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Comment by aqme28 | Hacker News Reader

Maybe just because it was a competitive STEM program, but nothing you mentioned differed from American university programs, with the possible exception of diversity requirements which I was privileged enough to not notice. The application was more straightforward than for American schools, and because it was a competitive applied math degree, no remedial math was given. I also don't think much help would much have been given if I had say failed quals in an American university. Requirements were a little obnoxious but they're being improved and the year after me has a much easier time.

No idea what a leisure river is.

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There are different programs in the US as well, including competitive ones which will cover the full cost of college (some do have income limits, but they are generally quite high). Generally when we are talking college costs we aren't talking about the subset of competitive programs in the US that don't have a cost.

For example of the difference, look at the per capital rate of school students going to university in both countries. It can be a bit messy to compare because you need to break down different routes. University not being the same as trade school which is not the same as apprenticing, though sometimes these will be lumped together in different ways. Last time I looked it up the acceptance criteria to get into university in Germany was stricter than the US. Not necessarily if you are looking at the really good schools, but those often have scholarships that work on a combination of academics and need based, but for a degree in general.

There is also the issue of in state vs out of state in the US, where an out of state can be double or more the price compared to instate. Rarely is out of state a requirement, it is a personal preference and one that costs greatly if the difference isn't covered by a scholarship.

When talking about 'free' university in Germany, they're competitive in an academic meritocratic sense. Spaces are limited and access to programs is competitive based on demand. Applicants are excluded based on their performance.

I suspect if the US followed a similar path, we woukd see similar results. I've not heard calls to make US admission more selective or academicly rigorous.

https://www.wbrz.com/news/lsu-promotes-newly-opened-leisure-...

Remedial math (algebra) is often required even for the cohort getting useless degrees. Which program / university would admit this cohort in Germany? In the US everyone who applies will be admitted somewhere. Pushing this cohort through their program adds costs that everyone bears.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinesimon/2017/09/05/bureau...

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