Both Germany and Austria have higher intergenerational mobility than the UK (though that probably has very little to do with tuition). > You have to take the d

Both Germany and Austria have higher intergenerational mobility than the UK (though that probably has very little to do with tuition). > You have to take the decision if you want to go to university at the age of 10. While I'm not a fan of Germany's tracking system, this really isn't true anymore. Leaving aside the fact that at least one state (Schleswig-Holstein) has pretty much killed tracking, your choice after fourth grade no longer locks you into one track. It's still pretty wasteful, but there's a lot of flexibility now (example: my niece is about to do her abitur after having already done an apprenticeship, and this was fully financed by the German government).