Studying without a high school diploma - this is more common in Germany than ever before: Almost 60,000 people studied at a university in 2017, without having previously obtained the general university entrance qualification or Fachhochschulreife. This is shown by a study by the CHE Center for Higher Education Development. Thus, the number of students has quadrupled in the past ten years.
Particularly popular according to the study, as in the previous year, especially subjects from the legal, economic and social sciences. However, engineering and medicine are also in demand.
According to CHE, it is largely unknown that even a medical degree without Abi is possible. Around 800 of the 109,000 medical students received the coveted seats last year, even without a university entrance qualification.
The students qualify in these cases about the professional practice. For example, the grade from a master or specialist exam replaces the Abinote. A completed vocational training as well as sufficient work experience are however always obligatory.
Also, the number of graduates without Abi has quadrupled since 2007: 8,100 of them last year graduated (2007: 1900). This is an indication that "the often quoted study ability does not depend solely on the high school diploma," said Sigrun Nickel CHE.