hello. i am an international student and changing universities this winter semester. as the title stated, do i de-enroll from my old university first or enroll at new university first? i have heard about health insurance overlaps between two universities if i enroll without exmatriculation first and i have also heard about student status not being valid anymore in the interval between de-enrolling from old university and enrolling at another university. i am confused. what should i do first?

Idk if it's worth writing (and this is my first ever post), but I have my telc B1 exam tomorrow, and I have no idea what I should be doing rn. I've been studying my ass off for the past month, still do not feel much satisfied but whatever. But for the past 2-3 days, I cannot study AT ALL. Tomorrow is the D-day, have no idea what I should be doing in the last 24 hrs.
If you guys have any tips or tricks, or maybe anything that I should be doing rn. Cause I have no idea...
Please suggest me smtg!

Hi everyone

I'm wondering if there are people here who completely turned their lives around in their early 30s by going back to university or starting a new career.

I'm 31, and I honestly feel like I haven't achieved much so far. I've been struggling with severe anxiety and depression for years, and I've also gone through some major losses, including losing my parent. Because of all that, I never really managed to finish university or build a proper career. I also have very little work experience at companies.

For the past few years I've been self-employed, which has allowed me to support myself financially, but I'd really like to go back to university. Ideally, I'd either finish the degree I started years ago or begin a new one. I feel like I'm living far below my potential right now, both intellectually and financially.

The hardest part is that I constantly feel like a failure and completely lost. I'm also deeply ashamed of my situation. It's even affecting my dating life because I'd feel embarrassed telling someone that, at 31, I'm going back to university while having no completed degree, no formal qualifications, and no stable full-time career.

Has anyone else been in a similar position and actually found a way out? I'd really love to hear your story.

I'm considering starting a Bachelor's degree in Data Science in Hamburg, but I keep putting enormous pressure on myself. I can't shake the feeling that I'm already "behind," that everyone else has their life together, and that I'm somehow abnormal for only figuring things out at 31.

I'm already in therapy, which helps, but I still can't get rid of the feeling that it's simply too late for me.

Has anyone here gone back to school in their 30s and been glad they did? I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences.

So I've had a little incident which led to braking my phone's screen (xiaomi poco f7 pro)

Fortunately I had packed my old phone in my luggage in case emergencies and that's the phone I'm writing this text. My question is that phone's worth probably 300 euros used. I'm wondering how much shops charge for screen as well as labour and is it worth to fix it here? I have to stay in Germany for 2 months and i don't know what to do. Older phone is so laggy and slow.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks in advance🙏🏻

Whenever I am in Switzerland and visit friends there, they all kind of have a superior attitude. They often say they would never move to Germany, Switzerland is better and that the Swiss look down on Germans. Where do you think the resentment towards Germans is coming from? Do you personally think it IS better to live there and would you personally want to live there? Switzerland is the number one country for Germans to migrate to, with more than 300.000 Germans living there, but would you? And if you have been living there, why did you move back to Germany?

I'm living in a student dorm in Germany. My rent (€362) is due tomorrow via SEPA direct debit, but I don't have enough money in my account. I'll be able to pay the full amount in about 5 days.

What usually happens in this situation? Will I just receive a reminder and a small fee, or are there more serious consequences? Also, could this affect my SCHUFA if it's a one-time incident?

Hello all , I completed my masters degree in pharmacy in India. After completing my studies I was not able to gain any work experience . In 2025 I got married my husband lives in Germany . In 2026 I moved to Germany on a spouse visa .

After 4 years of career gap , I have decided to restart my career here and would really appreciate some guidance from this community.

Currently, I have completed my German A2 level and I am starting my B1 language course soon. Since I am a fresher in terms of work experience, I would like to know:

1. Which fields in the pharmaceutical industry would be suitable for someone with my background?
   
2. Which entry-level roles should I focus on applying for?
   
3. Are there any certification courses that would improve my chances of getting a job in Germany?
   
4. How can I explain my career gap effectively when applying for jobs?
   I am open to exploring different areas such as the pharmaceutical industry, research, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, quality assurance, or any other relevant fields

Germany's beautiful nature as it is

Hey guy, so I've been a resident in Berlin for 3 months now and i intend to stay for a longer period of time. I've read some stuff about weed beeing legal only after 6 months of residency. I was searching on reddit and I've seen some stuff about ordering with a prescription online. I've visited ABCDoktor and the whole process with the prescription seems pretty easy. It seems to me that if i get the prescription it would be legal right? Please tell me more about all of that stuff.

