University of Applied Sciences - HTW Berlin vs Berlin School of Economics and Law - BSEL vs Humboldt University - HUB vs ESCP Business School vs IU International University of Applied Sciences

Side-by-side comparison from 264 verified student reviews. Scan one row at a time — winners are highlighted

Quick verdict
Higher overall rating: Forward College (4.90)
University of Applied Sciences - HTW Berlin: wins 0/7 categories
Berlin School of Economics and Law - BSEL: wins 0/7 categories
Humboldt University - HUB: wins 0/7 categories
ESCP Business School: wins 1/7 categories
IU International University of Applied Sciences: wins 0/7 categories
Steinbeis University - Schools of Next Practices: wins 0/7 categories
Forward College: wins 6/7 categories
Comparing
Best programme: Applied Computer Science
Best programme: Economics
Best programme: British Studies
Best programme: Bachelor in Management
Best programme: MBA
Best programme: Business
Paris, France
4.90
Top
Read more reviews
16 reviews
×
Best programme: Politics and International Relations
Category ratings
Facilities
3.91
4.33
3.69
4.09
3.69
4.25
4.47
Win
Location
4.00
4.11
4.63
4.33
3.87
3.75
5.00
Win
Professors
4.00
4.11
4.40
4.11
4.43
4.25
5.00
Win
Internationality
4.19
4.22
4.40
4.80
Win
4.44
4.50
4.75
Student life
4.04
4.38
3.56
4.17
3.62
3.75
4.73
Win
Value
3.98
4.11
4.60
4.39
4.32
3.75
4.63
Win
Accommodation
3.88
3.44
3.00
3.27
3.11
2.75
4.33
Win
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • +Supportive environment and academic resources
  • +Vibrant campus life and social engagement
  • +Opportunities for personal growth and development
  • +Experienced professors sharing valuable real-world insights
  • +Diverse international student body and English-taught courses
  • +Practical learning approaches and a wide range of specialization options
  • +Inspiring professors and high academic standards
  • +Practical experience and societal engagement opportunities
  • +Relevant and critical curriculum development
  • +European campuses and multicultural environment
  • +Strong career preparation and top company recruitment
  • +Development of interpersonal and managerial skills
  • +Flexible online study for work-life balance
  • +Modern, intuitive digital platform for easy access
  • +Relevant, high-quality educational content
  • +Excellent program structure and well-prepared faculty
  • +Practical, industry-focused learning with interactive opportunities
  • +Flexible study options and a supportive, inclusive environment
  • +Engaging learning environment with interactive methods
  • +Diverse and international student community
  • +Unique multi-city European study experience
Cons
  • -Poor quality instruction and unhelpful teachers
  • -Lack of administrative and management support
  • -Outdated facilities and resources
  • -Administrative and management issues are a recurring problem.
  • -Outdated facilities and resources are a significant drawback.
  • -Lack of engaging teaching and course material is often cited.
  • -Disliked curriculum and staff attitude.
  • -Facilities were outdated.
  • -Unsuitable for specific degree programs.
  • -Administrative and management issues cause significant frustration.
  • -Outdated facilities and poor campus infrastructure are a recurring problem.
  • -The curriculum often lacks practical application and relevance.
  • -Slow and unresponsive administrative processes, including grade processing and student support.
  • -Poor staff attitude and lack of accountability for errors in student records and applications.
  • -Inadequate support and guidance for online students.
  • -Administrative and management issues, including poor communication and lack of support.
  • -Limited professional development opportunities and weak industry connections.
  • -Perceived low quality of the learning experience relative to cost.
  • -Administrative & management issues cause frustration.
  • -Outdated facilities and equipment are a concern.
  • -Lack of transparency and communication is prevalent.
Rating summary
What students say

Overall, the university garners positive feedback with its strongest area being **Internationality**, scoring 4.19. Student life also performs well at 4.04. Areas with slightly lower, though still respectable, ratings include **Facilities** at 3.91 and **Accomodation** at 3.88. Professors, location, and value all received a solid 4 or close to it, indicating a well-rounded student experience.

This institution garners strong marks across several key areas, with **Student Life** standing out at an impressive 4.375. **Facilities** also received high praise (4.333). Conversely, **Accommodations** present the lowest score at 3.444, indicating a potential area for improvement. Other aspects like professors, location, internationality, and value all fall within a comparable, positive range.

This university garners exceptional marks for its Location and Value, both scoring 4.6. Professors and Internationality also stand out with a strong 4.4. Conversely, Accomodation presents the lowest score at 3. Facilities and Student Life fall in the mid-range with ratings of 3.69 and 3.56 respectively, suggesting areas for potential improvement.

Across various aspects, this institution shows considerable strengths, particularly in **Internationality**, earning a near-perfect score. **Location** and **Value** also received very high marks. Student life and professors are rated positively, as are facilities. However, the lowest-rated category is **Accomodation**, indicating an area for potential improvement.

This institution garners notable praise in several key areas, with **Internationality** and **Professors** receiving particularly high scores. The **Value** proposition is also well-regarded. Conversely, **Accomodation** stands out as the lowest-rated aspect. Other aspects like Facilities, Location, and Student Life fall within a more moderate range of positive feedback.

This university receives its highest marks in Internationality, scoring a strong 4.5. Facilities and Professors are also highly rated at 4.25. Location and Student Life are solid performers, both receiving 3.75. However, Accomodation stands out as a weaker area with a score of 2.75. Overall, the university presents a mixed but generally positive picture, with particular strengths in its global reach and academic resources.

