Got many admits? How to choose the best university? | Advice from Seniors | Studying in Germany

Hello! We have started this series of articles - Advice from Seniors, in order to enlighten the aspirants to choose the best thing for their career. The first article will focus on 'choosing the right university' and find the tips and advice from our side below:

Please note that, whatever advice/opinion presented in this article is solely the opinion of the author from his own experiences and observations. If the reader has a difference in opinion, the author of this article duely respects it

By the time you read this article, if you have got one or more admits in the German universities and are worried about choosing the best one for your career, then this article will be of great help for you. Let us see some scenarios and let me give you an reality check. 

Scenario - 1

You got an admit in a Hochschule/FachHochschule(FH) at a remote town in Germany and you choose to pursue that course, because of the subjects and job prospects for that field. You need to understand that, if the FH is located at a remote place then you will not have proper transportation to the place. For instance, if you have an personal interview you will need to catch 4-5 connections in order to reach the bigger cities like Munich, Frankfurt, etc., Also, in general the shops/supermarkets in Germany will close at 20:00 hours on everyday and on Sundays you cannot expect them to be open. But, in smaller towns there will be fewer supermarkets and most of the shops will close at 18:00 hours. Moreover, these smaller towns will not have good connectivity and the public transportation like bus, tram, etc., will also be sparse. If you miss a bus after 18:00 hours, you might need to wait for one or two hours to catch the next connection.

All these kinds of things will affect you studies, because if you are living 2 kilometers away from the university and if you have an early morning class, then you need to get up early and catch the proper transportation and then come back home soon, which will eventually make it harder for you to socialize. Trust me, you will find much more problems during Winter. 

Moreover you cannot find the companies related to your field, because you could only find production based companies in and around smaller towns. Also, since it is FH there won't be much of research happening in the university and you have to move somewhere else to do an internship or thesis.

Average expenses per month - 450 - 500 euros (approx.)
Eg: Hochschule Mittweida

Scenario - 2

You got admit in TU9 universities and irrespective of the size of the town, the area will be developed or fastly developing solely due to the TU present in the location. For instance, if you got an admit in TU Munich there is no need to think about the rest and you can opt for it. Places like Munich has far better public transport, social life and shops in and around. Also, there are many companies in the outskirts of the city and it will be easier to find part-time jobs as well. 

But, still places like Munich will be hell if you do not have a room/place to stay. It is very difficult to find a room at student rates in these bigger cities and also the rent for the rooms are way higher on a comparative basis.

Average expenses per month: 700-800 euros (approx)
Eg: TU Munich, RWTH AACHEN

Scenario - 3

You got admit in a FH, where the course is very good and also you can find one or two companies related to your field in the area. These kind of places will be on the verge of development due to the companies and FH present in the area; nevertheless you will still find problems like lack of public transport, less number of shops, nothing much to socialize and no proper opportunity to settle down in that place.

For instance, FH KÄRNTEN in Villach has Infineon, Intel and some research institute in the vicinity; but still the place doesn't have proper public transportation and hence it will be very difficult for you to go to classes during winter. Also, in these types of places it will be quite difficult to find accomodation and if you thinking about staying in a WG, then you need to search hard.

Average expenses per month: 500-600 euros(approx)
Eg: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences

Irrespective of the location of the university, there will always be some pros and cons. It is upto the applicant to decide on which kind of university to choose and carry out his studies. Because I have seen many students, regretting their decision after coming to Germany, this series of articles will be my humble way of giving back to the students.

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