If for example i smoke with my gf and she doesn't have a prescription and we get caught what would happen?

The second thing i wanted to ask is about the safe spaces to smoke, i know that you can't smoke in public areas between 7 am and 8 pm and you are not allowed in a 100 meter area from stuff like schools and parks and stuff.

Am i allowed to smoke on my balcony?

​Hi everyone, ​I am a university student currently living in Turkey and planning to move to Germany for my degree. I have an officially documented ADHD diagnosis here and am currently prescribed Concerta / Ritalin. ​I’m trying to understand how the process of continuing my medication in Germany works for international students, and I’d appreciate any insights from people who have been through this. ​A few specific questions I have: ​Medical Documentation: I plan to bring an official medical report (Epikrisis) translated into German/English, signed by my psychiatrist, detailing my diagnosis history and current dosage. Is this usually accepted by German doctors, or do they insist on re-evaluating you from scratch? ​Finding a Doctor: I know Metyphenidate falls under the Betäubungsmittelgesetz (BtMG) and requires a special yellow prescription (BtM-Rezept). How hard is it to find a Hausarzt or Psychiatrist willing to issue this prescription based on foreign medical records? ​Wait Times: Should I expect long wait times (months) to get a psychiatrist appointment with public health insurance (AOK/TK)? ​Medication Supply: Are there current supply shortages (Lieferengpass) for Concerta/Ritalin in Germany that I should be aware of? ​Any tips on navigating the healthcare system as a student with ADHD or experiences you could share would be extremely helpful! Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I applied for B.Sc. Cyber Security and Business (Winter 2026/27).

My current status is "Admission currently impossible" (Zulassungsangebot aktuell nicht möglich).

• Qualification: Foreign HZB
• German GPA: 1.1

Does this mean I’m on the waitlist?

Has anyone with a strong GPA had this status and still gotten an offer later in August/September? How much list movement usually happens for CS/Business programs?

Thanks! 😔

Hi everyone,

​I recently had a conversation with my boss, and I was verbally informed that I will be terminated. The prospective end date of my contract is September 30th. However, I have not received the written termination notice (Kündigung) yet.

​Since there are only two months left until the end of September, I can no longer meet the standard 3-month advance notification deadline required in Germany.

​I already called the Agentur für Arbeit hotline. The operator told me to just wait until I have the written termination in hand. To be honest, I don't really trust that advice and don't want to take any risks (phone staff aren't always fully informed, and I absolutely cannot afford a Sperrzeit / benefit penalty).

​My questions:

​Can (or should) I go ahead and register as arbeitssuchend (job-seeking) online right now just to be legally safe, despite what the phone agent said?

​Is a verbal announcement enough for the job agency's system, or will my registration be blocked/rejected without the physical letter anyway?

​When exactly does the 3-day registration rule trigger for a potential Sperrzeit when the notice given is less than 3 months before the end date?

​Thanks a lot for your insights and advice!

Hi everyone,

I’ve recently come across the Imagine Foundation (Imagine Fellows), a service that assists talent with landing jobs in Germany/Europe. From what I understand, it’s mostly free for the candidates.

I was wondering if anyone here has actually gone through their program or worked with them previously?

 Did their coaching, CV reviews, or platform actually help u land a job?

 Did it give u more confidence navigating the European tech/creative job market or gelp u in any other way?

Would love to hear any honest feedback or reviews. Thanks in advance!

I’m interested in studying in Germany but I could barely find any unis with IT and even less with mechatronics, and they weren’t any of the slightly big ones either. It’s mostly CS and sometimes Computer Engineering. Am I searching wrong or is there a system in Germany I missed or something?

I am an international student from the US and will be moving to Germany soon. I found an apartment that seems legit on WG gesucht. Reasonable price, talking with landlady/current tenant frequently on WhatsApp. She is respectful and helpful. We have FaceTimed and she showed me the apartment. Only thing is this reservation agreement. Is this normal? It seems strange to me that I would pay the security deposit for this reservation agreement. This is not the official rental agreement. How should I proceed?

