if you meet the requirements for that specific course you wanna purse :)
Small tip. If a university appears high in the rankings it usually also means they are quite significantly harder. TUM, KIT, and RWTH are some of the best universities for computer science. Personally, I would never want to study there because of the sacrifices you need to make (little social life etc.). They do come with a good reputation and you can be proud if you finish the program. But you need to ask yourself if it is really worth to sacrifice so much of your time for a little reputation
Well put together but it is not true that studying at a public university is tuition free! Maybe for EU citizens but definitely not for all international students. I had to enroll at a private university because it is way less expensive for me than to enroll at a public university, especially in the south. Like I would have been charged for 1.5k€ per semester excluding the tuition fees. It definitely sucks to be a non European student in the south. But this more of a governmental issue, since the states in Germany kinda have their own laws about specific things.
Hi Max, new subscriber here! Thank you so much for your videos, I really enjoy them a lot. I wanted to kindly ask if by any means you may know any University that is strong in Medicine/Health industry. I studied business management but i have been working in the pharmaceutical industry for a while, here in my country there is multiple universities that have different degrees but they are specifically strong in Medicine and related to the pharmaceutical industry, is there any university you can recommend? It would mean a lot, thanks!
Rankings are important for the most selective positions in business, also considering that there are over 500K students majoring in a business related subject you need every advantage you can get, just getting any job is not hard getting a good job is becoming very hard
Yes, in these fields, going to private universities can be really advantageous as well and university ranking does matter to some degree But the international rankings are still misleading because not many German private school are on there
@@maxyoko Thanks for answering! Any thoughts about which online university could be a good one? Because of my job I am traveling and moving to different cities. I couldnt finish my bachelor in law because of that. I guess that if teaching quality is bad, then companies won't recognise its diploma...
9:19 so Max we understand that finding a public university, with computer science program in English is difficult. But it isn't impossible? right? So can u make video exactly naming those Public unis in which Computers sciences/Software engineering programs are taught in English.
Hochschulkompass says there about 270 International programms for computer science programms in Germany. It is easier to find programms for master programms though.
@@maxyoko i mean if you have intentions to ground your own project and team during your bachelor, duales Studium isn’t the best type of higher education for that, because you will have to stick to the exact work that your praxispartner provides, and won’t have time to work on your own project.
i was wondering if there are any rankings that focus more on student satisfaction? i did part of my bachelors in a "high ranking" uni but it was very badly organised and provided no student support, and I now want to do a masters in germany but i want to avoid that same issue😅
I have a question. I am an American, who is learning German, and am 16, about to graduate. I want to study something along the lines of pharmaceutical chemistry. I love science and want to do something akin to research, perhaps specialing in autoimmune disorders. I also have interest in DNA. There's much too much to choose. I was wondering what type of collage would be best for finding what type of scientific research i prefer the most, and would give me the proper experience needed to get a good job position after i graduate. ( not right away, i know thats not realistic, but within a few years.) Any recommendations?
Get the Free “Studying in Germany Guidebook”!
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Don't know how it shows "Account is cancelled and can not accept new subscribers", is the link still available?
Hey @maxyoko, Could you please make a video on best universities for Master’s in Robotics
My tip as a german: Ignore private universities. While it may be true, that they are better in other countries, it does not apply to Germany. Public universities are good to very good and private universities usually cater only the desire for exceptionalism of elitists. They may be good, but are in absolutely no way better than public universities. In Germany, education is like it should be everywhere: Free and good for all.
yess well said!
Woah, hold on there guys, wtf. Most private universities exist for the purpose of dual studies (part time work part time study), not because people are rich. The costs are covered by the companies. That way the student earns a salary while studying and both the student and the company are basically guaranteed an employee and a company. They have to fulfill the same curriculum requirements as public unis if they want to give out ECTS.
@Lemonade-up9br Where did you learn that? I applied to four public ones and got accepted into all without any problems with only a 2.4 in my Abi. Hannover, mind you, so extremely overfilled universities. I decided to go with a private one, not because I can afford it, because I can't, I'm poor xD, but because my partner company covers it and I get a salary, which ultimately makes it cheaper than public uni for me.
Yes, private unis are frowned upon, but not always for reasonable reasons.
@@LeegallyBliindLOL if you get your medical degree at a private university everyone will think, that you just didn't make the cut for a spot at a public university
@@roadrunner6224 That's just silly. "Not making the cut". The only reason people "don't make the cut" is because public uni is overfilled and then they sort by grade, not because you had to pass some exam to get in, lmao. I'd rather have a degree than get on a waiting list for several years just because some people are too incapable of not judging others on something that is fundamentally an issue with universities and their funding, instead of public vs private and lots of private schools are great and have very good Profs as well that public Unis simply can't afford. A lot of private unis also have actual entrance exams to filter out people that are no good to begin with. Of course there are private unis that are jokes, but the same goes for public Unis.
Small addition: Typically, the high Quality research in Germany is performed in research Institute (also publicly funded) like the Max Planck Society. Which makes the Rankings sort of stupid (comparing private US and UK universities with public ones, while the state funds the research societies to be Great in the rankings) So, check if your dream University is located in a City with such renowned institutes. If fields overlap, the directors from there will give lectures in the University and you can connect to them. The professor from there are a few of the Best in their field World wide and get a lot of applications for thesis' and if you vistited their lectures they might hire you because of knowing you. Also PhDs (Promotionen) in STEM (physics, chemistry, life sciene,...) usually take 3-5 years and are badly paid!
Sometimes the universities do also have these research Institutes.
I personally can Tell you only from two universities, and both also have these research Institutes.
And at least in 'my' institute in my University the people doing Research also have to teach the new students.
In very specialised fields of research lecturers might even come from across the country if a research institute shares this speciality with your study program. I had two lectures that were held by people from an institution 300 km away.
Thanks for sharing 🫶
Yes, imagine someone would have the idea to unite the local Max-Planck-Institutes, Helmholtz, Fraunhofer etc. with the local Universities Suddenly the Nobel-Laurates would count! Over night we would have high ranking universities! 😉 The CVs of our Nobel Laurates show their Unis where they get their skills from.
Which programs are good to study in Germany? I am considering biochemistry or chemical engineering. Does the same apply to those as well?
Contrary to the mindset of plenty of international students, I would want to address certain concepts or misconception that I used to have. Hopefully this is gonna make the selection process easier.
