Every year more high school graduates flock to German colleges and universities. According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were a total of 2.7 million students in the Federal Republic in the 2014/2015 winter semester, and before that around half a million first-year students. The number has increased steadily in recent years and it can be assumed that this trend will continue in the coming winter semester. For prospective students, this means conversely: fewer and fewer open-admission courses.
Nowhere is free access to higher education more evident than in open-admission courses. Any high school graduate – regardless of their final grade – can study this course. If our education system only had open-enrollment courses, this would mean that every high school graduate could choose their field of study solely based on their personal interests and inclinations.
Otherwise, many courses would be hopelessly overcrowded. What may not seem so dramatic at first glance, since a large number of students can fit into a lecture hall, quickly becomes a problem at second glance. After all, a course of study consists not only of lectures, but also of seminars, colloquia, project groups, etc. They may have to rely on certain equipment and certainly on certain support staff. In order to continue to guarantee a certain quality of teaching, universities cannot only offer study programs with no admission requirements.
Admission-free study programs are a good thing and also appropriate if the relevant university can still ensure the quality of the education. If it cannot do this, it would be grossly negligent to still offer popular courses of study without admission. Because worse than not being able to study your desired subject at your desired university is getting a poor education. Students who fail because of the admission restrictions at their chosen university should not despair, because sometimes they can be circumvented:
See whether the subject you want is one of the open-admission courses at another university
First study a different course of study at your desired university and change later - when changing subjects within a university, different admission requirements often apply than when you first enrolled
Accept a waiting semester - as a rule, study places are always awarded to applicants who have waited a long time. It is important that you find out in advance how many waiting semesters are usual and that you are willing to accept this
An overview of all study programs with no admission requirements can be found at Hochschulkompass.de
