Why I Left The Most Prestigious University In Germany (TUM)

This is honestly something I needed to see. I am in Peru and studying in one of the best universities here, but it all feels just so empty and at times helpless. I study Computer Science, and the way the university teaches the career is by doing two years of general studies (for some reason I had to take mechanical drawing? Cool and all but like why lol) and three years of career-focused studies.

Once I entered the career-focused stage my grades began to drop so much and I've been failing around two courses per semester so far. It hurt a lot because I thought I just couldn't do it, but after retaking some of the ones I failed with a different teacher I noticed just how much the attitude of those who teach it can influence the way I perform. I know I should mainly rely on myself to study (and I do admit I sacrificed studying some courses just so I can pass others), but just the way they teach stuff is so outdated and some of the teachers are just so full of themselves that they can't or won't recognize that the system they use is flawed. I know I'm not a bad student, not perfect, but definitely not bad, but it's frustrating when my efforts are thrown to the toilet because of one shitty method of note-grading.

Again, I do recognize that there have been opportunities that I could've done more and pass some courses, but it's just depressing for me to know that despite doing good 95% of the semester, failing a single exam can undo all that effort in a matter of 3 hours; and again, not to mention just how archaic some tests are: if I'm going to be taught C++, let me do something cool with it and think out of the box, don't limit me to the way it was done in the 90s and only do reports.

Rant over, but it's just frustrating to study something you love but at the same time hate because of how it's taught lol

amazing take and i can understand the mental anguish of being stuck and trying to grind through something which does not yield any positive result. i am glad you found your new home!

I did my bachelor master at TUM (Freising campus though...) and always had the same feeling. When I then did my PhD there I saw the problem from the other side. All the lectures are spread between different chairs and the spread it to different profs and subsequently to different PhD students. All the teaching is huge distraction to your research and most try to dumb it down as much as possible. So it becomes a charade we ask the same questions so the students can use the same catalogues to prepare and in the end you get similar results each year. The lectures are happy because they did not have to spend too much time and can focus on research again. The students are happy because the get quite good grades, even without attending classes. And the faculty is happy because people stay in the programs.
However curiosity and hands on experience are lacking.
Best would be bachelor on applied university, master (if you are really interested in a topic) at a normal university.

On my first day at unversity (Dresden) as a welcome they showed us the results of the math exam of our predecessors, where approx. 75% would get grade 5.0. Only about 30% or less would achieve their degree finally. They have also mentioned that the university has taken measures recently to take care of students psycologically, since many would tend to treat their mental pain with drugs or even try suicide. A couple of days before there was a student jumping from the top of our 16 floor appartment building. That was how I experienced my start at the university.
In the feared math exam I achieved grade 2.7 in the first semster. At school I usually achieved math grades towards 1, so I was among the best.This huge offset of difficulty and speed compared to school was most shocking. And this was engineering, so there was an audience of up to 1000 students!

Sehr interessantes Video. I war auch an der TUM und habe auch Physik studiert. Und dabei sind mir ähnliche Dinge passiert. Für mich hat es sich so angefühlt als ob manche Professoren einfach nur ihre Vorträge hielten, weil sie es mussten und das war. Irgendwann danach hatte ich auch ein Burnout und bin schon ziemlich wieder depressiv geworden. Danach hatte ich mich auch gefragt, ob ich das eigentlich noch machen wollte und habe mich gefragt was ich in meinem Leben eher bevorzugen will. Nur zur Info Ich hatte schon vorher mentale Probleme, aber es ist später besser geworden und als ich dann das Burnout ab der TUM hatte, ist es eher schlimmer geworden. Natürlich will ich jetzt nich die Uni dafür verantwortlich machen. Es ist nur gut zu wissen, dass es Leute mit ähnlichen Erfahrungen gibt. Im Moment versuche gerade mir auch zu Überlegen was ich nun machen soll. I will schon wieder studieren gehen, aber etwas anderes ausprobieren. Hatte da auch ein paar Dinge überlegt. Ich lass mir definitiv deinen Rat durch den Kopf gehen!

You makes a good first point. This was my impression when I studied my master in Italy. I took my bachelor's in Asia. I observed that the bachelor program was very boring and I think this isn't only in Italy but also in other European countries. The preschool until high-schools are amazing in Europe. But, when it comes to the university then it's very different as you mentioned in the video.

How dare he say Munich is best pfff Heidelberg for the win!!

