Study options for US citizen with poor high school grades

[allegory 0]

Hi all,

I graduated high school with very poor grades but I attended technical school afterwards where I graduated with relatively high grades (although my diploma isn't equivalent to anything in Germany). I then went on to university where I made pretty average grades until suffering something of a mental breakdown in my third year and torpedoed my GPA. Needless to say, I didn't finish my university studies and I haven't been back since because I can't afford the tuition/living expenses in my college town. I started thinking about studying in Germany last year shortly before I moving in with my boyfriend who lives in NRW.

Initially, I applied through Uni-Assist sort of expecting that I wouldn't be eligible to study in Germany at all. I got a letter back saying that my application needed further review as a decision couldn't be reached and a month later, a second letter saying I'd need to attend a Studienkolleg before studying directly. I spent a year taking language courses to meet the minimum language requirement for Studienkolleg and applied this spring. I was a little surprised to find that the Studienkolleg rejected me in an email saying that I didn't meet the minimum 3.0 GPA.

I guess I had the idea in my head that there's only one governing body evaluating foreign applications rather than individual entities that do their own thing after you've applied through Uni-Assist. Anyway, I'm feeling kind of stuck now. My bf and I are considering marriage and I don't know of any options there may be for foreigners living in Germany to gain a university entrance qualification or how long it would take.

Ideally, I would like to do an Ausbildung as a draftsperson because I found my experience in the technical school more enjoyable and I performed much better in a more hands-on environment. Chances are quite slim that anyone would hire me at this point though because my german is not very good and, at the moment at least, they would have to do an employment check to hire me. I did try my luck at applying for an Ausbildungsplaz but to no avail.

All in all, I feel like I'm out of good options and I worry that getting married/staying in Germany could put me in a state of career limbo for years. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go from here?

[Fietsrad 270]

Look for other options, get a job where you can practise the language. Quite a lot of people in Germany have several quite different Ausbildungen/qualifications, for example architects who started by learning bricklaying. Or look for a job that interests you, relates to a hobby. I worked in bookselling many years ago, I think I liked reading even before that.

[jeba 4,194]

Are the requirements for admission to a "Studienkolleg" the same in all states? I´d check whether applying in other states would make sense. You might also want to check an "Ausbildungsplatzbörse" like https://www.ihk-lehrstellenboerse.de/

[engelchen 13,036]

 

On 27/05/2021, 03:11:59, allegory said:

I guess I had the idea in my head that there's only one governing body evaluating foreign applications rather than individual entities that do their own thing after you've applied through Uni-Assist.

 

Germany is a federal country and education is the responsibility of the individual Länder.

 

On 27/05/2021, 03:11:59, allegory said:

I don't know of any options there may be for foreigners living in Germany to gain a university entrance qualification or how long it would take.

 

There are theoretically many options, however, none are easy. 

 

On 27/05/2021, 03:11:59, allegory said:

All in all, I feel like I'm out of good options and I worry that getting married/staying in Germany could put me in a state of career limbo for years.

 

It is quite possible. How important is having a career to you? 

 

On 27/05/2021, 03:11:59, allegory said:

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go from here?

 

University or apprenticeship?