1. A university that is "prestigious" by ranking does not automatically denote a competitive selection process. A lot of the bachelors degree does not even have a selection process, as in if you fulfill the requirement you are guaranteed to get a seat. However, the real selection happens during the first few semesters, where a lot of the people either voluntarily drop out or is kicked out by not passing exams. So looking at acceptance rates really would not be helpful in determining your chances. It would be much better for you to go to the website of your desired degree and check what kind of admission is used, and if there are admission restrictions, do a self estimation based on your grades.
2. Choose the city, not the uni. I am currently studying at a relatively high ranked german uni, and I can assure that the undergrad courses across unis are literally the same. The discrepancy between teaching quality is wrongly implied by the difference in ranking. You could even find study materials of other unis of basically the exact same course. So I would not put too much focus on picking the "best uni" as truth be told, none of them offer a siginifcant enough advantage compared to the rest. A general rule of priority goes as follows: course offered at chosen uni > course contains specializations you are interested in > the city the uni is located in > personal preference > international rankings.
And for those who are asking what degrees are offered at which uni with english/german, just use the DAAD search engine. You can search up all different courses offered in all public german unis and FHs, then filter them by your preference like language of instruction or location. At least do some of your own research.
Very well said, thanks for pointing out ❤️
And it Mattersburg what you want to study. Maritime sciences in Munich basically make no sense, while Kiel is one of the best in that field. Still CAU can't compete with Munich
Hey man I am interested in computer science and I am very confused as to which course is for me in duad
what if my desired course is only taught in German and the university is in a better location than the university that offers the same program in English??
Very good video. I like your objective view on different forms of universities. I got two points to ad:
1. It may seem unintuitive, but in germany going to a private university is often seen as "cheating" or less valuable. Since education is free here, people tend to think that if you have to pay for education you can't make it in the "normal" ones. It's more like: "if you can't make it, you have to buy it"
2. Doing a PhD in a science based topic will almost allways take more than 3 years. One of my professors used to say: "if you take less than 3 years for an engineering or physics PhD then you must have cheated."
1. Yes, that´s true. I, as a german, have that slight negative bias, too. It´s probably not fair though and as long as you don´t plan to stay in Germany to work, it shouldn´t matter. I feel like that negative bias is getting less though the more common those programs are getting. In the end you still get an equal degree.
2. Haven´t done PhD, but the PhD programs also suffer from the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz. I think you can´t take longer than 6yrs for your PhD, but everything beyond the first 3 years is more or less "voluntarily" by whoever is in charge of that at your University/Institution and if they cancel the contract with you, you basically spend 3 years of your life for the hope of getting a PhD / doctoral degree and ended up with nothing.
I really believe the German society needs to change their ideas of why someone might choose a private university over public ones. It is not very sensible to think that those who can not make it to the public or normal ones end up in private ones, as there are so many reasons why an international student like me would choose a private university, such as my bachelor's at IU International University of Applied Sciences can be pursued online in my home country where i can work as well and I can move to campus anytime, I am getting a big scholarship from them so my tuition fees are very less, I am getting to study a specialized area of business Digitalization, in English, all within the quality standards set by the German authorities as I am getting 180 ects at the end of it. So it just makes more sense for me. With the academic background that I have, I may easily get into those prestigious german universities, but this private university supports my career trajectory. Now, if I come to Germany after a few years and I am looked down upon just for this reason, I think it will be blatantly unfair.
As somebody who hires extensively from the top 1/2 tier of the US system and Europe, it's important to note a major difference: top tier US institutions don't sell education, they sell access. They provide excellent education for those who are interested in it, but it's not what their purpose is and availing yourself of it is an optional extra. The system is entirely ridiculous since selecting teenagers based on 'merit' (mostly, how rich their parents are or how much they can pay to game the admissions system) and then effectively giving them straight A+ for showing up and not actively soiling themselves in public isn't as good as a preparation for life as the elites here think it is. But that doesn't matter since rankings are as easily gamed as admissions and ultimately, if the network places even the most impressively useless grad into a well-paying job everybody wins. Well, everybody other than society, which isn't doing so hot right now. So in short, it's hard to get into prestigious universities (unless you're part of the elite), but once you're in it's very, very easy to get out with a nice degree.
In Europe, on the other hand, it's generally easier to get into universities as long as you meet the basic criteria (which does involve some social inequality and gatekeeping, but not to the same extent), but once you're in, you actually have to work to graduate, especially if you want to have decent grade. That means the top grads from Europe tend to come from a much more varied set of universities. The top people (i.e. first tier students in the US who put in the work because they choose to get an education in one of the incredibly well resourced Us and the people at the top of any one European university) tend to be about the same, except for ability to name drop famous profs. On the second rung, European universities are vastly superior, though, producing a much, much larger number of well-rounded people.
Thanks for sharing ^^
Idk why this video was recommended to me but as a German who studied in one of the best ranked universities in my field of study (because I lived there already, most Germans care less about rankings but more about saving money and work opportunities for internships 😂) I can only urge you to not choose your university because of some ranking. Yes, my university was great in research but the teaching and organisation wasn't good. An international student who did a semester abroad once said to me that in her home country it felt like professors wanted you to pass while here in Germany it feels like they want you to fail. And it really does, at least at my university. Now at work people are telling me I went to a prestigious university but quite honestly I learned nothing. Many of my friends who went to universities of applied sciences learned way more useful things for on the job.
Thanks for sharing your experience ^^
In the US for example admission is often very selective and those admitted students are selected to match the academic requirements. Once a student is admitted it’s in the best interest of the university to graduate the student successfully. However universities typically don’t admit by major and a problem exists for popular majors like CS where the number of admitted students that are interested in the subject exceeds the number of available seats. In this case it’s common to have difficulty first year classes that filter out some of the hopefuls. That’s then a similar situation like in Germany where first year classes can be crowded.
Warst du an einer Uni in München? Das kommt mir nämlich bekannt vor...
You are making the "Actually important" content I have been looking for before moving to Berlin.
Are you from India?
@@Shivamsimu Yes brother
You're welcome 🫶
@@akshaydawxrhey which university are you going to in Berlin?
@@Test-ij6os Tu-berlin
Great content! I would like to comment from my perspective. I am a German that has studied computer science, has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering (both at a German University). I am lecturing part time at a private university and at a "standard" public university. I did lecture only at an University of Applied Sciences. So I have some background on the topic. I would like to congratulate for your concise description and recommendations!
