Life in Germany can feel daunting and overwhelming as an international student. At least, it did for me when I first moved to Germany but looking back, I’m so glad I kept strong and moved on instead of crying too many times. In this post, I write about 12 study abroad in Germany tips to manage and balance uni and life.
1. Do: Learn some German (link to my recos for learning German)
It’s true that you can get by just speaking English in Germany but understanding the people and the culture really starts from learning the language. Learning German will help you understand your German friends better and navigate living in Germany more easily.
2. Don’t: Eat out all the time
Learning to cook is the first thing I did when I moved to Germany and I’m enjoying it so so much! I do go out for occasional doner, Spaezle or even sushi but eating out is way more expensive in Germany than in Asia and North America.
3. Do: Schedule a meeting with an academic advisor to get your questions answered.
I’ve studied in universities in Vancouver, Beijing and Seoul but never seen such precise and complicated studies system as in Germany. In Germany, tutorials, colloquium, thesis, etc make up a huge part of your degree, not just the lectures.
4. Don’t: Just focus on lectures
On that note, don’t just focus on lectures. As mentioned previously, tutorials, colloquium, discussion all make up a “module” you have to get credits for.
Unlike in Canada, where you almost “have to” go to all the lectures and participate (a lot of times I got participation points for raising my hand), in Germany, the lecture size is really huge and you are often not required to attend them.
5. Do: the tutorials
Germans I talked to told that if you never go to the lectures and just do the tutorials 3 times, you will highly likely pass the exams. This shows how important doing the tutorials is.
6. Don’t: be afraid to introduce yourself at school.
Some say Germans are not friendly but I find that they are happy to chat if you say hi 
7. Do: Join clubs to make friends, get to know likeminded people.
There is most likely a day you can drop by a club booth (zoom meeting this year) you’re interested in joining. I checked out quite a few of them, and there’re a great way to meet people who share the same interest as you.
8. Don’t: enroll in sports program outside universities.
German universities offer a wide range of sports classes for their students at a very affordable price, as low as 5 Euros per semester. Make sure to check them out before enrolling in a private studio. You have to apply in the beginning of each semester.
9. Do: join Fachschaft
Fachschaft is a faculty speficic student body where you can meet people in your faculty. Mine did held an orientation, party and I heard you can even join a study group!
For example, this is the Fachschaft for my program.
10. Don’t: forget/ignore mails such as mandatory government payments ex) radio payment
When I first moved to Germany, I was surprised that a lot of communications in Germany are done by mail. This goes from job termination letter to letters from the government. Don’t ignore them as you might accrue interests.
11. Do: whatsapp group
Unlike in North America where most students use Facebook to communicate, most group chats are in Whatsapp in Germany. Do reach out and join whatsapp groups!
12. Don’t’: be too stressed about your studies (link to organizing school work tip)
It’s okay to graduate a semester late! You are starting your life in a complete new country, new system, new source of stress (like the Deutsche Bahn arriving late 99% of the time), new language.
One way to reduce stress is to focus on the positives and taking advantage of them instead of focusing on what’s not working out. For example, in Germany (unlike in Canada) there are two dates for writing an exams. You can cancel your exam registration if you’re not ready and sit for it a couple months later, or you can even go for the exam and cross the exam paper if you don’t feel confident after seeing the exam paper.
13. Do: Try out local cuisines
Although I’m studying in Tuebingen, my internships are in other cities so I lived in other cities like Darmstadt, Cologne and Frankfurt during my stay in Germany so far.
Tuebingen, or the South of Germany is known for swabish food so check them out if you’re in Tuebingen! If you want to read more about German food, check out this post I wrote about German breakfast.
Other posts you might also enjoy:
7 tips on how to make money while studying abroad in Germany (part 1)
P.S what is the number 1 struggle you face studying abroad in Germany? I used to feel like a huge wave of overwhelm time to time when I first moved to Germany. Do you want me to write about how to deal with this? Let me know in the comment down below!
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