Berufsoberschule is an optional part of the german education system, and it the only way to be allowed at university for students who didn´t get an Abitur at a Gymnasium. Abitur (from Latin abire=go away, go off) is the word commonly used in Germany for the final exams young adults (aged 18 or 19) take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling. ... A gymnasium (pronounced /gim-/ as opposed to /jim-/) is a type of school of secondary education in parts of Europe. ...

Requirements

To be able to enter a Berufsoberschule students have to meet the following requirements:

• Graduation of Berufschule
• worked in their job for at least three years
• average of secondary school graduation marks 3.0 or better in main subjects, or pass an entrance exam

Though not mandatory, students who went to Hauptschule or who graduated Realschule with average or near average marks, are strongly advised to visit a special preclass. (one day a week). In Germany, the Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. ...

Second foreign language

Students who want to get an Abitur at Berufsoberschule need to either:

a) have had classes of a second foreign language for at least 3 years at an other school and at least a graduation mark of 4 (D in US grading system).

b) study a second foreign language (often french) and pass a exam in Berufsoberschule

Graduation

After one year, students can get a "Fachabitur", wich enables them to study at university, but only in subjects that belong to the "branch" they studied in at Berufschule, and after two years they get an Abitur, wich gives them full access to university.