2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I Will Die With Student Loan Debt [View all]angrychair
(8,690 posts)I suggest you do a little more research. Admission requirements are not that different than those in the United States.
Free tuition is automatic in Germany. There are some minor fees that vary based on region but average about $100 or so a year.
In Ireland and the Netherlands and Britain, there is a process but it is specific and completed before admission. No more difficult than a FAFSA application.
As far as the "2-tier" system, I mean that by forcing students using the program to work 10 hours a week for free, you are poor shaming them and drawing attention to the fact that they have to work for free in order to go to college. It is no different than the proposal by some republicans of forcing poor children that cannot afford lunch or breakfast in grade school to work for it by sweeping floors or cleaning toilets at their school (why I made the toilet cleaning reference).