Martha Dalton
That's why Germany is so popular with foreign students

Besides the USA and the UK, Germany is the most popular country for foreign students. There were 350,000 of them in the year 2017 alone, according to statistics. Martha Dalton met several exchange students and asked them why they chose Germany. 

By Martha Dalton

Martha Dalton talks to exchange students in Munich 

Munich – Jessie Su is on her way to her lecture at the TU Munich. She’s in a hurry. Her registration at the Bürgeramt took longer than she expected, and the university is also a good distance away from the KVR. Jessie has to hurry, but she doesn’t know where the university is. “I think we have to take the U-Bahn,” she says. Unlike her university at home, not everything here is in the same location. That’s making things difficult because Jessie hasn’t learned her way around yet.

Jessie is from Taiwan. She hardly speaks German, so she’s studying in English. But why study in a country where you don’t speak the language? Because German universities are free? That’s not the number one reason for Jessie. She explains that she has a German friend who came to Taiwan and told her a lot about Germany. “Beers and sausage, I really like them,” she says. So Jessie decided to come to Germany.

Studies abroad? A new campus and visa problems

Jessie was lured by the beer and the sausages that her German friend told her about and is here for one semester to study medicine. From the subway she sets off for the lecture “Student Living.” But it’s not easy to find. The campus is completely new to her.  Exchange student Jessie Sue in Munich | Photo (detail): © Malcom Ohanwe She can’t find the way, even with her smartphone. She asks at the university, after half an eternity she finds the auditorium on the second floor in one of many TU buildings. As a consequence, she’s far too late and has to sit on the stairs. The lecturer is explaining what campus life is like. 

Making it to Germany to study at all is often associated with hurdles, says Faggen dePlan. He works for the Federal Association of Foreign Students and knows about the big visa problem. “It can lead to problems before they even arrive in Germany, for example when there’s a delay and the students aren’t even told why,” explains dePlan. 

He also says that many foreign students were required by law to set up bank accounts with at least 10,000 euros for security. Because of the language barriers there are often major misunderstandings. Another problem that students might face is finding an internship. DePlan says, “Often the students have to do an internship because it’s part of the syllabus. Finding a company that will take you on for that can be very difficult.”  

German bureaucracy complicates the situation for foreign students 

After the lecture, a bunch of students gather in the university corridor. Jessie wants to talk to a few friends so I decide to interview the other foreign students here. That’s where I meet Huy Nguyen, who came to Germany because he’s fascinated by Western culture. 

Although Munich thrills him, getting used to it isn’t easy. Especially the paperwork and bureaucracy put a strain on Huy. “Everything is really strict,” he says. Germany is very bureaucratic and nothing works without an appointment. Like most international students, Huy is both happy and excited to be here. 

Rasheed has had similar experiences. He’s from Ghana and is here to do his Master’s degree. He chose Germany because of its high educational standards. Nevertheless, he is often missing a sense of community here; West Africans like him are rarely here, he says. That doesn’t make things any easier. 

The asset of friendliness 

Things were a little easier for Michelle Rotuno Johnson. The American is here for a journalism degree. Everyone is super friendly here, she reports, but getting from A to B isn’t so simple if you have to deal with public transport instead of a car. Despite these reservations, more and more students are drawn here. Germany is currently the non-English speaking country with the most foreign students in the world. Only the US, Australia and the UK attract more of them. 

Back to the university corridor at the TU Munich. All of the students are now heading off for lunch, including Jessie. Before she leaves, she tells me what she’s looking forward to the most in the coming months in Germany. Surprise: It’s not sausages and beer! “Winter sports.” she says, “That’s something I really look forward to.”