Payment fee for the study in Germany

The fee for the first higher education in German universities was canceled, but the prerequisite for learning is a semester fee – Semesterbeitrag. What it is?

There is no charge (fee) for obtaining the first higher education in public universities in Germany. A letter from the university with a request to transfer to his account a fee can be a surprise for the freshman. But what at first glance seems to additional costs actually mean for the students a number of benefits, including financial ones. What does this fee mean and what cost of services it covers?

Ready to learn!

Semester fee (Semesterbeitrag) is an obligatory fee for beginning and continuing education in Germany (for German and foreign students). Every six months the institution ask for this fee, which must be repaid within the specified period. The same rule applies to graduate students and foreign students who came to study in Germany on exchange programs. However, often the fee is a little less for these groups of students.

Universities often reminded of this by e-mail a few weeks before the end of the current semester. By paying the fee, the student informs the university of the intention to continue the education (Rückmeldung). Only after this, they issued a student ID card and other documents for the next semester.

If the money is not paid in time, the university imposes a fine, the amount of which varies considerably. While at the University of Bonn this omission will cost 5 euros and at the Berlin Technical University you have to pay out 50 euros. If from the beginning of the classes are held two weeks, and a receipt remains unpaid or paid not in full (paid in installments is not allowed), the student is automatically kick out from the university.

In case, if the payment is made, and a student at the same time decided not to continue the education, the money is returned. Often, universities exempted from the charge of students with disabilities in the severe form. Some universities make concessions and reduce the size of the fee if the student takes a note of absence, for example, for child care or study exchange abroad or other important reasons. The universities are always ready to help in these financial issues.

About the Author: Jannet Rop is a journalist. She writes the articles about the most famous cities in the world.