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Culture > News

Student Sued for Graduating Early from German College


Word to the wise, collegiettes: it is actually possible to try TOO hard in college (and get sued for it).

The School of Economics and Management in Essen, Germany, is suing one of its former students for graduating too early. Marcel Pohl, 22, finished his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the school in only three semesters, a feat which would typically take 11 semesters and 60 exams to complete. Oh, and he also did an apprenticeship in a bank during this time—talk about a super student.

So how exactly did he manage to take all those classes in about a quarter of the expected time? Pohl had two friends share notes with him for the classes he couldn’t fit in his schedule. (As Business Insider notes, wouldn’t Hermione Granger’s time turner have been helpful?)

The school is suing Pohl for $3,772 (only a small portion of what he would have paid for 11 semesters), claiming “income loss.” Pohl, who is now employed at a Frankfurt bank, told German tabloid Bild that the lawsuit surprised him. Pohl says the school didn’t object when he told them in advance that he planned on graduating early.

“When I got the lawsuit, I thought it couldn’t be true,” Pohl told Bild. “Performance is supposed to be worth something.”

Michelle was the Senior Editor of Her Campus. She is passionate about producing high-quality, entertaining and informative content for readers. Before joining the staff full-time, she was an editorial intern, the Life Editor and a contributing writer for HC, during which time she wrote the most-read article in HC history. Before joining the HC team, Michelle interned for The News & Observer in Raleigh, NC. A native of North Carolina, Michelle graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2013 with a B.A. in journalism and French and a minor in music. In her spare time, she likes to run (a lot), buy way too many magazines, obsessively follow UNC basketball and explore new places. You can follow her on Twitter: @mclewis3