> six years in waiting for medicine is THE NORM, even with a perfect 1.0 Abitur degree That's just not true. A friend of mine recently (2012) started studying

> six years in waiting for medicine is THE NORM, even with a perfect 1.0 Abitur degree That's just not true. A friend of mine recently (2012) started studying Medicine in Germany with a 1.4 Abitur and an excellent Medizinertest result (an aptitude test for prospective medical students) and had the choice of the full range of Universities, including Heidelberg etc, with zero waiting time. > kick you out when you fail the same exam three times I never understood how someone can fail the same exam three times and still think that they're studying the right subject. Either you buck up and do it properly the second time, or you very likely have a severe lack of essential foundations. > the housing situation Karlsruhe is said to be one of those, yet several student dorms (Wohnheime) have empty rooms. Much of this is hoity-toity kids who don't want to share a bathroom and living room with ten others. The housing situation is much worse in England, where shitty university accommodation will run you around £100/week (550€/month) even in smaller cities, whereas a Studentenwohnheim in Germany will cost you roughly 200€/month.