Additionally, I would like to stress things you mentioned:
1. As mentioned by you and others, Rankings of Universities as a whole are not important at all. Consider rankings of German Universities only - if at all - by faculty. Note further, that most rankings favor publications in English. German journals are not so much taken into account. So German Universities score lower in international rankings. To sum it up. Forget about rankings when selecting a German University.
2. "Standard" Universities versus the other types (universities of applied science, Duales Studium, private Universities). The standard Universities give you a lot of freedom in your study. There are less rigid and require a high degree of self discipline. That has the danger that your study takes longer.
3. The duration for a PhD with 1 to 3 years is very short. On average, it takes 4 to 5 years. But usually you are working as a lecturer (assistant to a professor) during your PhD and are paid (full-time or halftime employment). You can write a PhD also while working at a research institute (check for the "Gesellschaften" named Max-Planck, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Leibniz, Helmholtz and others) or even at a Company.
4. English courses are picking up. Note however, that Germany is very bureaucratic, i.e., you have to proof your English skills first (TOEFL, IELTS und Cambridge Certificate etc.) unless you are a native speaker coming from USA, UK, Ireland, NZ, Canada and Australia.
Appreciate your comment, thanks for sharing your perspective 🫶
Hey Markus thanks for your valuable input. i do have a question, Do you have to be fluent in German to take classes in those research universities ? i know in Sweden most (or some) is taught in English.. thx
@@leonardoorellano6652 In Germany, it is the other way round. Unless explicitly mentioned, assume that the courses are taught in German. This includes the lectures and the written and oral exams. The daad database has in total 22 000 course (45% bachelor degree and 45% masters degree). Nearly 20 000 are held in German but 2067 are English courses spanning from "3D Animation for Film and Games" to "World Heritage Studies". Note further that only 334 English study programs are for a bachelor degree. Most German universities require you to present a proof of upper intermediate to advanced German language skills (level B2/C1) to study in German.
Personally, I would always go for a public university with only a few exceptions that would make a private university more suitable for your studies (like if you're looking for a specific (nieche) programm or certain double majors in STEM). My main reason for this is that a public school will make your life easier. They offer semester tickets for public transit, access to a wide variety of online libraries and publications like JSTOR, Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, ScienceDirect, Wiley, etc. through a national public university network. This network negotiates research publication licensing for all German public universities. This is especially important if you want to study social sciences. It will make your life so much easier and save you so much money, you have no idea. Books that you might have to purchase for 100€ and more at a private university are free to download as a pdf. The online libraries of most public universities are much more extensive than the physical libraries. I never had to step foot into my university's library for a term paper or something like this. And on top of that, being a student at a public university might grant you other advantages like free entry to public museums in the city and free entry to other amusement and education places like zoos. There are discounts for renting bikes or cars. There are some private universities who might offer some of these things as well, but never all of it. That's because the AStA (student self-organization and advocating group, exists at every public university) negotiates those deals for you.
You want to go to a university to study, to learn something, but do not underestimate the importance of campus and student life. For many, it's what makes them keep going when things get though. A public university will always offer you a more complete package in this regard.
Facts! Thanks for sharing 🫶
Again, most private unis are also part of the Studentenwerk, so they also get Semestertickets, the same libraries and the same caféterias. All of the stuff public uni students get, most private uni students get as well. What is up with all of these comments filled with misinformation and hatred about private unis? xD I get it, some are filled with rich kids, but a lot of us are not that
That's absolutely not the case. "Most private unis" is an overstatement. There's a distinction to be made. It might be the case for Universities of Applied Sciences (there are many half-private among them) but definitely not for Fachhochschulen. Or why else would my friends who study at private Fachhochschulen regularly hit me up if I can look up a book or article for them in my university's online library? And it's not communicated upfront either, like written on their website or something. So someone looking for a university in Germany should be aware of this and not only rely on rankings and what's written on the university's website to determine whether or not the university will be a good fit. In this case, you would have to ask around, preferably someone from that university to know.@@LeegallyBliindLOL
@@mopsmensch Where did I say to rely on rankings? Rankings are stupid. Your personal experience does not equal reality. I am in a "Fachhochschule", which is just another word for private Uni. We are part of the same Studentenwerk as everybody else in lower Saxony. It ultimately boils down to the students voting in the student council to represent them.
For somebody looking to get into a German university from another country, if they even have a choice with the university, given that they're all overfilled, then they can very easily look up that information, instead of disregarding a lot of valid universities due to the personal experiences of a guy in a UA-cam comment section. If you study anything that is in science, then you, more than anyone else, should know not to generalize so broadly based on your own personal sample size.
Edit: to address the fact that it's not advertised. You can look it up online or just check the "Semestergebühren". It will say it there, beforehand.
@@LeegallyBliindLOL First of all, the same way my personal experience shouldn't be counted as a universal truth, your experience also shouldn't be counted as a universal truth. My comment is merely one opinion among many. And the part about rankings obviously in regards to the video, not your comment.
Neither did I say that no Fachhochschule will offer these things to their students. You're right. Many do have semester tickets, but again, not all. Some are part of the national library network, others are not (this is also not a thing that you can easily look up; I would find it on my university's website only because I know where to look for but a Fachhochschule website is often much smaller and simply structured; I know of public and private universities who do not write that anywhere on their website). I didn't say that you can't look up if a semester ticket is included in your Semestergebühren. I said it's rarely communicated upfront (publicly) if you will have access to online libraries at that specific university. It's also rarely communicated at a public university, but that's okay because it's as good as guaranteed there.
Furthermore, there is a huge, huge difference between STEM-related Fachhochschulen and social sciences/arts/religion-related Fachhochschulen. Fachhochschule is not simply a different word for private university. Fachhochschulen are called that because they specialize in a certain field and only offer a selection of majors.
I didn't generalize. I offered my perspective and opinion based on my experience. Everyone can consider what I said or leave it. You just assumed a lot of stuff about me, the same you assumed I'm a guy. Also, why are you so hung up about my comment if you think my opinion doesn't matter or is incorrect? You're welcome to correct me if I said something factually wrong but you cannot correct my perspective or discredit my experiences. And if you correct me, please do it based on what I actually said.
