The information on this page is intended to help you find your way to Aachen and RWTH without stumbling before your studies even begin.

Accommodation

As in most university and large cities, affordable housing is scarce in Aachen. To still find a roof over your head, you should keep the following things in mind:

Dormitories: The Studentenwerk Aachen operates a number of dormitories spread throughout the city. You can find a list of dormitories here. On the page, you will also find many other information about dormitories and how to apply for them. When applying, you should plan that it usually takes about half a year before you get a place. So you should try to secure a spot there as early as possible.

Location: To find a suitable apartment, you should also briefly consider accessibility. The university extends from the city center (where you will spend most of your bachelor's studies) to the northwest. Especially in later studies, this shifts more and more to the respective buildings towards the outskirts. The student dormitory Bayernallee in the south is therefore not the best choice and is rather intended for FH students.

The Search: On the one hand, you have the option to search on common websites (e.g. wg-gesucht.de, immobilienscout24.de, immowelt.de, etc.), on the other hand, you can go through newspaper ads (Aachener Zeitung, "Annonce"). The city of Aachen offers the initiative "Extraraum", which mediates apartments to students. Further possibilities for creative apartment searches as well as useful links can be found on the page of the General Student Committee (AStA).

Study Information Days

Study information days serve to help you find out whether a particular subject suits you. In physics, in particular, attending the study information day is mandatory, as the physics institutes want to ensure that no one starts their studies with false expectations. So if you plan to study physics, you must come to Aachen for one day in May/June/July. There you will also meet people from our department who can answer all your questions and advise you if necessary.

Preparatory Courses

At RWTH, there are preparatory courses for mathematics (interdisciplinary), computer science, and physics as well as for a few other subjects. They can help you refresh your knowledge and get to know the most important places at the university (lecture halls, cafeteria, stops, etc.). Which ones you should attend and why we explain below:

Mathematics: The math preparatory course is the preparatory course. It lasts throughout September and is intended for students of all subjects. On the one hand, your math skills will be brought to the same level (education is a state matter and all ...), and on the other hand, you will get used to teaching and everyday university life. There are lectures – which all subjects attend together – and exercises sorted by subjects building on them. These exercises are the perfect place to meet your fellow students and make friends. Due to the still relatively slow pace and the fact that you may have already heard most of the content, you also have enough time to explore the city and attend parties. If you have the time, we definitely recommend this preparatory course.

Computer Science: This preparatory course is aimed at people with little to no programming experience and is also interdisciplinary where sensible. If you want to learn programming during your studies (which is useful for all our subjects), this preparatory course is certainly worth considering, but there is also the interdisciplinary course "Programming for Everyone". This is offered throughout the semester and has a similar target group.

Computer Science in Summer: This preparatory course takes place at the beginning of the summer semester and is partly mandatory. It compactly teaches participants content from the winter semester (programming, advanced mathematics, ...) and thus helps with the changed subject sequence when starting in the summer semester. It is therefore also recommended.

Physics: This preparatory course is called "Mathematical Methods of Physics" and its name describes it quite well. Your knowledge of applying mathematics in physics (e.g. integral calculus, statistics) will be refreshed here, as each high school diploma emphasizes different topics. This two-week course takes place shortly before the semester begins and partially overlaps in time and content with the math preparatory course. Nevertheless, it offers you as a physics freshman the opportunity to meet other people, especially since even more physicists participate than in the math preparatory course. It is therefore useful for physics students and irrelevant for all others.

On this page you will find more information about these and other preparatory courses. You can also register there.