I spoke with a graduate student of Human
Development named Lilly about her transition through the German school
system to where she is today.
Lilly started school in the East German system,
and while she was in fourth grade the Berlin wall was taken down and thereafter
her schooling was changed to the West German system.
At first chance, Lilly was placed into the Gymnasium
system (college bound track) and has followed through with it ever since.
She was placed into the system for her high g.p.a, but she also wanted
to pursue a University degree in Psychology (both of her parents are psychologists
and this field has always interested her.) In addition to wanting the degree,
she also feels a need to pursue her education as far as she can take it
because currently in her home town there is a 20% unemployment rate and
having a higher degree makes for more job security as well as offering
higher salaries.
Her schooling history goes as follows: After
entering the Gymnasium, in 10th grade she studied abroad in the U.S.A.
for a year for a cultural and language experience. Upon her return
she picked up where she left off entering the 11th grade. At her
graduation from the Gymnasium, she received an “Abitur” a degree indicating
her high g.p.a achievement.
At that time she already knew that she wanted
to pursue a psychology degree, so she went to the university and graduated
with her B.A. in two years (average for German University bachelor programs)
From there she went to France for a semester to do a foreign exchange in
her masters program. Thereafter she found out that her university
offered an exchange program with Penn State’s Human Development masters
program. After coming to Penn State for a semester, she returned
to Germany to continue on her masters while applying to Penn State’s Doctorial
program in Human Development, which is where she is now.
Lilly feels that both the American and German
systems have a lot to offer. In Germany she feels that you can really work
your way up into one profession early on gaining lots of experience.
A negative to the German system is that if you don’t get on track with
what you want to do early, she thinks that opportunities decrease for you
with time. What you want to strive for in the German system is getting
as much experience is as short amount of time possible to secure a good
job. She feels that the American system offers flexibility
to discover what you want, not so much expertise in one field. (A
jack-of-all-trades master of none approach.)
Throughout Lilly’s college experience, she has
participated in a few 3-6 month internships where she gained practical
experience. She felt that these opportunities were especially beneficial
and she recommends such practical experiences to all.
Not all of Lilly’s fellow Gymnasium students went
on to college. She estimates that half went directly into the workforce
without continuing on to college. One friend of hers became a carpenter!
So, from the Gymnasium all sorts of opportunities are available.