Hey nice video :)
A small addition, you said a PhD in Germany typically takes between one and three years.
That's not entirely true and missing a big part of the picture.
In Germany, contrary to most other countries, you are not regarded a "student" but treated as someone who already has expertise. This means most of the time you will be paid while doing your PhD and a lot of the time you will have some sort of teaching duty.
Because of this teaching duty a PhD in Germany can take up to five years in total which makes the country one of the slowest in producing new researchers.
Thanks for pointing out, I'll definitely do more research :)
Can you tell me how a doktor is different from a Phd? The international norm in my country, US and UK is after masters, students do a phD programme, defend their thesis to get the doctorate tag and eventually professor. Can you tell me where a Doktor from Germany stands equivalent ?
@@uditabhattacharya2824The degree in the end is the same. There are some PhD programmes in Germany as well, but most students start working in research fields, find a topic and supervisor on their own and then write the thesis either as part of their job or in their free time. That depends on your job direction, in computer science it's easy to find a job as a researcher at a university or research institute full time including time to work on your PhD, while in things like philosophy you'll most likely get half of a position and have to use your free time for the PhD. You could also find a contract in the industry with the possibility to do your PhD in parallel.
PhD programmes are centered on the PhD itself, while in the other cases you work on research related to your topic, thus often taking more time (3-6 years is common).
Ahh man,after looking at your quality of content and video I thought you have more than 1m sub but it's not you deserve a lot
Thanks a lot ^^
This video is why i like your content....it is just the most efficient and perfect video possible...keep up the good work man! Feel motivated seeing your channel grow!
So much more to come 🫶
Just a small remark as to campus size: here in Münster, you could argue that the campus *is* the city - university buildings (and sometimes parts of buildings) are all over the city. Just for a very small example, I worked for the uni computing center as a student ... in a side street, in a house that looked exactly like all the "normal" houses in the street, except it was filled with computer stuff and offices. (That one was not open to the public, it was strictly back-office.) But the computing center main building, right next to the math building and across a major street from the physics building (and others) ... you can see the twin towers of the uni hospital in the distance, around it is what looks like normal housing and contains the medical faculty of the uni. I don't think you can the castle (Schloss) from there where the central administration is located (and some other faculties and the botanical garden) ... and so forth.
Ive been watching so many of your videos, honestly it's been helping me so much, since i really want to study in germany.
Thank you
The types of universities are something nobody talks about on youtube. I have been researching a lot trying to find "co-op" programs but it seemed very confusing. Hoping I'll find a lot more applied science and internship focused unis and courses when I wake up tomorrow!
My tip is look into the city your potential uni is in. Do you want a big and international city? Something a bit smaller? Some with good traffic connection? A really cheap city?
At most uni there is a professional consultation that can also help you with the application, etc. But if you really want to have a full picture, there are also “ask a student” possibilities. Mostly it’s students of the specific major youre looking into. So they can give you insights into uni, the city, the teaching and stuff. Ive been told that they’re honest and not trying to sell the uni to you.
Also if you life close to the uni in germany, there are “open days” where theyll show you the uni and sometimes they have online versions of that so international students can also take part.
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The content quality bro.💯 It's so good keep up the work
Appreciate it 🫶
My experience: I studied at an internationally unknown University of applied science in my hometown. Studies were terribly hard, exams on almost unreachable levels. Huge amount of work. Students who failed at any exams even in high semesters got kicked out quite fast. But those who survived had all chances. Being the "German Engineer" on any construction site of this world gave me some unbeatable authority. Not kidding...
I recommend to study in Germans southern areas. Most beautiful landscape, nice people, great culture...
One important thing to note is that some of the factors you mentioned as advantages of private universities: smaller class sizes, better access to lecturers/professors, you also get at public universities if you study in a smaller city. Bachelor programmes are often mostly the same across universities, so you get a much higher teaching quality if you study in a small city
yes, you're right! Even at Fachhochschulen in big cities
As a german who is studying at a german University, it's interesting to hear an international student talk about the system.
I'm also a German student at a German university haha
@@maxyoko Oh? I assumed you were an international student. Seems like I misjudged since I would expect such a video from a person who was not born in Germany lol
@@magesu4544 no problem! I just like producing videos for an international audience :)
Don’t know why I got this video recommended as a German with a finished degree. But great video with good advice about ignoring the ranking and so on 👏
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This is a half-tangent, but if you go to a German University, please consider seeking out the "Fachschaft." That's basically the student council, except it's less formal than student councils tend to be in other countries (although that depends on the faculty). In the best case it's a win-win for both sides: you are better connected to your fellow students and lecturers and are more informed on the inner workings of your university and study course, and you also get to play an active role in shaping the studies and social life at your faculty. Also, it looks good on the CV 😉
Thanks for sharing!
Vielen Dank fürs Video.
Hier in der Schweiz ist es ziemlich ähnlich. Wir haben zwar kein Dualen Universitäten an sich. Jedoch kann man an den Fachhochschulen ein Teilzeitstudium absolvieren, was 1 -1.5 Jahre länger dauert.
Da ich nur einen Lehrabschluss habe, werde ich nur an der Fachhochschule prüfunsfrei zugelassen. Du hast aber dazu beigetragen, dass ich mich dabei weniger dumm fühle, weil die Fachhoschule an und für sich auch etwas gutes ist und es im Nachhinein auf die Eigenleistung ankommt. Nächsten September werde ich wohl mein Studium in Informatik oder Elektrotechnik beginnen.
Danke nochmals, hab gleich ein Abo dagelassen
Danke, dass du deine Story hier geteilt hast ^^
Es ist wirklich nice zu sehen, dass Fachhochschulen heutzutage immer höheres Ansehen genießen
Ich wünsch dir auf jeden Fall viel Erfolg im Studium!
Such a high quality vid! You’ll hit 100k in no time
Appreciate it 🫶
Another thing I might add is that it is also good to look at smaller universities in smaller cities or even towns. There are multiple benefits for this.
1. It is cheaper. Housing costs in Germany can quite differ and the monthly cost for a room in munich can be multiple times higher than in other German cities. This is especialy true in eastern germany where the costs of living are in general lower.
2. There is not that much of a quality difference. Yes you might not get a nobel price winner as your proffessor but aside of that will you mostly have the education quality.
3. You will know your teachers and proffessors by far better and they will have time for every student asking questions per E-Mail or after lectures.
