Germany: the Experience. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I learned a ton at KAPITO, but I feel I lost too much of it while in Trier. The language courses weren't that great. Everything about learning German at KAPITO was great. The teachers, the books, the grading, the course work, EVERYTHING. Trier, not so much. The work load wasn't huge, and the grading wasn't bad, but the teaching methods were far from what we had in KAPITO. They wouldn't really teach, so much as tell us what we were supposed to learn. The higher levels of language courses were taught by students, and not professors.

On-site administration of your program

KAPITO was wonderful. In Trier, things weren't as easy. Everything is done by the student. There really isn't any help, what-so-ever. It's really difficult to get a straight answer.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

In Munster, I was in a shared apartment with local students. The first place I lived was quite far from the school, and walking was really terrible. The room came with everything, sheets and cookware. The other students weren't terribly nice. The second place that I moved to, that was closer, the students were great, very friendly and inviting. I really enjoyed living there. In Trier, I lived in an apartment, alone, on the campus. Living on campus was nice for going to class in the morning, or going home between classes, but it was a pain to get back home at night if you went to town. Living alone was nice, with a small kitchen and bathroom to myself, but it didn't better my German at all. Here, we had to take EVERYTHING. Sometimes people left their cookware and dishes behind, but in my case, I had to buy everything from dishes to bedding to a shower curtain.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Munster arranged two trips while I was there. They were really nice. Had a lot of fun. Plus the free time programs about 3 times a week. Try to get to Koeln while you're there, it's a bit far from Trier. While in Trier, most of my traveling was organized by me and friends. There's also programs through iZ, make sure to sign up for those. I went on trips to Luxembourg, France, Austria and all over Germany with friends. It's worth it to eat noodles everyday for six months and be able to see other parts of Germany and that part of Europe.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Germany is extremely safe. I never felt uncomfortable walking alone. At night it was a little uncomfortable to walk alone, but that's mostly because of my upbringing in the US, and nothing against Germany. The pharmacies are great. They have everything you could need, and will help you find what's right for you. There is not "campus health center" but if you talk to Carsten, he can recommend somewhere for you.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

KAPITO was amazing for learning German. Trier, not so much. The only reason my German didn't get WORSE was that I spent a lot of time with students that didn't speak English. If you spend time with English speaking students, you'll speak English, and lose your German.

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• Apartment
• Dorm

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• Local Students
• Other

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• International Students