How to learn from my mistakes: Student Accommodation in Germany
Germany was always one of my top options of countries to go to for University. Not only was it cheap in the sense that you do not have to pay tuition fees, but it also had many universities that offered new and exciting study programmes. At first, I was a bit uncertain what exactly I wanted to study but finally I landed on the Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Freiburg. It was a highly competitive Bachelor to get in to but I had faith in my 13 points at Cambridge so I gave it a try. During my application process I was highly motivated and started looking into all of the things that I would need to do before I go – amongst these was the search for accommodation. Unfortunately, I got rejected at the University, not because of my grades but because there had been a mistake in the conversion of my results and the correct conversion was only released after the university deadlines had passed.
As you can imagine I was heartbroken and felt that I had been done a major disservice. I was just angry with the institute that converted my results instead of learning to budget more time with my applications. The problem was that I had laid all my eggs in one basket and now that it had not worked out, I would have to wait a full year for me to be able to do the application again. At this point I considered applying to other countries but most places, like England or the States were just not within my parents’ budget. So, I had no choice but to wait that year.
Some real life examples
The following year, I was smarter in that I applied to many more universities besides the University College in Freiburg. However, being honest with myself, I knew there was not much else I wanted to study other than Liberal Arts and Sciences. Luckily, my ancestors were smiling down on me this time around and I got accepted, but that was when the real drama began...
Remember I had said that in the previous year I had been super motivated and had started to look into everything that went over and beyond simply the university application. This time around, having already received a rejection in the previous year I was pessimistic that I would get in and decided not to do the application for the accommodation at the same time as the university application which was around April/May. I only really started looking at accommodation in August when I got the acceptance letter, and as you can imagine this was way too late for a semester that was starting in October. As many of you already know you are required to provide proof of accommodation when applying for a Visa for Germany. This can be in the form of a hotel/hostel booking, student accommodation or private accommodation and so I urgently needed a place to stay.
“it took about 5 months for the student accommodation.”
I applied for the Student Residency but I was too late to the party and was on a very long waiting list with no guarantee that I would get a spot. It was getting tight now and I really needed to find a place to stay. I went on the ‘WG-Gesucht’ Website as I had been advised to do by some friends, but it was difficult looking for a place without being in the city itself. Eventually, out of pure desperation, I started looking for accommodation outside the city centre in the outlying villages. Eventually, I came across an overpriced room that was 30 minutes by train from the main station in the city I was to study. I took it immediately! I had no other choice really.
I applied for the Student Residency but I was too late to the party and was on a very long waiting list with no guarantee that I would get a spot. It was getting tight now and I really needed to find a place to stay. I went on the ‘WG-Gesucht’ Website as I had been advised to do by some friends, but it was difficult looking for a place without being in the city itself. Eventually, out of pure desperation, I started looking for accommodation outside the city centre in the outlying villages. Eventually, I came across an overpriced room that was 30 minutes by train from the main station in the city I was to study. I took it immediately! I had no other choice really.
45-minute commute
I stayed in this little village for three months and as you can imagine it was not the ideal situation. Whereas some of my classmates only had to cycle 10 minutes to get to the university, I had a 45-minute commute to university every day. This was not so bad because I could always listen to music or read books in the train. The worst part, however, was that the last train to this little village went at 10pm every weekday and at 12pm on the weekends. Which meant that I had a curfew all the time in the first two months of university. Imagine that in ‘Erstie-Woche’ (Freshers Week)! It was a disaster.
Eventually, after three long months in this village I received a call from the Student accommodation in the city saying that a room had opened up. I took it without hesitation and was lucky that it was even one of my first options as it was in a good location and the building was only five years old. I moved in in January.
Doing the maths now it took about 5 months for the student accommodation to find a room for me which is what is to be expected. Had I learnt anything from my first application I would have known that it is smart to give yourself time with these things and it is advisable to do the accommodation application as soon as possible. Maybe if I had learnt that I would not have missed out on the best part of freshers’ week where I had a curfew even though I was no longer living with my parents.
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