I might add that there is a special type of town in Germany which is called "Studentenstadt". These are cities and towns between 50.000 and 120.000 residents in which a quarter or sometimes even more of the residents are students of the local university or are working there. An example for this is Göttingen with 120.000 residents including 28.500 students and 13.000 additional residents who work at the university.
Brother your content quality is very great when compared to your subscribers
Appreciate it!
Hey bro ! you planning to go Germany too ?
Love to see a well done orientation video. This offers very valuable insights :D
Glad it was helpful! 🫶
Such a weird video for UA-cam to push into my Startpage, just as I am done taking my final exam as a native German at a German university.
I really enjoyed your video and it had a great quality that really made me believe you got more subscribers. Keep up the good work!
Yeah, almost exactly the same here. Penultimate exam on Friday 😅 perfect time to waste 14 minutes on something that will not apply to my life in any way
Appreciate that ^^
@@maxyoko it's a great video. It was worth it 🤣
Can't wait till scholarships video will come out and tell us the realistic view about it.
Soon 👀
Very informative , Thanks so much
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The rankings have more or less an entertaining character, such as "what's the best city to live in". You don't choose your place to live by a ranking. So you don't with universities.
To have an academic degree is a high value by itself, and recruiters don't distinguish between schools very much. If at all - ranking must be done by subject, who's the best in medicine, who's the best in economics etc. But however, that's more or less unimportant to get a bachelor. The special qualities you will only experience in Master and Ph.D. programs, not before.
Quality content ❤
Thanks a lot ❤️
Thank you so much for this Max 🙏🏼🙏🏼
very well crafted descriptions
Thanks a lot ^^
🥇❤ much love please make video on bachelor in mis in Germany please 🥺
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What do you mean by mis?
@@maxyoko management information systems or computer information systems please big fan 💗😚 and I don't like to do code I am cs student studying +2 so I am thinking to start non tech job related to computer and management after study how is the scope of mis or cis there and difference please make one full video on this topic and what are the career opportunities scope hope I get reply soon thank you mryoko ❤️....
Great Video - thanks!
Few additions concerning the PhD: doctorates oftentimes are scheduled for 3 years, but can take decades to finish (averaging at about 4 (years - thx for the comment @johaquila)).
A PhD can be earned in Germany, but "Doktor" is more common and differ from PhD programs. Most Common ones are the Dr med (medicine), Dr-Ing (engineering), and Dr rer nat (Science).
Doctorates are less structured and usually don't involve as much credit or course work and more 'free' research - so writing and publishing papers IS the main and sometimes only task. Teaching can be a requirement If you are employed at the Uni (often the Case and actually well paid), but does Not have to.
(And as you said: one must almost always have earned a masters degree before pursuing a doctorates).
Lastly, the selection process for whom to become a PhD candidate can be very competitive, as being a Doktor comes with more social Prestige in Germany compared with other countries and mostly the supervisor is able to decide upon whom to enroll all by him- or herself.
Just to make that clear: The average time for getting a doctorate is not 4 decades. 4 years sounds about right for the average. The median will probably be a bit lower. People who finish their PhD after 20 years or so distort the average. The reason they can do this is that it's free, or essentially free, so it is possible to start your PhD, then fully focus on work or your family, and return to it much later.
Nice summary
Somehow you forgot the first private university which was founded in Germany: University of Witten/Herdecke which offers medicine, dentistry, economics, psychology and ppe.
But great videos!
Thanks for pointing out, noted 🫡
Very good and broad.
And I never heard of a company, that has vacancies to say: "Oh no, those guy has just a degree from that university, but not from those one."
A little issue, you missed the "n" in the first Kunsthochschule. But only Germans would see that and they know their Hochschulen.
Thanks for pointing out!
one thing: MA programs in sciences are often in English at public universities, thats when it gets a lot easier to find strong programs at public universities, like the Max Plank programs at Heidelberg University.
this is very informative and helpful! thanks! :)
Glad it was helpful! 🫶
With regards to public vs private universities:
Public universities are available to everyone but only the best and the ones working the hardest will make it. Top universities ("Exzellenz" universities) like TUM, RWTH and so on accept around 1000 students per semester in popular courses (like CS or engineering) but only like 50-100 of those will make it to the masters degree (which is usually what Germans aim for as bachelor only studying is not that common).
So only 5%-10% of students will make it
In private universities on the other hand are built so pretty much everyone will finish (would be a bad business model if your customers are already gone after 1 semester)
This then also of course results in the perception especially for employers that those people that went to private universities were either not skilled or tenacious enough to make it in a public university, and instead you just payed your way through.
If this is justified or not is of course debatable, but this is definitely the perception that studying at a private university invokes.
Therefore, anyone who can study at a public university should do so.
Appreciated one ❤
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Just what i needed!
Happy to hear that ^^
Du hast etwas vergessen: Nach dem Doktorat gibt es noch die Habilitation. Die braucht man aber nur wenn man an der Uni bleiben will.
Amazing Max! Thank you 💪🏻
Love u Fernando ^^
Great content ❤
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Thank you!!!
You're welcome! ❤️
I attend a private Uni/ college whatever you could call it, german universitys are known not to use the correct terms for their schools. In my case my course only exists as a private one so there is no choice between public or private. The expenses for a private school are no joke, not to mention the additional expenses you'd have to pay for the materials, every semester and before the DB made that new train ticket for cheap, I had to pay almost 300€ for a ticket to travel between my uni and home monthly, as I lived far away from the uni.
Amazing channel
Appreciate it ❤️
Usually you study at a German private university if you didn’t get into the public uni
There is some truth to that
I really believe the German society needs to change their ideas of why someone might choose a private university over public ones. It is not very sensible to think that those who can not make it to the public or normal ones end up in private ones, as there are so many reasons why an international student like me would choose a private university, such as my bachelor's at IU International University of Applied Sciences can be pursued online in my home country and I can move to campus anytime, I am getting a big scholarship from them so my tuition fees are very less, I am getting to study a specialized area of business Digitalization, in English, all within the quality standards set by the German authorities as I am getting 180 ects at the end of it. So it just makes more sense for me. With the academic background that I have, I may easily get into those prestigious german universities, but this private university supports my career trajectory. Now, if I come to Germany after a few years and I am looked down upon just for this reason, I think it will be blatantly unfair.
