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[quote=Anonymous][quote]
Anonymous wrote:I spent three months in Germany as an undergraduate. I attended a SLAC and studied biochemistry, but I was really fascinated by chemistry, particularly organic so I took a bunch of advanced electives in organic chemistry. When I was in Germany, people were surprised by my educational background and the degree to which I was conversant in both organic chemistry and biochemistry and my opportunity to take advanced electives in areas that interested me. In Germany, the courses are prescribed through your major, so there isn't opportunity to take extra classes in areas that you're interested in, really. This seems to be the case at lot of other European universities, from friends who have done their degree abroad. By far, the average education of a German undergraduate is far more rigorous than the average education of an American undergraduate in chemistry or biochemistry--especially compared to the requirements at large state universities. However, the opportunity to explore new areas just is not there to the same extent, and it is less flexible and more one size fits all. The five person seminar course I took in advanced physical organic chemistry my junior year at my SLAC that was largely focused on open ended exploratory projects with molecular modeling software and discussion of the literature wasn't really something that would happen in Germany. I think the main advantage to the American educational system is that there is more of an opportunity to explore without specializing, and there is more of an opportunity for late bloomers to bloom, and there is a greater degree of variety and choice in terms of what you get out of your higher education. The disadvantage is that it can lack rigor and it is insanely expensive.

I would not, however, be concerned about being unable to find employment in the united states. The world is becoming increasingly globalized, and I know plenty of people who immigrated and are now in nice professional careers in the US. If anything, the notion of looking for employment in other countries I think should be more encouraged in the US than it is, because it makes your world much much larger.[quote]

[/quote] +1 [/quote]

I have studied undergrad in Austria and Germany (total of 2 years); and grad in Holland.  I'm a PP from above - I would reiterate that you can't generalize all European countries.  The systems are different.  There are even major differences between German universities as Germany is actually a federal state and education is by state (Bundesland).  Bavaria and Rhineland-Westphalia are different; different courses of study; different standards.

I would tend to agree with the opinion re German education, particularly as compared to Holland, for example.  But there are exceptions - this is the huge barrier (apart from language) for a prospective US student.  To add to it, there have been recent major changes to the German (and other systems) so parents from those systems may well be out of date.

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