New students have a look around Westend Campus ahead of the semester start.
On a Wednesday in early April, a small group of students sets out across Westend Campus’ main university square in the direction of the cafeteria. They’re new at Goethe University, and will start studying economics this summer semester. Nicole is looking forward to the degree, but knows it’ll be hugely different than school: “There’s a lot more you have to do by yourself here. A lot of knowledge is presented and it’s up to you to process and structure it.” She’s already realized that she needs to brush up on math. Fellow student Elia points out a welcome difference from school: “At school you had to take a lot of different subjects that you didn’t like. I’m really interested in economics, but I also think it’ll be very demanding.” Flo, aged 19, says he believes there will be challenges in adjusting to other methods of working and learning, which new students first have to get used to. But he’s optimistic: “If you invest enough time in your degree, it’ll work out.” Kanto, the fourth in the group, knows the switch from learning at school to learning at university isn’t going to be easy. In response to the question of whether he is already looking forward to the legendary university parties, he laughs and says, “We already had great parties at school.”
Sina has also enrolled in economics. She’s looking forward to getting to know her fellow students, and is hoping they can tackle their new tasks together in groups, especially when it comes to preparing for exams. “I’d also like to connect with students in other semesters. I’m sure they can give us a lot of tips and tricks.” Apart from that, Sina is very optimistic about this new phase in her life, and just wants to find her own Goethe University “groove”. Also taking a stroll across campus on this rather calm Wednesday ahead of the semester start is Liam. He’s already in his third semester and knows a lot about how the courses are organized. He has special plans for the upcoming semester: In addition to finding a student job, he also wants to apply for an internship abroad. One problem he shares with many new students is finding a room in Frankfurt. “I commute here from Rhineland-Palatinate every day, which is quite a hassle. On some days, I have lectures both early in the morning and in the evening, which is not very convenient when you have to travel by train.”