You have a great channel !
Thanks a lot, welcome!
The best university in Germany is LMU just gained a new Nobel Laureate in Physics in 2023.
Every university will have an office for foreign students who will help with the application processes and other stuff you would need to know.
I think it's great that public universities in Germany are highly ranked. The same can't be said of public universities in the USA. Here there are fantastic public universities but internationally speaking, most people think of Stanford, Harvard, etc when they envision prestige. Honestly I think that says more about the rankings than about the schools. If you aren't invested in rankings, there are many public schools that are glorified. In 2019 there was a scandal involving famous people bribing coaches to guarantee acceptance for their kids. There were also scandals about rich people paying for perfect ACT scores. It's disheartening when most of these schools cost something like $70,000 a year. Some people associate college kids and entitled behavior. It feels like people who work hard can't afford college, while others can due to luck.
You speak very smoothly 😁
German Universities are downright mediocre.
Appreciate it :)
hi max your content is lit🔥 !!!!!!! but I need some more videos about bachelors and studeinkoleg . please !!! it would help me a lot
Coming soon!
this is what i needed in my life rn :)
Happy to be able to prove that for you ^^
Hey you moving to Germany ?
@@akshaydawxr yep this march
@@bhargavipanchangam Congratulations !!! what city u headed to ? i will be going Berlin this October 2024
Thank you so much for this video , but we need to know about german Hochschulen pleaseee
Video is definitely coming!
For tuiton: Yes, it technically may be only up to 100€ a semester (or 200€ a year), but at many universities a "Semesterticket" for public transportation is MANDATORY and only in rare circumstances you can apply to not pay it (and not being able to use it). In my case, this ticket was roughly 200€/Semester on top of the fee. So, if you go to a university, be aware of that. It can change drastically from university to university.
Other than that: I agree with what most people here say: Don´t waste so much tuition on a public university. It´s really not worth the money. Especially if you have to do a job just to survive (like Minijob up to 520€) or even Part Time (You are not allowed to do more than Part Time (roughly 20hrs a week on average), be aware of that), you will spend extra time working just to pay your semester fee... University is tough, don´t make your time harder than it already will be.
And the living costs can vary a lot. Especially when you don´t get a 20m² ish apartment in a Studentenwohnheim and when you live in a big city (e. g. Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main, München).
That´s all I could tell you as a native german that finished his Bachelor´s degree at one of the Top 10 Universities in Germany.
Edit: I meant "Don't waste so much tuition on a **private** university."
Besides SWE and CS programs, an average engineering student at a (Public) German university has the training of a recently graduated engineer from North America with a MEng. I got a feeling that the 2020-2022 lock down has driven this gap even further. In late 2022, we had a batch of new American MechEngs attending mandatory training in EU and 60% of them have never been working or practicing in a machining workshop. Only 10% knows how to configure and operate a CNC router. They learned fast but if they had already paid a considerably high tuition to attend university, while did their program exclude all the hands on training (as well as a few important courses and basic industry practices)? Perhaps it's similar to the private system in Germany and if you can pay, they will let you in.
Great video ❤❤ , but we want scholarship video for bachelor in the future 😊
Next video :)
Hi, this is my second time watching your video, very informative and thoughtful❤. I would like to ask im thinking of studying computer science as a international student,can you make video of how you were able to get admitted and your experience
Yess good idea, noted 🫡
For computer science you will be admitted almost everywhere because we have a very high need for every kind of engineer. But the quality of teaching can vary from university to university so you should focus your research on that. Somtimes less renowned universities have better teaching.
Also think about studying at an university of applied science because they can be much more hands-on if your goal is a job as an engineer in a company rather than beeing a researcher.
The rankings really don’t mean anything. The LMU has been called the German Harvard when it comes to studying law and is frequently ranked 1st in Germany. In Bavarian rankings Passau (and I think Bayreuth as well) has been ranked higher a few times and it is well known that a lot of students change uni from Munich to Passau since it’s not as overcrowded. Prestige depends heavily on history and since not all universities were allowed to stay open during WWII or were forced to change their studies that’s not really a realistic comparison. At the end it’s important to know what you’re looking for in your university and choose accordingly.
rankings don't matter - just be aware that university in germany ain't a cakewalk... I tried to study computer science and that shit was extremly hard, I ended up dropping out because the math exams were hard as fuck - like 60% of ppl failing (and those 60% already made it trough 12 years of math in school and most likely have an affinity for numbers and logic)
Is it bad that I'm curious about my University's international ranking now? (FU Berlin)
Also, I'm not quite sure why this is being recommended to me as a native German studying in Germany (the algorithm works in mysterious ways, I guess), but what an interesting insight into our University system!
You forgot the Diplom as a degree. At least at the university I am at you can still get this degree in most of the engineering filds.
Uhh very interesting, thanks for pointing it out! I thought they abandoned this type of degree
There are awesome English computer science degrees at Saarland University in Saarbrücken. I can highly recommend them! 😊
Thanks for the tip ^^
I think the reason why Germany isn't popular for their private schools/universities, is the reason they want to give everyone chances to a good education and jobs. If everything is about being always the best to enter private schools it lets other people (students) that can't afford to pay thousands of euros a year, stay in the dark. Germany just makes sure that there's not a too big gap between the top(wealthy) and bottom. Considering this, it allows us to go to decent schools, afford decent universities to get a decent(/good) job to life a good and at least decent life.
Chemistry in Halle (Saale) is not overcrowded. But as a more "dirty" science, its no wonder.
Good to know 👀
1:56 UK has literally almost no private unis lol, all the top ranking ones are public
Sometimes rankings can make sense, however imo only when they are specific to a course of study. E. g. there is the CHE ranking for medical schools which is pretty reliable, and looking at the Studycheck scores doesn't hurt either. Just don't think that the number of papers per professor or something like that should dictate where you study, there is way more important things than such empirical values.
Even still you should look at the last few years of the CHE ranking and check who has been reliably good as they tend to fluctuate a little every year. They do give a pretty good approximation tho.
Just saying that THE rankings works with Elsevier, which basically seems to gatekeep knowledge for profits, which probably leads to higher fees for students with higher costs. Not a great look or a university to be lauded by Elsevier.
