At the end of 2007, the Freshman Institute was established as a central scientific institution to prepare international applicants for studies in one of the five English-speaking programs at the university of applied sciences. In Jülich, over 100 international students are enrolled in the “freshman year” each year.
“People easily go to Harvard, but not to Jülich,” emphasized Professor Hermann-Josef Buchkremer, chairman of the Freshman Institute at the Jülich campus of Aachen University of Applied Sciences, at the annual meeting of the Society of Friends of the University in Jülich (GFHJ). Too many bureaucratic hurdles are placed in the way of young people who want to study here.
The entrance exams in China are so difficult that local students struggle with them. However, this rigorous selection process apparently leads to the desired success, as over 90 percent of the predominantly Asian students pass the final exam after a year in Jülich.
The year is fully financed by the participants themselves. The 15,000 euros “all inclusive” cover social activities of the institute, as well as support for visa extensions, arrival in Germany, and acclimatization at the new study location through an extensive cultural program.