I think the mindest of most germans is insane. Most people are just focused on the Reputation of the Uni in some weird Internet rankings. Those who got into TUM and similar facilities look down on those who go to unpopolar Unis. Most German students feel ashamed going here. I think people shouldnt worry so much about getting a job in times of "Arbeitskräftemangel" and " Überalterung der Gesellschaft", but think more of a place in which they could enjoy there time at Uni to the fullest. Studying shouldnt be some mandatory thing you feel forced to do. The subject should be the most interesting thing you can imagine and it should be fun and feel natural to do it.


Also in unpopular Citys it is possible to pay around 200€-300€ rent and reach the whole City by bike. I receive only Bafög and can still afford to go on small vacations every month. While in huge Citys most people have to get a job to Cover basic living expenses

Cooles Video! Kann deine Entscheidung voll nachvollziehen.

i dont want to be a hater bro but just ask yourself if ai is really right for you like people are hoping on ai hype train without knowing what they are getting them selves into

Bro no hate but maths in school are just the most basic replay of concepts humans used for centuries. University is a bit more complex but still, there have been millions of people who learned it before you did. Work dont has to be fun and university is the part of life where ou have to have self discipline

love the quality of editing and video!

I thought it's something related to TUM itself, wtf, why u gotta do it like that

"Nobody likes that teaching style"
Thats just wrong. I know several people that like that kind of style. And it is important to mix several channels of Information Input, to learn something. Thats just one channel. I have seen myself how fumbling with a tablet and annoying presentations worsens good lectures, and just using the blackboard increases the quality 100% by talking with tutors.

But yeah, physics at TUM is mostly garbage, especialy the experimental part, since they use the same old PowerPoint stuff from 10 years ago, with all the errors in it.

Many still think German uni are "free" so it must be great.

Thank you for alerting us.

Started studying Electrotechnical at the TUWien, quit and switched to computer science at the university of vienna. Working in AI now. xD

I got accepted in the Embedded systems masters engineering program at Duisburg Essen university, but I am considering applying to a more application-oriented masters program in a university of applied science. It is very difficult to leave a prestigious high rank university and study in a Fachhochschule.

Sounds more like: I couldn't stand to be average.

I acctually like that Teaching Style You are Complainiing about! You don't know how Lucky You are! I want to go to Uni but can't!

I would like to respectfully disagree with you and offer an alternative view point. My motivation for this is partly to make some doubting students maybe reconsider leaving a physics career early on.

Just for context: I am currently studying physics and I am just about to start my master thesis project, so I will be done with my master in roughly a year.

I can totally relate to your feelings in the first semester of physics. Doing physics and maths assignments sucks, it really does. And in my experience it will not get easier faster, but rather you get used to it and you kind of grow as a consequence. Even though it does not feel like it while hustling away, your frustration tolerance increases very slowly and you come closer and closer to this analytical mindset, which is such a valueable skill of the physics path. I also felt very overwhelmed, especially in my first three semesters, but in my experience it gets better after that, partly because the examinations do not try to filter anymore, but also because you grow as a student. I was also thinking a lot about quitting in these first 1,5 years, but I am very happy I did not. Of course each individual is different and I am happy that you found your choice! There is a lot interesting stuff besides physics and your path so far sounds really nice.

On your point of teaching style I have exactly the opposite opinion. In my estimation blackboard and chalk is the only format, which makes sense for most physics lectures, especially the basic ones. Because the basic lectures in experimental and in theoretical physics present you with highly complex and deep theories, on which modern physics and research are built and you really have to get most of the basics down (at least in concept) to understand the theories you will be working and expanding on as a researcher. Because of this complexity and depth, the lecture material is very very dense. For me even the blackboard writing of most lecturers was too fast to comprehend the discussed topics in the lecture. That is what the hard assignments are for, they force you to reread the lectures a lot and think about the concepts. That is why I am very convinced why blasting through ~40 powerpoint slides while students cannot make notes in real time is not the right style for at least these kinds of lectures. It is more fitting when the breadth of the topics is larger than the depth and you have to cover a lot of material. In some courses, especially the ones you choose yourself later on, for which the basics have been laid before, this is then the way to go. The format of the applied sciences programm sound like its very weel suited for the study goal!

As you said: "It is all about preferences."

Fachhochschule regelt. Die Dozenten kennen dich mit Vornamen und gehen in der Klausurenphase bis abends durch die Räume um Fragen zu beantworten. Man kann auch zum Büro des Profs um Fragen zu stellen

Good that had this crisis early. I'm now in the middle of my career and it's hard to say I take a gap year for reorientation when I feel stuck ;)

Er denkt auch tum andere elite uni xd

I want to study physics at TUM and I will try next year. This video made me think a lot about this, thank you. I think I will try it again, I hope this is what I am happy with.

