German Universities Now All Free of Tuition Fees for International Students

MiGreat ^ | 10/2014 | JOSEPHINE GOUBE

[SeekAndFind]

Universities in Germany are now free of tuition fees for all including international students. Lower Saxony became the last of seven German states to abolish their tuition fees, which were already extremely low.

German universities had been charging for tuition since 2006. The measure proved unpopular, and German states began dropping them one by one. It is now all gone throughout the country, even for foreigners.

This means that now, both domestic and international undergraduate students at public universities in Germany are able to study in Germany for free, with just a small fee to cover administration -- usually between Euro 150 and Euro 250 -- and other living expenses costs per semester (food, transport, accommodation, entertainment, course materials and other necessities).

Germans barely had to pay for undergraduate study even before tuition fees were abolished. Semester fees averaged around Euro 500. It is now gone.

Free education is a concept that is embraced in most of Europe with notable exceptions like the U.K., where the government voted to lift the cap on university fees in 2010, and tripled the tuition fees therefore. The measure has reportedly cost more money than it brought in. The Guardian reported last March that students are failing to pay back student loans.

Maybe for now, learning German might be the best financial choice a high school student can make.

[truth_seeker]

“First off, university is not for everyone in Germany, like it seems to be in the USA. Only the top students get to enroll, the rest are off to work or vocational school.”

So every person from a minority race from another distant continent, with average IQs of 85, are not promised a free college education in Germany, although they are mentally incapable of completing same?

What a concept.