Every year on 10th November 2017, the university of Aachen hosts the „Wissenschaftsnacht“ (Science Night) event for soon to be college students, who are indecisive about which university to apply for. We, the Erasmus team, decided to visit the event out of interest in the field of engineering. This year, the engineering team decided to perform a musical show with their self-made laser harp. After a stunning performance, we took the opportunity and interviewed one of the performing students, a former student of Gesamtschule Hardt, Johannes Rinck.
Q: Is mechanical engineering really that difficult?
A: There are times, when you have to study for a few months straight. It’s a challenge, but you will get used to it it and at some point it won’t be a burden any more.
Q: Are the rumours about the RWTH having a 60% drop-out rate true?
A: Unfortunately, yes.
Q: What makes the RWTH Aachen special?
A: You have the chance to work on different large projects and develop something like the “laser harp“; there are many institutes where you can work and do research.
Q: How high is the independent learning effort?
A: You have to study quite a lot by yourself. You go to the lectures and honestly, don’t understand much, because it’s too much and too fast. Which leads to you having to study during your holidays to understand everything that you should have learned before. We study a lot and do not have much free time because of that reason.
Q: Do I need to take mathematics or physics „Leistungskurs“ (advanced courses) to apply at RWTH Aachen?
A: No, it’s not necessary. Maybe it will be easier at the beginning, but what you learn in those courses will be worthless after two weeks and you’ll have to figure stuff out on your own.
As part of our current Erasmus+ project, our Year 12 students do some research on training and study opportunities after their A-levels. Currently, our team is organising interviews, in which they ask alumni about both their life at school and after their A-levels. The aim is to create realistic anticipations and to be prepared for possible disappointments. The interviews are being conducted on the school’s open day (25th November 2017) or at the interviewee’s place of training, study or work. 
