Education in Germany
Public universities in Germany are funded by the federal states and do not charge tuition fees. However, all enrolled students do have to pay a semester fee ("Semesterbeitrag"). This fee consists of an administrative fee for the university (only in some of the states), a fee for "Studentenwerk", which is a statutory student affairs organization, a fee for the university's AStA ("Allgemeiner Studentenausschuss", students' government) and "Studentenschaft" (students' union), at many universities a fee for public transportation, and possibly more fees as decided by the university's students' parliament (e.g., for a cooperation with a local theater granting free entry for students). Summed up, the semester fee usually ranges between €150 and €350.
Academic grading in Germany
At university level, the distribution is highly non-normal and idiosyncratic to the subject. Substantially more German students fail exams in university than in other countries (usually about 20-40%, often even more). Grades awarded vary widely between fields of study and between universities. (In law degrees, for instance, only 10-15% of candidates get a grade better than "befriedigend".)