Damn, good to know 👀
Hi, i like your Video very much. But why do you have that small number on subs? With the quality I thought you‘d have way more! But another thing: I find it really important to mention the things around the university, like sports and formula student, because this is the other port of a student, I think everybody must do a sport, so thats why
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Your content and info is 💯. I share your videos and info with friends. Thank you so much for your effort!
P.S: Kindly make a video on how people who want to migrate to Germany via Ausbildung program can do so from outside Germany.
Thanks a lot, appreciate it!
Yess full guide on Ausbildung is coming soon
hi max, i am going to be studying abroad in Germany in a few years through my college's study abroad programs. i am wondering about the following questions:
1. how can we tell, that a certain university will fit our interests/course of study? a lot of international students tend to focus on rankings and quality of teaching (at my campus, we use ratemyprofessor. most of the professors here are really bad according to reviews). my intended major is history, and i heard LMU is great for history. other than that, what should we specifically look at before we apply?
2. i will either be in Berlin or Freiburg when i study in Germany. i was told by my advisor that Berlin is too international and practicing German will be very difficult. can you make/do you have a video on what to expect when international students arrive in Germany/study in Germany?
3. do you have a video that explains the application process of German universities? my high school advisor told me that most European universities tend to send you admission results relatively quickly compared to US results, which can take up to 2-3 months.
thanks for the information in the video, i am only relatively worried about culture shock, admission, quality of teaching, including if my German is even good enough for me to survive when i actually do directly apply and study in Germany (i will be taking a mix of German and English courses).
1. Ignore rankings, they usually focus on research output. if you're looking to be a normal student, not a researcher, focus on the contents of the university: what courses do they teach? what are their topics? If you study history (or anything, really) I'd recommend checking out the Vorlesungsverzeichnis (lecture register) of the universities you are interested in. In your case, also check out the website of history institute, there you can usually get an idea of what they focus on. At most universities, you will be able to learn about modern german history. However, if there is an area you are particulary interested in (East German history, medival history, Gender topics...) you should take a look around to figure which university offers courses on the topic. If you don't know it already: For interesting humanities classes, you usually need to be good in German. Understanding German well enough to follow a lecture is vital, should be possible if you are at an intermediate level (unless the lecturer has a strong dialect, then only god and local students can help you.) Most younger lecturers will know English well, so it's probably fine if you write your term papers and exams in English, but you'll need to discuss that with your (prospective) lecturers. If you don't know German, or are at a really low level, make sure that you go to a university with a couple classes in English.
2. Berlin is extremely international. If you speak English, it's relatively easy to develop a live and routines without using much German. However, that can happen at any place you go to, given that there is a sizeable amount of international students. But your teacher is right: The smaller a place, the more likely it is that you will need German in your every day life. If people can figure that you are an English native speaker, they will likely want to practice their english with you. The less people around you know English, the less they expect someone to be speaking English, the more chances you will have to practice German.
3. German universities don't have a common application system. Afaik, you apply directly at the individual University. Usually every University has it's own deadlines, so check that well in advance on their website. If you can't find infos, e-mail the international office of the University you are interested in. What matters most is the system sending you? Which program are you going with? What are your college's conditions? Depending on these factors, application process, deadlines, etc. may differ widely. Choosing classes is often different for international students than for Germans, again, it will depend a lot on what your home university wants from you. If your home university doesn't care at all, you will likely have a lot of flexibilty. Home students usually apply through an online system. As an exchange student, you might be integrated into the online system or you might need to send a list of courses you want to take to (whoever the person in charge is).
Really appreciate the long and detailed answer ❤️
@@RyfkahChan Completely agree here. Also would say that both cities are really good, famous and loved by students. (Have friends of mine studying in both places and they love it all.) So the main questions you should ask yourself is what kind of person I like and what kind of enviroment I need. Berlin is bigger, huge infrastruccture but because of the size of the city you still need a lot of time to get from spot a to b. Freiburg is smaller more family like, still has good infrastructure but everything is closer which also make driving with a bike far easier. The other Quests is the free time offers. There is a lot in both place! But still different. Uni sports programm, parks, Amusement parks, ... are given at both places but what really makes the difference is the surrounding offers like beeing close to the mountains, like of constans, the french border in Freiburg where you have in Berlin more the "city" feeling where you don´t have such places but indoor ski halls or something like that and are closer to the ocean.
I personally would prefer Freiburg, especially since I am a huge soccer fan and one of the best clubs in the german scene is located there. But be sure to make your own choice ^^
ps. Also finding living room is hard in both places. But still much harder in Berlin since you are fighting with more workers for the same kinds of appartments.
Writing this preemptively, so maybe you'll adress this anyways ^^
For smaller fields like the one I studied (geosciences, officially; mainly palaeontology), the better uni *for you* may also simply depend on your preferred topic.
I wanted to study palaeontology to study dinosaurs specifically and just went to the next best uni that offered geosciences (which is geology + palaeontology + mineralogy) only to find out that basically only the one in Bonn offers extensive courses on vertebrates. Münster, meanwhile, has the only institute for planetology (the geology of other terrestrial bodies in our solar system) in the country. So depending on what you want to learn, you may have to pick where to study based on that.
I really believe the German society needs to change their ideas of why someone might choose a private university over public ones. It is not very sensible to think that those who can not make it to the public or normal ones end up in private ones, as there are so many reasons why an international student like me would choose a private university, such as my bachelor's at IU International University of Applied Sciences can be pursued online in my home country where i may continue to work and I can move to campus anytime, I am getting a big scholarship from them so my tuition fees are very less, I am getting to study a specialized area of business Digitalization, in English, all within the quality standards set by the German authorities as I am getting 180 ects at the end of it. So it just makes more sense for me. With the academic background that I have, I may easily get into those prestigious german universities, but this private university supports my career trajectory. Now, if I come to Germany after a few years and I am looked down upon just for this reason, I think it will be blatantly unfair.
I love your vedio . please you make a vedio without tuition fees versity list in Germany.. Love from Bangladesh. I am a bachelor student now .
Yess, I'll see what I can do :)
Good video, but for a Ph.D. at TUM the average time is 4-6 years (I know it for mechanical engineering) and not 1-3 years :D
Good to know, thank you for sharing ^^
Hi Max.
I love your videos and i would like to study computer Science like you. But i am not sure if it's better to study in an aplplied Science Uni or in a regular Uni.
Can u give an adivse?
