Giessen and Maryville are very similar schools except for the size difference. There are specialty locations, like most of math being in Sutton, high expectations, and a professional atmosphere that you won't find with other colleges. However, like anything going abroad there are some big differences that one needs to be aware of, but if you have enough common sense to pay attention while you are there then you'll be fine adapting.
Class only meets twice a week at the most, though usually just once, for about an hour and a half each. That means you have the rest of the week to get your homework done, take tests, etc, but it can be real easy to put off something big, which it might be each week depending on the class, until the night before. Otherwise classes are about the same amount of work that will be expected by MC. Respect is key to having a good relationship with your professor, and you raise your hand and wait to be called on, not blurting out an answer just because no one else has. If you’re late then you can be locked out of your classroom, and you always knock on the door before entering the room. So the atmosphere in general is much more respectful, and in some ways stricter, than Maryville, but that doesn’t meant that the people are rude and nasty. The semesters flow between a winter term and a summer term that are about three to four months each. There’s a small summer and winter break but nothing like a spring or fall break. There are prerequisites for classes more often than not, and you have to pass the prerequisite before going to the next class. Otherwise it’s pretty similar to semesters here. Expectation of students is about the same as it would be here. If you do your work, respect the environment and the teachers, and stay on your best behavior you should be fine. Germans are usually more direct with their expectations so it will be pretty obvious what you need to do when you get there. The relationship between faculty and students is completely professional and probably little more. The faculty is there to help you and will do anything to get you to your goal, however, they’re not going to hold your hand through an assignment. There are buddy systems established in Giessen that lets you have a student there partner up with you and help you out when needed. I know there is help in the international section for grades and resources, and other students will probably help out with tutoring. However, it might be up to you to understand the material or try to get one on one with the professor.
Letter grades are very different than the ones in the US. A 1.0 would be like an A+ where usually we would think of that as failing. The scale is from 1.0 (A+) to 5.0 (F). Credits are worth 3 international credits, which means that they’re only worth 1.5 American credits. So for all of your classes you need to make sure that you have double the amount of hours that you normally would take. There is some information about the classes on the Giessen website, but most of the information, outside of the class hour amount which you can find on the class website, you’ll have to do some research on your own about. Most of the classes that I plan on taking should transfer over, and there is a wide variety of classes available at Giessen so you’ll be able to find something that transfers. 100/100 of them should be good to go for something, however if you want to take 18 hours of regular credit you need to have 36 hours of international credit. To study abroad here at MC you have to be taking at least 8 American credit hours and to be on a student status abroad you also have to be taking 8 American Credit hours, however you have to be taking at least 16 European credit hours to be a full time student at Giessen. So the equivalent is similar. Full time status would have to be at least 12 American credit hours here and at least 20 credit hours there. However, I’m not 100% sure if the ratio is exactly like that for the European credit hour status.
Class only meets twice a week at the most, though usually just once, for about an hour and a half each. That means you have the rest of the week to get your homework done, take tests, etc, but it can be real easy to put off something big, which it might be each week depending on the class, until the night before. Otherwise classes are about the same amount of work that will be expected by MC. Respect is key to having a good relationship with your professor, and you raise your hand and wait to be called on, not blurting out an answer just because no one else has. If you’re late then you can be locked out of your classroom, and you always knock on the door before entering the room. So the atmosphere in general is much more respectful, and in some ways stricter, than Maryville, but that doesn’t meant that the people are rude and nasty. The semesters flow between a winter term and a summer term that are about three to four months each. There’s a small summer and winter break but nothing like a spring or fall break. There are prerequisites for classes more often than not, and you have to pass the prerequisite before going to the next class. Otherwise it’s pretty similar to semesters here. Expectation of students is about the same as it would be here. If you do your work, respect the environment and the teachers, and stay on your best behavior you should be fine. Germans are usually more direct with their expectations so it will be pretty obvious what you need to do when you get there. The relationship between faculty and students is completely professional and probably little more. The faculty is there to help you and will do anything to get you to your goal, however, they’re not going to hold your hand through an assignment. There are buddy systems established in Giessen that lets you have a student there partner up with you and help you out when needed. I know there is help in the international section for grades and resources, and other students will probably help out with tutoring. However, it might be up to you to understand the material or try to get one on one with the professor.
Letter grades are very different than the ones in the US. A 1.0 would be like an A+ where usually we would think of that as failing. The scale is from 1.0 (A+) to 5.0 (F). Credits are worth 3 international credits, which means that they’re only worth 1.5 American credits. So for all of your classes you need to make sure that you have double the amount of hours that you normally would take. There is some information about the classes on the Giessen website, but most of the information, outside of the class hour amount which you can find on the class website, you’ll have to do some research on your own about. Most of the classes that I plan on taking should transfer over, and there is a wide variety of classes available at Giessen so you’ll be able to find something that transfers. 100/100 of them should be good to go for something, however if you want to take 18 hours of regular credit you need to have 36 hours of international credit. To study abroad here at MC you have to be taking at least 8 American credit hours and to be on a student status abroad you also have to be taking 8 American Credit hours, however you have to be taking at least 16 European credit hours to be a full time student at Giessen. So the equivalent is similar. Full time status would have to be at least 12 American credit hours here and at least 20 credit hours there. However, I’m not 100% sure if the ratio is exactly like that for the European credit hour status.
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