University Survival Tips in Germany
Germany is one of the best educational destinations in the world! This country is home to tons of world-class universities, filled with state-of-the-art research facilities and home to tons of professional Professors. Because of these conditions, Germany has thousands of international students each year.
These students are somewhat prepared when they enter German Universities. They know the language, and the general customs, have all the documents and have a general idea of what to do and what not to do. Despite this, many international students get stumped when they arrive in this land of industries and long words.
While many Geman education consultancies provide you with essential guides about the life of an international student in Germany, they do not provide you with the very crucial University Survival tips in Germany.
This is where a lot of international students get stumped. They do not know what to do to fit in with other students. Although many students get used to university life after a while, the first few months can be tough.
This is where we come into play. Here we will explain to you the rare survival tips for German University that will make your life much easier.
Table of Contents
University Survival Tips in Germany
Germans are a bit different from people from the rest of the world. They are incredibly polite and friendly people who take everything to the extreme, whether education, employment, or entertainment.
This is also one of the primary reasons why it can often be challenging for international students to get used to their life in Germany. That said, you cannot generalize people. However, the environment surrounding a person does determine their traits to some extent. Because of this, everybody tends to have some expectations from other people. These expectations create unwritten rules you need to learn to survive at German University.
Let’s talk about some of the University survival tips in Germany.
1) Be Punctual
Germans are extremely strict about punctuality. This nation is built around the culture of getting things done on time. If you are not punctual, the natives will look down on you.
In this nation, being late is considered a sign of being unorganized and lazy. If you are not punctual, you better prepare to be looked down upon in German Universities or elsewhere in this nation.
2) Lectures
While every lecture you attend will vary depending on the lecturer, there are some general rules you should follow if you do not want to be kicked out of the class.
The first thing you should know about lectures at German University is that they are more than two hours long. If you get into a university without being prepared for this, you may feel this is to be a bit too long.
Another thing about lectures in German universities is that you need to cram a lot of information into your brains. This virtually leaves you no space to think independently and have your own opinion about subject chapters. If you somehow manage to cram in all the information and still have your idea, you will be among the minority and probably a genius.
The third and final thing you should know about German Lectures is always to respect the lecturer. Always greet them with the word Sie, a general word for “you” . Be polite whenever you can, and if you cannot, avoid using their first name at the very least.
As a final note, there is a strange custom in German universities where you should knock on the table after every lecture or presentation. This is also known as Academic knocking (Akademisches Klopfen) and is a weird way to show appreciation to the lecture class’s presenters. It’s weird but just do it if you do not want to be disrespectful.
3) Expect English everywhere
Although Germans don’t necessarily need English in their daily life, most Germans know this language quite decently. Because of this, you can technically live in Germany without knowing German at all.
Regardless as a University student, you should expect English Everywhere in your university. You can expect random English from just about anyone, and they are rightfully proud of it. This can be annoying quite easily since they often do not match with the context.
Ignore them, and don’t let them bother you.
4) Tons of German dialects
Image Source: Deutsch
This is where the weirdness German Language gets exposed. So you think you know German? What dialects do you know? There are over 250 German dialects, and some of them can be quite hard to understand.
Even if you do not understand someone with a different German dialect, you don’t need to feel embarrassed about it. Even the Germans do not understand every German dialect.
As long as you are not rude or weird about not understanding the dialects, you will be fine. Just be careful since the location of your university enrollment can influence your German dialect, which can be bothersome if you need to travel to Germany.
5) Smoke
While you do not need to worry much about smoking inside the University, once you get off from the university grounds, you may find it a bit hard if you are a non-smoker. Germans do not have any laws about smoking in a public locations. Sure, you cannot smoke randomly on the streets. However, if you enter a pub or any other public place, you can find smokers anywhere.
With the exception of specific buildings such as the University compounds, health centers, and streets, it would be hard for the sensitive nose of non-smokers to escape the smell. While we do admit that the rate of smoking in Germany has been decreasing over the past few years, it is still a way of life in Germany for a lot of people.
If you are a smoker, you will fit right in with the University crowds. However, if you are not, it might be a bit hard for you to adjust. You need to be prepared.
6) Recycle
Germans are a bit scary when it comes to recycling. This is especially so for the youths in University. While there is nothing written about recycling in Germany, people do frown on you if you do not do it or recycle improperly.
This is actually good news for the environment and the world as a whole. However, they take recycling a bit too seriously compared to the rest of the world. This is not their fault either since recycling is paid for and has become a culture in German universities and communities.
So if you do not want to be looked down on, learn to recycle properly.
7) Sundays
Did you know that many German towns turn into ghost towns every Sunday? You can see no one on the streets; the stores are closed, and the towns suddenly become eerily quiet. While this may be somewhat of a shocker to you, it is normal in Germany.
As a university student, you would survive a lot better if you knew that Sundays in Germany are also known as the day of Ruhe/ day of quiet. That said, there are a few exceptions to this. Some of the major towns in Germany do not follow this unwritten rule. However, if your university is not in those few significant towns, buy everything you might need the day before, grab some books and stay indoors on Sundays. You can and are expected to review on this day if you are a university student.
Besides this, you can simply take the day off and rest the entire day.
Conclusion
Did you know about any of these University survival tips? While we understand that the ones we mentioned come nowhere close to the complete survival guides, they give you a glimpse of what to expect about your life in Germany as an international student. We hope you found this interesting and helpful.
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