Study Abroad
I want to do a full year study abroad in either Germany or Austria next year. Does anyone have an opinion of which city/town would be best to study in? I'm looking to really improve my German, and maybe even become fluent. The programs in the following cities all offer the courses I need. I want to get the most travel experience out of my trip as I can. My options are: Trier, Gießen, or Marburg in Germany, or Salzburg or Linz in Austria. I would go to Vienna if I could, but my university doesn't have a partnership with any in Vienna. I have visited Heidelberg and its castle, and I enjoyed it but I don't want to study there.
Ashlea
Wilmington 11/1/09
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A lot depends on your area of study and what is offered at each school. Of course my favorite town on your list is Salzburg.
D-W TV does a weekly news broadcast for the USA called "Enropean Journal." It shows here on PBS. Last week they ran a story on overcrowded Austrian colleges.
Seems the German students who don't make the cut getting into university at home are flocking to the free schools in Austria for their education, and the Austrian's aren't happy about this "invasion."
European JournalAustria: German Students Overwhelming Austrian Universities
Austrian universities are being swamped by thousands of German students who either can’t afford to study at home or who can’t find a place at a German university.
For many popular subjects you need top grades to get into a German university whereas in Austria there are no admission restrictions and studying is free of charge. But now that Austrian students are finding it increasingly hard to get a place the Austrians are starting to resent the fact that they are effectively subsidizing the German educational system. At Innsbruck University about 10 percent of the student body come from Germany and in Vienna it’s about seven. Austrian universities are calling for the German government to pay for its students and are considering introducing admission tests.
I think it depends somewhat on your interests, Ashlea, on the course of study you want to pursue and if you plan to travel as much as possible. I'd go for Salzburg, Trier or Graz. All three are located in beautiful areas. In Salzburg you're close to very cosmopolitan Munich and numerous tourist destinations (which you could visit in the off season). Trier puts you next door to Benelux and close to France, and Graz is not too far from Vienna (and, at a stretch, Northern Italy). Tough choices, I think. All of them would probably airmail tourist brochures, so you'd get an idea of what's on offer, quite aside from their websites. Personally, I'd be less interested in Mannheim and Giessen unless the universities are much superior. Can you check with people from your school who've studied in these cities? Good luck! Anna
I was a study abroad student myself - in Salzburg. It's very centrally located to be able to visit lots of great places. We had regular local field trips and many weekend trips (we spent "spring break" on a field trip to Vienna). Bavaria was a day trip, the Salzkammergut area was another day trip, and we took long weekend trips to Budapest and Prague. Salzburg is a very easy city to get around in, and there is lots to do there.
Mannheim is among the top 3 business schools in Germany. Also the city is based in the heart of the Tuscany of Germany, the wine land with almost Italian atmosphere once you're out in the villages. Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Deidesheim, Baden-Baden and Black Forrest, the Rhine and Mosel river valleys, Strasbourg and Metz in France - all are easily doable as day trips. Plus Mannheim has got a great student night life and some Rhine river beaches during the summer months.
Gießen and Marburg are also beautiful cities with well known universities. They're located in the romantic Lahn river valley. Problem there is: You're locked into that beautiful scenery. Day trips to Kassel, Frankfurt or Limburg are doable but that's pretty much it.
From an infrastructure perspective Trier is on a peninsula. An American friend of mine once was stationed on a military base in Bitburg near Trier. After about 4 weeks there they were so tired of all the beautiful scenery and village life. Trier has got limited night life capability so that whenever they wanted to have some fun they had to take the car and drive to Luxembourg, the nearest larger city. They speak French in Luxembourg.
As to Austria: Graz is the more exciting city and daytrips to Vienna or weekend breaks to the Lake District of Carinthia as well as Hungary (Balaton) are possible.
Andreas gave some great advice. I would recommend Mannheim too. It's a hop, skip and a jump from Heidelberg which of course also has a great university. I think the night life there as a student, plus your proximety to good public transportation connections are big pluses.
Mannheim is down in the Odenwald which can be very pretty and is less than an hour from Frankfurt where you can pick up trains and planes to everywhere.
If you are studying German, I would stay in Germany, otherwise you will be dealing with Austrian German, quite a different dialect. I struggle mightily to understand Austrians.
German Universities are basically free too, unless you want to consider 200-500 euro a semester as expensive. The only way to attend university here is to have an "abitur" diploma. Once you have that, you can attend any college. Yes, it is tough, but it is the only way. Most kids that want to go to college, attend what is called Gymnasium, which is high school, but goes from 5th-13th grade. If you do not attend this level of school, you will have to go to night school for 3 years to get your "abitur" diploma.
Anywhere you go, you can catch a train easily to see other places. Whatever you do, promise yourself you will use your time to see as much as you can.
I love Trier and Salzburg but haven't been to the other places. Both Trier and Salzburg are great places to visit but may be too small for a college student to enjoy for a year. Mannheim might be your best bet.
I'm with Jo: if learning German is one of your primary goals than the Austrian accent may present more difficulties to you. As to which German university to choose I can't make any recommendations as I don't know which one would be best for your field of study.
I'm an international business & german major. Thanks everyone for your help!
Have you thought about the Goethe University in Frankfurt? Beautiful campus and you would be right in the heart of international business there.
Like Vienna, Frankfurt is also not an option for me. I can only do exchanges through my school, and no school partnerships are located in either city. I have visited Heidelberg and Munich, and I enjoyed them, but their proximity to my school won't be a factor in my decision.