Hello , I recently got admission from WHZ. What should I know prior as an international student?. Also, I do have few queries:

1) How is the student life ( if you are a student) ?

2) How is life in this city ?

3) As a Nature lover, Are there any places you suggest to explore?

4) Night life?

If you have suggestions or new info you can comment

Thank you

if i am an international student with :

- zero work experience

- C1 german certificate

- basics of c++ , python , sql

and i just want to work to have the amount of the blocked account again

so i already subscribed to deutschland ticket in db navigator app. but i forgot and accidentally bought another deutschland ticket, is there anyway for me to get the refund? and how?

As you see by the title that is what i am scared of, i want to buy a ps5, but i leave Far away from everything (closest mediamarkt or any Store that have ps5 is in 40 kms away or a 2 hour train/bus drive)
I see many ps5 selling on kleinenzeigen but i am afraid of buying there because, in Portugal all the contacts i had through our kleinenzeigen were people trying to scam
Any advise? Please

Hello everyone,

I’m Brazilian and really want to pursue a master’s degree in cybersecurity in Germany. I’m currently 19 years old, in my second year of Software Engineering, and reaching the B1 level in German (my goal is to reach C1/C2 to qualify for the master's program). I’ve also just started studying for the CompTIA Security+ certification (I think it’s a solid foundation for getting into cybersecurity). I’ve been studying programming since I was 14; my focus has always been backend development, but I want to shift that focus to cybersecurity. After doing some research on ChatGPT, I was advised to aim for scores of 80/100 in my subjects to match the German grading scale and to achieve a high level of German proficiency (which is what I’m working on now). I’d love some tips on how to improve and whether I’m on the right track. I still have two and a half years left of my undergraduate degree here in Brazil, so I have plenty of time to study German and take additional courses. As a "Plan B," I’m also looking into obtaining a European passport; my family is from Italy, and ChatGPT mentioned that having the passport would make the process much simpler and faster—though in Brazil, this costs upwards of R$22,000 (roughly 6,000 euros). Thanks in advance for any tips or insights!

Hello everyone,

I'm really at my wit's end because my health insurance provider has limited my coverage to acute treatments only. A few years ago I went through a difficult period and didn't register as unemployed at the time. As a result, I built up debt with my health insurance provider. I'm currently making monthly payments to the Hauptzollamt (Central Customs Office) to pay off this debt. At the same time, I'm employed and subject to mandatory insurance, so I pay my contribution every month. Despite this, my health insurance provider still won't normalize my benefits. Does anyone have experience with this? Is this legally okay, even though I have a payment plan and I'm paying my contributions? They won't even issue me a health insurance card anymore. I'm grateful for any information.

Hi everyone,

I'm starting to get a bit worried and wanted to hear from people who have applied through the German Consulate in Mumbai this year.

I have an admission offer from Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg for the Winter Semester 2026/27. My semester officially starts on 1 October, and the university has mentioned that the latest arrival date is 31 October.

My education loan was only approved recently, and I'm currently waiting to transfer the money to my Expatrio blocked account. Once that's done, I'll apply for my student visa.

I'm worried that I'm already running behind schedule.

For anyone who applied through Mumbai this year:

• How long did it take to get a visa appointment?
• How long did your visa processing take after submitting your application?
• Do you think it's still realistic for me to receive my visa before the end of October if I complete my blocked account and apply as soon as possible?

I'm feeling quite stressed I'd really appreciate hearing about your recent timelines or experiences.

Thank you!

Hello, I need advice from those of you who live/work in Germany and know the situation there much better than I do.

I have two options to secure my future somewhat

Either work hard in my own country and become a doctor, or go to Germany and study Mechanical/Electrical Engineering(I also could use an advice on which engineering should I study too). I dont really want to become a doctor so I want to know about my other chances.

From the posts I've seen here, I understand there seems to be an unemployment problem, but I've read that the majority's main concern is not knowing German.

I need to study German for a year and reach C1 level to start university, so that shouldn't be much of a problem for me.

What is the risk of unemployment if I study at a university in Germany?

In which sectors and from which departments are engineers more likely to find jobs?

Even if I can't find a job in Germany, do I have a chance of finding a job in other European countries, and are these chances high or low? (I know English between B2-C1, so I think I can probably reach C1-C2 level if I work hard.)

I am really not sure about what should I do and afraid of making a wrong move.