Step Three: Moving to Cologne

Fachhochschule Köln
Cologne University of Applied Sciences

Though you may be unclear on the different terms associated with your exchange, as I was at first, there is a major difference between acceptance and enrollment at a university. The city of Cologne demanded my matriculation paper which is a specific document from my host university that details my enrollment at their institution. In order to obtain this piece, I needed to seek out the international office which is a short walk through a park filled with large, aging trees that stretch upward toward the sky and outward to greet the small children running through their shaded gaze. The building itself is majestic in its age and stature with three sets of iron clad doors that both beckon and prohibit entry; her back faces the long and wide stretch of the river Rhine that wanders with a wink toward the cluster of students filing in and out of the doors. I made my way into the quiet gut of this stone-cold building and sought the directory which was helpful for all who spoke the native tongue of Deutschland. For me, however, it became a riddle of numbers, letters and hallways. After a bit of confused wandering, which had not gone unnoticed by an older gentleman behind a desk on the opposite side of the lobby who offered a corner of a smile to me, I made my way down a sunken hallway and sought out the esteemed coordinator from whom I had received so many cordial communications.

The architecture of Cologne has
 a character of its own

The process itself, after having finally found the lady who was much more vibrant than I had imagined, was fairly straightforward and proved to offer few speed bumps. I had arrived more than a month earlier than expected and was greeted with surprise but not with refusal. It seemed to be that I was on my own until September when the student benefits would start to kick in, though I had mentally prepared myself for such a case. My passport and insurance exemption form were requested with a smile and a well-prepared, well-accented English tongue. Just a few moments, simple questions and colorful, welcoming brochures later, I was on my way to picnic under the convivial trees with a sandwich and many forms through which to rifle. With another step completed, I paused to breathe in the delicious Cologne air before running off to find the registration office and the infamous “Laurenplatz” with just a notebook of address and a good head for maps.

The International Office of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences is located at Claudiusstrasse 1, room 56. They are open from 9 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. Be sure to ask about the ‘Karibu’ program for incoming international students.