Is FU Berlin's MSc Physics actually as good as it looks, or am I missing something?
So I've been looking at FU Berlin's MSc Physics program and I genuinely cannot find the catch. It's taught in English, has no tuition, no minimum GPA requirement, no admission limits, and doesn't require a CV, letters of reference, statement of purpose, confirmed supervision, or funding (excluding the blocked account requirements for a student visa). And it turns out to be a strong university in Germany too.
I'm a Canadian Honours Physics grad and I cannot wrap my head around this. Everyone around me is equally baffled. We've gone through the "you're missing fine print" phase, the "it can't really be that good" phase, and someone even half-jokingly suggested it might be a government scam. Which sounds insane, but also...seriously, what is the catch?
Is this actually just how Germany works? Are there any international students here, especially from North America, who went through this process? What was your experience with the application, the program itself, and life in Berlin? Am I just misunderstanding this?