Students in Germany often complain about their tuition fees of 500 Euro per semester, plus 200 Euro "social fees" for the Student Union etc.

I had no choice but to study in the United Kingdom, because my course is the only B.A. (Hons) Travel Journalism degree in Europe. Currently, tuition fees in England amount to £3.225 per academic year, and this amount is increasing every year. The government is talking about raising the fees to £5.000 or even £7.000. Maybe fees this high are not a problem for spoilt Eton boys, but we "normal" students are already struggling to pay for tuition and live a little on the side. After all, these fees do not include rent, food or anything else.

At German universities, you get your money's worth for the fees you're paying. You get an annotated syllabus, all the lecture notes, printing credit and the "social fee" covers meals at the canteen and a monthly young person's bus- and railcard, to mention but a few advantages.

In England you get - well, lectures. That's it! Everything else has to be paid on top of the fees. My university is the University of Cumbria, proudly proclaiming itself the newest university in England (inaugurated in August 2007), but for me, it is easily the worst uni I have ever heard of! That has nothing to do with lecturers or teaching standards, but if a university closes two, in their time purpose-built libraries - first the Law and Management libary at Milbourne Street, and in 2009 the Art library at Brampton Road, you do begin to think that maybe they have no clue what they are doing. After all, this library situation forced thousands of third year students to dish out for books they need for their dissertations, on top of paying £3.225 for essentially half a year of studies. Tuition does not include meals at the canteen, let alone a railcard.

Getting financial help in England is also tricky if you're an EU student. You can't get the bursaries all your peers areentitled to, because you haven't been living in the UK for three years before you started your course. If you're lucky, a charity will take pity, but they usually only help in extreme circumstances. The student loan is an option, but there is no way to reduce your fees. In Germany, you can work for the faculty, or help as a researcher, and in return, you only pay the social fee. There is even an organisation that sends you stationery - paper, post-its, pens etc. - at the beginning of every semester for free, as long as you are a student and can prove it.