Laura Corin Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 BBC story. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Thanks for posting that Laura! Even though studying in Germany has been on my radar for ages, I'd pretty much ruled it out for undergrad, as now the dd most interested is homeschooled again, which is a big no-no for going straight to uni in Germany. But that article talked a lot about grad school (at which point where she went to high school won't matter anymore). She's probably going to have to do grad school, and if she sticks with social sciences, will probably have to pay big bucks here in the US. And if she sticks with anthro, archaeology, linguistics or some kind of museum work, what better place to be than Europe? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I am surprised by the all English by 2020. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Thanks Laura, I just sent the article to Middle Child. He wants to stay in Europe for grad school :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 And if she sticks with anthro, archaeology, linguistics or some kind of museum work, what better place to be than Europe? If you are interested in hearing my sister's experience as a graduate museum curator, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 Just a caveat - expressed in a previous thread on college in Europe - you need to be sure that the style of course and the level of support is what you want. European universities are quite different in the level of hand-holding. For comparison: Calvin is working towards first-year exams at present. He has just three hours a week of classes this term. Everything else is self-study. There have been no quizzes or exam helps. He's expected to just do it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Just a caveat - expressed in a previous thread on college in Europe - you need to be sure that the style of course and the level of support is what you want. European universities are quite different in the level of hand-holding. For comparison: Calvin is working towards first-year exams at present. He has just three hours a week of classes this term. Everything else is self-study. There have been no quizzes or exam helps. He's expected to just do it. Yes. This is another reason I'd ruled out undergrad in Europe. I'm thinking she'd be more ready for the lower level of hand-holding and support by the time she gets to grad school (heck, by grad school here there's also less hand-holding). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 We could have sent my daughter to study in Spain, which has low tuition. She has Spanish nationality, speaks the language, and has visited our family there on several occasions and yet, we did not. Most importantly, she had never expressed any desire, possibly because she has heard my old university stories? Student support is simply non existent. It's always sink or swim, unless we are talking about the private universities which are most definitely not free or low cost. Graduate school remains a possibility but I have not researched it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 If you are interested in hearing my sister's experience as a graduate museum curator, let me know.One of my close girl friend did her employee sponsored masters dealing with museum art pieces restoration in UK. Her first degree is in chemistry. She works for the National Museum back home, first and only job :) Your linked article was all over my Facebook thread from friends back home. Going to Europe for Bachelors is common. I had friends who went to UK to do A levels in a year so as to enter Europe universities a year earlier. Do people still do that (local or foreigners)? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 I had friends who went to UK to do A levels in a year so as to enter Europe universities a year earlier. Do people still do that (local or foreigners)? People from overseas certainly come for the Sixth Form here (last two years of school, leading to A levels or similar), but I don't know anything about the early entrance thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Just a caveat - expressed in a previous thread on college in Europe - you need to be sure that the style of course and the level of support is what you want. European universities are quite different in the level of hand-holding. For comparison: Calvin is working towards first-year exams at present. He has just three hours a week of classes this term. Everything else is self-study. There have been no quizzes or exam helps. He's expected to just do it. I can agree with this. DD is (still) there now. In Germany studying abroad. She was taking 3 classes - 12 hours. (The local uni recommends a lower work load as they know the culture is a lot of why you go.) At least one class is down to one grade - no participation, no quizzes, no tests, just a 13 question exam that is 100% of the grade. The other two classes I think are completely a paper, that aren't due until July. Classes were over very end of May. So I expected a *really* long paper. Nope one is 10 pages and the other class is like 15. Typical length for the papers she has written here. For a couple things, dh and I have told her to go in and ask, she says that isn't done. We keep telling her to go in and she keeps saying people just do not do that over there. So little to no hand holding at all. She will be home next week! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Laura, The volunteer teacher aide for my boys' non-profit German school is accepted to a Swiss university :) He is applying to German universities as well but I guess he haven't heard back yet from those. His parents are German citizens, PR here. He acts annually in his public high school theatre performance. His parents want to go back to Germany to retire. Rest of their extended family is there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I think that article is misleading - especially regarding TUM. The article subtly focuses on Masters programs, which are, indeed, primarily taught in English. Baccalaureate programs however, are not primarily in English - especially at TUM. Are scientific terms basically universal? Of course. Yet the entrance requirements (as Regentrude will attest) are either a 3/3 or (holy crimeny) a 4/4 in the Language. (a 4 is native fluency). It has always been my suspicion that they do this specifically to weed out students who are not capable of assimilating into the workforce upon graduation (in order to pay the government back, so to speak). I am not simply speaking of Americans, either. I know of Ukrainians who have had to take very intensive German courses to enroll in Masters programs - in technical fields that one would assume would be in English. There is a university in northern Germany (the name escapes me at the moment) that is entirely in English, but that is only one university. Also, the intensive German courses are not "free"; they cost around 500 euro per semester at a university or 100 euro at a state run center (aimed at immigrants - doesn't move as quickly). Finally, nothing is "free" in this world; we should all know this. The price of healthcare may be low for these students, but the cost is long waiting times for appointments and sitting in waiting rooms watching everyone with private insurance (even someone who has arrived without an appointment!) be seen before them. Sadly this happens in the ER as well. Rent may appear low, but in major cities, it is very hard for students to 1. find someone to rent to them and 2. find a place remotely near the university that is anything more than a room that fits a twin size bed and small desk. So that $400 is actually pretty expensive on a sq ft basis. Again: I've met these people. Are there exceptions? Of course! But student housing, and housing in general is not viewed the same as it is in the states. My .02 Asta 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Laura - I'd love to hear about the museum curating! Asta - Just waving! Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Laura - I'd love to hear about the museum curating! It's more of a cautionary tale, I'm afraid. My sister has a classics degree from an extremely well-renowned university and took a masters in museum studies from another. She could not have achieved a more prestigious education. After graduating, she managed to get a junior graduate position at one of London's most famous museums. Then the problem became clear: there were so many people wanting the jobs that she was essentially paid minimum wage. She was living in London, but could not afford a public transport travel pass (let alone a car) to get from the accommodation that she could afford to the museum, so she had to ride her ancient bike through some quite shady areas to get to work. There was no possibility of promotion in her museum because there was an archaeological layer of senior people who wouldn't reach retirement for a couple of decades and would not be moving on. When she investigated, she found that this was the norm in most institutions. So the job was very poorly-paid but competitive, with close to no possibility of advancement. I don't know if things are the same where you are, but I would suggest doing a lot of research before heading in that direction. My sister finally got out and is currently teaching English as a foreign language overseas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Hi Nan! A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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