Mediocre performance is what you get with a system like the one that is in place in Germany. Let me throw in two numbers first: - over the last 15 years the t

Mediocre performance is what you get with a system like the one that is in place in Germany. Let me throw in two numbers first: - over the last 15 years the total number of students has increased by ~48% (while the total population has shrunk by 3%) - the number of available majors has tripled within the last 7 years (with the large part of the new majors being in non-science fields) People have not gotten smarter over the last 15 years, but the majors are getting less less challenging and more specialized. The universities focus on pushing as many people threw the system as possible. There is no place, time or money for excellence. They produce what the german industry wants, not more and not less. This can be good or bad, depending on what you want.