The pleasures of being a student at Humboldt University

(Katja Bartholmess, 2002)

 

 

School: Humboldt University Berlin, Germany

Number of students: 37.655 undergraduates (enrolled in 2002)

Where students live: off-campus

Type of school: public university

 

Study at Humboldt University and you instantly forget what the word “loneliness” means. If the student numbers keep rising students will inevitably end up sitting on each other’s laps in the cafeterias and libraries. You would already be surprised at how many people can fit into a classroom. But since some of them are to become really good friends, the inconvenience of having your hands stepped on while having to sit on the floor is soon forgotten.

 

A student’s life can be tough. There are so many troubles that students constantly experience: The strained muscles from the awkward positions the lecture room’s facilities force you into. The caffeine shocks, known to everyone who ever started writing only the night before that paper was due. The intellectual efforts to keep coming up with plausible excuses as to why you still haven’t graduated.

 

Does it have to be like that? At Humboldt those problems are solved. Here, you can participate in a countless number of sports that are custom-designed for relaxing your every muscle. No need to worry whether you can afford it or not, there’s no fees. The cafeterias are destined to get you off of your coffee habit. Their energy boosting fruit cocktails are the perfect substitute. What’s more, your parents tend to be prepared to wait a little longer for graduation day. After all, you study in Berlin, a city awash with the most tempting distractions. They’ll appreciate your effort in finding the time to study at all.

 

With more than 200 subjects the Humboldt University student is spoilt for choice. However, as the university does not have a campus, you have two possibilities: either choose subjects with faculty buildings that are close to each other or invest a little money in a bicycle (and make sure you choose a color that you’ll recognize amongst the hundreds of parked bikes).

 

If the list of classes cannot satisfy your academic needs you are more than welcome not only to propose your own ideas for extra-curricular seminars but also to take on the responsibility and hold them yourself. As students know best what they want to learn about, these interdisciplinary seminars are often a valuable addition to the curriculum and prove very popular with the student body. 

 

Of course, you’ll hate being at Humboldt as often as you’ll love it. But in spring, when you and hundreds of other students sit in the beautiful yard of the main building, reading and debating in the shade of chestnut trees, it becomes really hard to imagine a university that could possibly be more welcoming.