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.
University of Göttingen
As Germany is a member of the European Union, university students have the opportunity to participate in the Erasmus Programme. The university also has exchange programs and partnerships with reputable universities outside Europe such as University of Technology, Sydney in Australia, Tsinghua University, Peking University and Fudan University in China, Tokyo University in Japan and the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States.