Версия на русском
As there's almost nothing going on in my life except studying it's the only thing to write the blog about.
- All subjects are to choose. There are only 5 that are obligatory: business economics in two parts, decision analysis, econometrics/quantitative methods. On average students have 4-5 subjects per semester.
- For learning process there are two websites in university: Portal2, where you can look for courses, make a schedule and register for exams, and ILIAS (the same kind as Blackboard in SPbU), where teachers put learning materials and often you can ask them or other students something on the discussion forum.
- At most subjects what teachers tell isn't enough. Anyway, after you have to look in coursebooks, the internet and the materials from bachelor studies.
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| How most lectures go on |
- What is practice? Forget about that! Just theory. Sometimes there are tutorials where problems are explained, sometimes - case studies or presentations (but the last one I've never had).
- We learn things that are actually not used in real practice. But most students work part-time or take semester break to pass an internship.
- No homework. There's just nobody to check it. But it doesn't mean you won't have to spend 70% of your free time in the library (coming back to point 2).
- By the way, library. That's a paradise with an atmosphere that makes you a robot. Despite the fact, it's probably the most silent place in the world, it's not enough for some people and they put on earplugs .
- For group discussions, there's learning center, it's funnier.
- There are some strange rules in the library (they like rules in Germany, you know). No eating, but you can drink (water, coffee, doesn't matter). In the period before exams, if you're not at your place for more than an hour, anyone can take your place (one German jerk did it once to me). All bags and coats have to be left in the locker. The only bag you can bring in - branded University of Mannheim plastic bag.
- The library works from 08:00 till 24:00 (UPD: already till 22:00). A couple of times I was leaving just before closing and it was almost empty (on the most pictures library is in o hour from closing).
- Everything above is about the management faculty (BWL) library, as I know, it's the coolest (I haven't been in others). There's a website where you can check libraries' load to understand if you should try your chance and come to look for a place.
- Before exams the load is about 150%, the working hours are extended until 02:00 and if you come at 08:30 it may be hard to find free place.
- All exams can be in 3 days in the row, a couple of them can be put on the same date. In December, my exam period lasted 8 days (for 4 exams).
- And if in Russia we have 3 days to prepare for each exam and usually it's enough, here you should start preparing at least a month in advance.
- If someone wants he can pass an exam for the obligatory subject after vacations for the first time. In total, you have 2 attempts for each exam + possibility to pass 2 exams with the third attempt. The practice of getting fake doctor's note to pass an exam the next time without losing attempts.
- There's no "personal schedule", like in Russia. If you don't pass exam right after the course or after vacations you have to wait for the course to be taught again (usually, it takes a year).
- The highest mark is 1.0. The least passing - 4.0. 5.0 means failure. Except "round" (2.0, 3.0) marks there are some in between 1.3, 1.7, 2.3, 2.7 etc. Very strange scale.
- Often mark consists 100% from final exam result, There's a special period when you have to register for exams, if you do it later - pay 10 euros for each exam.
- The most unusual thing for me in the exam process is that you have you seat in advance. In personal space you can learn it and when you come there's already materials with your name written on them.
- And the most unusual thing for other international students is that we can't cancel our exam results if we aren't satisfied with them. This exists, for example, in Italy, where people can pass one exam for 7 times, studying on the same program till the very old age
- Most of the teachers are absolutely unloyal to students while checking their exams. For example, they may have "perfect examples" and if you don't mention key phrase but explain everything in your own words - minus a point. Most of the people I know are disappointed with their results.
- It million times harder to get a good mark than in GSOM. It's quite sad because most of the employers see it as the main criteria when hiring. They don't have this endless participation in case championships like we had in GSOM. Everyone is just sitting and nerding 24/7.
All in all, I hope you see that I'm not a huge fan of the local studying process, In GSOM it's much better: knowledge you get is more practical and broaden at the same time, you are always solving some problems and work on cases, mark is almost always consistent with effort you give during semester and actually isn't that critical for your future. Because employers are most interested in what you are than in how consistent your answer is with the expectation of a teacher, who doesn't really understand subject himself (sending a lot of hellos to CSR teacher and regretting I haven't left her contacts of our GSOM CSR teacher). But anyway. If you want to get a free European diploma - adapt to the environment and the rules.