This university garners excellent reviews, particularly excelling in its **professors and location**, both achieving perfect scores. Student life and internationality also stand out with scores above 4.7. Areas with slightly lower, though still strong, ratings include **facilities and accommodation**. Overall, the university presents a well-rounded positive student experience with high marks across most aspects.

Reviews summary
Highlights

Approximately 98% of reviews are positive, highlighting enjoyable campus life, supportive environments, modern facilities, and ample opportunities for social engagement and personal development. A small amount of negative feedback points to inconsistent teaching quality and interpersonal issues.

With a 4.1/5 average rating from 10 reviews, ~90% of feedback is positive, praising experienced professors, varied English courses, and practical learning methods. No negative feedback was reported.

~78% of reviews are positive, highlighting enlightening academics, beautiful campuses, and engaging learning. A small percentage (~5.6%) mentions a less-than-ideal curriculum or staff attitude.

Approximately 97.6% of reviews are positive, highlighting rewarding experiences, multicultural environments, and personal/professional growth. A single negative review mentioned the EMIB program should be updated.

~95% of reviews are positive, praising flexibility, modern platforms, and accessible materials. A small percentage (~5%) mention issues with grading delays and slow administrative support.

Around 75% of reviews are positive, praising structured modules, quality teaching, and a good learning environment. The remaining 25% express concerns about cost, instructor quality, and limited professional opportunities.

Students highly praise the interactive learning, international community, and opportunities for academic and personal growth. There are no negative reviews.

Rating distribution
5★
4%
20%
50%
55%
63%
25%
94%
4★
85%
70%
28%
38%
27%
50%
6%
3★
9%
10%
17%
5%
6%
0%
0%
2★
0%
0%
6%
0%
2%
0%
0%
1★
2%
0%
0%
2%
3%
25%
0%
Most useful review
Most liked
A university that takes away its student's spirit

Project management teacher fails people and tells them straight into their face it’s because she doesn’t like them. The Law teacher had us do presentations and didn’t even do one single class in a year. Ethics teacher claims that women deserve to get sexually assaulted if their dress is an inch too short. The Economics teacher does not speak English even though the major is taught in it. Half the students are internationals without German coming to Berlin to study, yet most “International” subjects are talking only about Germany and giving presentations in German. There is nothing applied about this university, it is all old theory. Marketing classes did not even include advertising, social media, digital media or anything more relevant in the past decade. Same for other subjects. The administration is disorganised. The international student office is always on holidays and never replies. The administration does not answer at all until you send your e-mails to their bosses. Due to the error OF THE ADMINISTRATION, they did not want to count my two semesters abroad until I fought them for seven months and emailed everyone at school when suddenly it was a matter of one document. One thesis supervisor steals his students' work for his own publications and has plenty of lawsuits. The other master’s supervisor did not answer any of the e-mails during the writing, except for one which said ‘I don’t know, google it”. There is so much more I could say. This school is a disaster and if you are reading this review DO NOT GO HERE, they really don’t care about their students. Neither does the school administration, nor the teachers. If at least one person decides not to go there due to this review I already did a good deed. Try HWR, Free University, Humboldt, or anything else. It was a horrible experience that made me not want to continue educating myself for at least a few years until I can forget all those horrible moments and people (except some single people and students)

Platform to Learn

A great institute to learn in Berlin. I am enrolled in for masters program and I must say that the professors are very educated and they share their valuable experience that helps us understand the concepts even better. They deliver such great content and the assignments are given in such a way that everyone learns.

Great (and free) education

My experience at Humboldt has been more than great so far. University is free in Germany, and the student facilities are amazing. The canteen food is good and cheap, the public transport is much cheaper as a student, the accomodation too (but there is a long waiting list!). My master is in English and I am super happy with the opportunities, the professors, and the general academic environment__

Great international exposure

To me, studying at ESCP has been a really rewarding experience. The multicultural environment helped me grow both personally and professionally. Professors are very supportive and bring real-world insights into the classroom. I rlly liked the flexibility to study in different campuses across Europe. Although some admin processes can be slow, but overall I felt well-prepared for the job market.

The best university in the world

My experience with IU is very wonderful and exceptional. The learning process is smooth and easy especially for online students and the exams are well tailored to test your knowledge on what you have been learning. It is quite great indeed.

Not worth the educational investment

As a professional learner and international student, I find it expensive with low quality of overall learning journey. The courses / subjects offer good insights but not all instructors / lecturers meet students learning needs. As compared to other universities, they don’t have alumni network, company partnerships or purposive professional activities for their students. It’s also difficult to navigate their study program because nobody responds timely (or worst you’ll be completely disregarded unless it’s about invoice or tuition payments) to inquiries or concerns in emails and all contact numbers in the emails are unreachable. It’s also common that wrong class schedules or no class schedules are communicated - making you miss classes unintentionally. With all the issues and concerns I’ve had from my admission to my thesis, I need to keep on chasing someone to be answered vaguely or be passed on somebody else. They have a systematic issue in managing student affairs and communications.

Great modern university approach

I am currently a 3rd year student at Forward College and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would recommend it to other students. The interactive approach of Forward where questions, debate, and discussion were encouraged enhanced my learning so much and I feel like I genuinely enjoyed every class. Having the experience of living in 3 different cultures, surrounded by people from all over the world made this experience even more special and helped me develop and grow in so many ways. Another aspect I have loved are the professors. Speaking with friends at other university I am so grateful to have teachers that actually know us, are excited to teach and interact with us, and will always take the time to help you.

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