You are not describing a deficit of classical universities - you just realized that there are actually two tracks in the German higher education system and applied sciences appeal more to you. I can guarantee you, that many "classical" university students prefer not being spoon-fed school-style lectures with mandatory attendance (worst case). Learning at a University usually requires lot of discipline, self-organization and intrinsic motivation. Knowing when to skip classes i part of that process ;-) But if you find yourself skipping classes in your first year(s) you are probably in the wrong place - or just really good.

Was the same for me, got noticeably better once I entered a smaller less prestigious university. In the end I don’t attend university for education.

I had the same problem in TUM. So I moved to another degree program in Denmark at KU. Turns out its much more engaging.

I don't think TUM deserves all this honor. I studied Bachelors and Masters there and I think this Uni has one huuge problem. It makes exams so hard that people actually suffer from anxiety, depression, burnout or worse. And I think I have experienced what this can lead to. One university friend wasnt seen for months until we found out... he killed himself.
So my tip: Stay away from this place. Or you will suffer A LOT.

2 months hahahaha lol

I think universities are normally better for a masters degree, where you actually need in-depth knowledge about specific topics. For the bacherlors degree, I prefer the universities of applied sciences with their more general approach.

Thanks, that inspires me to also take a gap year

Great choice

Komm zur HM ;)

I’m looking for university for masters in Germany film studies or media studies
They don’t teach that in Germany😭😭😭
And some of them are thought in German
I need help 😭😭

Noway you studied with me i quit too

absolut schwach haahha

fantastisch

The bass is to much in this video

very interesting. The path in life you choose is the one I want to avoid. I will be starting a PhD in Physics at LMU soon and I feel like ending up being a programmer would suck up all my motivation. Thanks your sharing your story

TUM and many other Universities are waste of time. I am myself an engineer and working in the industry now.

The thing with university is: Your absolutely right , Lectures suck!
I study medicine and i went to only 2 Lectures ( i am currently 4th year) because Lectures are a waste of time. You wont learn anything just be going to lecture. Studying is about finding out what way of studying suits you! The most learning you get out of self study, sitting down reading books and exploring the topics for yourself. University is not school. You dont need to go to lectures! Nobody is interested in you or if youre attending! The University is only a place where you can take exams and get a degree. Its not less but also not more than that!

Dass die Dozenten an der Hochschule daran interessiert sind, dass du bestehst oder Erfolg hast da würde ich nicht zustimmen😅

TUM is not the most prestigeous 😂😂

The same thing happened to me in Spain. I am Spanish and when I graduated from high school, I had to choose a career. I didn't have many options because I could only go to the university in my city and I couldn't go to another university where they had the degree I would have liked to study.

Back to the subject, when I chose a degree from the list of that university, I chose GENERAL ENGINEERING (there was electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, etc.). I had chosen it because I didn't know what to do, I was 17 at the time, and as I was good at mathematics, physics and chemistry, I could do well.

THE WHOLE COURSE WAS EXACTLY AS IT WAS IN GERMANY. The teachers read the power point slides they had made and spent 2 to 3 hours talking, they even took time out of the 30 minute lunch break to give their class because otherwise "we wouldn't finish the subject and that would be included in the exam". Even when you asked him a question, he would read the slide again or answer "there are infinite ways of solving it, it all depends on the problem". How can a teacher answer something like that to a question that is "I don't understand how to solve this exercise in the book".

During the class many slept, many played video games or watched a series. We were 110 people in a class and because I was late I had the bad luck to sit at the end of the class where I could see nothing and hear nothing. That day I couldn't write anything down and I felt helpless because I, wanting to learn, couldn't if I didn't have the means.

At the end of the first year I left the course because I could no longer afford to pay for it because it was so expensive and I started to work and to look for a career that I liked. Now I am in Germany and I have found the career that I have been passionate about since I was 7 years old. Yes, I must admit that it is difficult, that it can be as you said in the video, but after leaving school, reflecting and maturing, seeing how the working world is and how life is, I realised that if I want to do it, I can't back out. I worked hard to learn German, I worked hard to get a good job and to combine it with my studies. I worked so hard that I don't want to give up just like that. Even if the course is difficult, it would hurt me more if I had to give it up because of everything I had to go through to get there.

Yes you're lucky to have had that early in your life