Placing German universities in a global ranking is difficult because (like many other things in Germany) the university system is polycentric. There aren't one or two big prestigious institutions that get the best of everything. Instead, advanced competencies in different fields are spread out across the country. That's also why Germans don't pay much attention to the national rankings. Nobody here is going to be very impressed that you graduated from Heidelberg University specifically, like they might be for MIT or Oxford. It's much more granular than that.
I’d say that’s a successful education system. No great disparity in education across the country.
@@Szcza04 The German university system is quite good, I'd say. The problem is with schools, because they segregate pupils into different "levels" of school very early (from 5th grade), pretty much locking in their educational prospects after that point. At such a young age, a lot of your school performance depends on your background -- how educated your parents are, how much German is spoken at home, etc. etc. So it reinforces existing class divisions instead of lifting people up.
Late bloomers can get their degrees later. 2. Educational path, technical schools and technical colleges etc. etc.@@HeadsFullOfEyeballs
@@HeadsFullOfEyeballsI think the options for rising through later are very good, though. Both my younger sisters transferred, one from Gymnasium to Realschule and back again for Abi. If you want to, it is fairly easy. And with our low supply of teachers, more homogeneous classes can be a blessing.
totally agree :)
I'm studying iu international university of applied sciences.
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Nice nice 🫶
can you make a video about application process for bachelor( for international students)
make a list of unis to APPLY for intenational students,,,,,,,,, looking forward🤗
I have made about video about how to apply to a German university :)
Hi, Thanks for sharing, i enjoyed your video. please do you recommend IU?
You say TUM has 52,000 students but THE Ranking says it's 35,506 total students to date in 2024.
Official website says 52000: www.tum.de/ueber-die-tum/daten-und-fakten/tum-in-zahlen
@@maxyoko 🧐
@@maxyoko The difference is too big not be noticed. There is probably some issue there.
I'm grateful for your appreciation. Your videos on the education system in Germany have been very helpful. I'm currently residing in Bangladesh and have plans to pursue studies in Germany. I've already scheduled an appointment for this purpose. My academic background is in commerce, and although most German universities offer programs related to business, economics, management, and technology under the Bachelor of Science (BSc) designation, I'm not from a science background. Can I still apply to these universities? Moreover, Where can I find university programs for international students aside from the DAAD?
You can find more than 2000 English taught programs on the website myGermanUniversity
You can apply to the universities if you meet the requirements for that specific course you wanna purse :)
Small tip. If a university appears high in the rankings it usually also means they are quite significantly harder. TUM, KIT, and RWTH are some of the best universities for computer science.
Personally, I would never want to study there because of the sacrifices you need to make (little social life etc.).
They do come with a good reputation and you can be proud if you finish the program. But you need to ask yourself if it is really worth to sacrifice so much of your time for a little reputation
Well put together but it is not true that studying at a public university is tuition free! Maybe for EU citizens but definitely not for all international students. I had to enroll at a private university because it is way less expensive for me than to enroll at a public university, especially in the south. Like I would have been charged for 1.5k€ per semester excluding the tuition fees. It definitely sucks to be a non European student in the south. But this more of a governmental issue, since the states in Germany kinda have their own laws about specific things.
rankings dont matter in the uk also, people just pretend they do, you want to look at student satisfaction and student satisfaction only
🫡🫡
Students in Canada do just as well going to public Universities
That's dope man
Are you German? Your pronouncing is very good
Yes, half German and half Japanese :) Thank you!
Hi Max, new subscriber here! Thank you so much for your videos, I really enjoy them a lot. I wanted to kindly ask if by any means you may know any University that is strong in Medicine/Health industry.
I studied business management but i have been working in the pharmaceutical industry for a while, here in my country there is multiple universities that have different degrees but they are specifically strong in Medicine and related to the pharmaceutical industry, is there any university you can recommend? It would mean a lot, thanks!
You're very welcome 🫶
Two universities that directly come to my mind are the LMU in Munich and Charite in Berlin
Rankings are important for the most selective positions in business, also considering that there are over 500K students majoring in a business related subject you need every advantage you can get, just getting any job is not hard getting a good job is becoming very hard
Yes, in these fields, going to private universities can be really advantageous as well and university ranking does matter to some degree
But the international rankings are still misleading because not many German private school are on there
Hello,
I really love your videos, please can you make a list of free universities.
Thank you
Good idea, noted!
What do you think about IU international university of applied science? I am thinking to study online. Any thoughts?
I often hear that the teaching quality is really bad. So you have to pay massive tuition fees but don't get much value in return
@@maxyoko Thanks for answering! Any thoughts about which online university could be a good one? Because of my job I am traveling and moving to different cities. I couldnt finish my bachelor in law because of that.
I guess that if teaching quality is bad, then companies won't recognise its diploma...
9:19
so Max we understand that finding a public university, with computer science program in English is difficult.
But it isn't impossible? right?
So can u make video exactly naming those Public unis in which Computers sciences/Software engineering programs are taught in English.
At this point, I don't know any public university that is offering it completely in English. But I can do some research
@@maxyoko Thanks! For the hardwork ur doing.
Hochschulkompass says there about 270 International programms for computer science programms in Germany.
It is easier to find programms for master programms though.
i think dual studies aren't place for startups, what is your opinion?
Yeah doing dual studies in start-ups is very uncommon, usually it's in big companies like BMW, Siemens, etc.
@@maxyoko i mean if you have intentions to ground your own project and team during your bachelor, duales Studium isn’t the best type of higher education for that, because you will have to stick to the exact work that your praxispartner provides, and won’t have time to work on your own project.
@@____llll yes you''re right
Nice Video ❤❤ Can you tell me for which degree germany is great bachelor or master ( for computer science student )..
They have very good options for both
i was wondering if there are any rankings that focus more on student satisfaction? i did part of my bachelors in a "high ranking" uni but it was very badly organised and provided no student support, and I now want to do a masters in germany but i want to avoid that same issue😅
I have a question. I am an American, who is learning German, and am 16, about to graduate. I want to study something along the lines of pharmaceutical chemistry. I love science and want to do something akin to research, perhaps specialing in autoimmune disorders. I also have interest in DNA. There's much too much to choose. I was wondering what type of collage would be best for finding what type of scientific research i prefer the most, and would give me the proper experience needed to get a good job position after i graduate. ( not right away, i know thats not realistic, but within a few years.) Any recommendations?