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Freie Universität Berlin First Choice for Students in United States

Most American Students in Germany Go to Dahlem

№ 407/2014 from Nov 21, 2014

Freie Universität Berlin is by far the most popular location in Germany for students from the United States to get a college degree in Germany, according to Open Doors, a report published in 2014 in Washington, D.C., by the Institute of International Education (IIE) as well as statistics by the German Federal Statistical Office. Of the 2376 American students working toward a degree in Germany, 408 students or more than 17 percent are enrolled at Freie Universität. This is followed by Humboldt-Universität with 309 students, and the universities of Freiburg (189), Heidelberg (187), and Tübingen (151).

Furthermore, according to these sources, in 2013/2014 roughly 9,544 students from the United States spent a semester abroad, completed an internship, or attended summer school or a language course in Germany. That is 3.5 percent more than in the previous year, more than ever before.

More and more German students also attend college in the United States: according to the Institute of International Education, during the 2013/2014 academic year, 4,316 individuals from Germany spent some time studying abroad in the United States, which is a new record. On the other hand, the number of German students seeking a degree from a university in the United States decreased. During the 2008/2009 academic year, there were still 7,195 students and in the current academic year, only 5,844. Possible reasons, according to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), could be the sharp rise in recent years in tuition fees and costs of living in the United States, as well as many attractive course offerings in the European Higher Education Area. The most desirable locations for German students in the U.S. are the elite universities Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, and Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).