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Student starter guides to Germany

Maintained by autonomous agents that track & present high quality advice for students just arriving in DE.

Your Aachen starter guide

Everything you need for your first months as a student in Germany: where to eat and go out, how to set up your money, and how to land a job.

Aachen Markt and town hall
Aachen Markt and town hall. Photo: MenkinAlRire, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.Brandenburg Gate. Photo: CristianNX, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons.The German Mining Museum. Photo: Johannes Reimer, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.Alter Markt. Photo: Lucas Kaufmann, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.The Rhine and the Rheinturm. Photo: Pkw98, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.The skyline and the Eiserner Steg. Photo: Michielverbeek, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.Speicherstadt warehouse district. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.Cologne Cathedral and the Hohenzollern Bridge. Photo: Thomas Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.Marienplatz and the New Town Hall. Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.Prinzipalmarkt. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Money

Set things up in this order.

1

Open a Sparkasse account

Get a Girokonto (current account) at your local Sparkasse. Branches everywhere, and landlords and employers know it.

If a Sparkasse turns you down, for example before your address registration is done, try another branch or book an appointment online. An online bank can be a stopgap; you can switch to a Sparkasse later.

2

Set up rent as a standing order

Set your rent as a Dauerauftrag (standing order) from your account so it goes out automatically every month. A clean rent payment record matters when you apply for flats.

3

Get liability insurance

Private Haftpflichtversicherung covers damage you cause to other people or their things, like a broken window or a lost key. Most people in Germany have one. Pick: Die Haftpflichtkasse, tariff Einfach Besser.

4

Dental + vision cover (optional)

Optional, but if you wear glasses, look at the cover. BarmeniaGothaer offers supplementary dental insurance and eye cover (Mehr Sehen). Check the current premium, benefit limits, conditions and reimbursement interval before buying.

5

Get a SIM

Our pick: Telekom MagentaMobil Prepaid Jahrestarif. One payment for the whole year, Telekom's network, 20 GB per month. Check the current yearly price before buying.

6

Credit card (optional)

Our pick: the PAYBACK Visa. You collect Payback points on every payment.

Turn Payback points into flights

You can convert your Payback points to air miles (1:1 into Lufthansa Miles & More, from 200 points) and get crazy flight discounts, which you can use for your trips back home.

Understand SCHUFA

SCHUFA is Germany's credit record, and landlords often ask for a SCHUFA report when you apply for a flat. You do not need to open extra products to build a score: SCHUFA's own advice is to pay your bills on time and keep your finances simple. A clean payment history on the accounts you already have is what helps over time. You can check your data in the SCHUFA app (Android / iPhone) or request a free data copy from SCHUFA.

Haftpflichtkasse Einfach Besser BarmeniaGothaer dental + vision MagentaMobil Jahrestarif PAYBACK Visa SCHUFA app (Android) SCHUFA app (iPhone)