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The drop out rates for America and Germany in University are similar at about 30%. I believe a common explanation for both is that there is not enough screening for the people who go into college.

However, googling tells me that in the UK it is about 5% ish. Why is their dropout rate so low?

astronat supports the strike
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tryst with freedom
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    Also, drop out from what? Undergraduate university programs? High schools? – Wolfgang Bangerth May 11 '23 at 17:55
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    Giving a single number is unlikely to provide meaningful information. The "drop out rate" for an undergraduate math program at UCLA is probably much lower than for a math program at some community colleges in the US. The drop out rate for a Bachelor math program at an arbitrary German university is probably higher than for many (though certainly not all) other subjects at the same university. The drop out rate for a Master's program in math at a German university will typically be much lower than for a Bachelor's program. – Jochen Glueck May 11 '23 at 18:21
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    I am wondering how changes of program a counted in those statistics. I know a considerable number of people who realized within the first year or so that they can probably slog through their degree in A, but that they would be happier with a related degree in B instead (e.g. physics to engineering). In Germany that would mean simply dropping A and enrolling in B (often no more work than filling out some paperwork), usually transferring some or even most credits. Technically those people dropped out of the program, but not really of the system. – mlk May 12 '23 at 07:58
  • I see Google hits showing rates from <1% at Oxford/Cambridge to >30% at some other places. Does it average to 5%-ish? Maybe. Does that count any institutions comparable to US community colleges? No clue... – Jon Custer May 12 '23 at 15:06
  • I searched in general, rather than for top schools. I think top schools for all places would agree, except on those which there is no thing as top schools (Eg: Germany) – tryst with freedom May 12 '23 at 16:36

1 Answers1

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The comparison between the dropout rates for British and German universities is a topic I have talked about with many collegagues familiar with both systems. The core reason seems to be that what is deemed an acceptable dropout rate in the UK is much, much lower than in Germany.

This then leads to all kinds of different actions and policies that lead to the actual dropout rates being so much lower.

British universites that can afford to be picky are usually very selective, and will only admit students they are confident will do well. On the other hand, for many subjects (eg math, CS), German universities will admit almost anyone with Abitur, and then just sort them out in the first year.

British universities tend to offer quite a bit of support for (weaker) students. How much and the nature varies - most universities couldn't afford the immense attention paid to individual students at Oxbridge, but there is bound to be some effort. I've never heard of comparable attempts at German universities.

Lest I give the impression that I consider the British approach superior, UK universities that cannot afford to be that picky in admissions will just lower the standards to the point where almost everyone they do admit will pass (with whatever support they can offer). German professors tend to have much more latitude to only let those pass they deem worthy.

Arno
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  • Correct me if I’m wrong but the German system recognizes and values technical degrees to a much greater extent, so one does not need a university education to afford a reasonable lifestyle. – ZeroTheHero May 12 '23 at 01:28
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    A friend of mine who attended a Swiss university said something about how they are legally required to accept everyone who meets the entry requirements. To not have crazy class sizes, the first year exams are very hard, and a lot of students are weeded out ("drop out"). Maybe that applies to Germany too? – Allure May 12 '23 at 03:27
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    @Allure here ist the question that yields the answers concerning the "weeding out" system in Germany. https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/183700/why-are-low-pass-rates-below-50-for-exams-considered-acceptable-in-germany/183701#183701 – Sursula May 12 '23 at 06:56
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    Regarding the last paragraph: I am not particular familiar with the British system, but after all I have heard the main reason for this is that students are treated as paying customers in Britain (as well as in the US) that you want to retain for money, while in Germany, the benefits of retaining bad students are much smaller. – Wrzlprmft May 12 '23 at 07:09
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    +1 Maybe, though, could you add a few examples which kind of support British universities (other than Cambridge and Oxbridge) offer for weaker students? – Jochen Glueck May 12 '23 at 08:53
  • In one of the universities I worked at, students could fail 1 module per year and leave it unfinished, and still graduate. I suspect this is not true in Germany. In many UK universities, the first year doesn't count to your degree grade, so marking is lax too, you don't fail a student unless they REALLY deserve it. – Ander Biguri May 12 '23 at 09:27
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    Having worked at German universities I can attest to most of this: In Germany funding programs are often attached to enrollment numbers, not necessarily graduation numbers. There are no enrollment-tests for many degrees and enrollment is usually free, so many people enroll first and then realize it's not what they want or not what they're good at. – Falco May 12 '23 at 12:39
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    @AnderBiguri Also in Germany: You have to pass every single course in your required curriculum to graduate - students usually have up to 4 chances of passing a test (3 written, 1 oral) - but after that you will have failed this course permanently and can not attain the graduation in this degree anymore. But you can still change to a different degree (e.g. Computer Science instead of Web Design) which don't require the exact course you failed and even transfer your already passed exams to the new degree. – Falco May 12 '23 at 12:41
  • One thing I'm wondering is if the pass/fail barrier is lower in UK universities. It might be quite hard to get a first class honours undergraduate degree, but you can still stick it out and get an upper/lower second or a third down to only 40% of a maximum grade. – Crazymoomin May 12 '23 at 13:38
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    @Crazymoomin I don't think that these values have any independent meaning. When setting an exam, I know where the boundaries are, and thus (try to) allocate marks to questions accordingly. – Arno May 12 '23 at 14:02
  • @Arno It's still possible that UK universities might prefer a student to graduate with a lower grade than drop out. – Crazymoomin May 13 '23 at 21:42