I got my information from only one data point (a friend at MSR, who went to university close to after reunification), so I'm sure experiences would differ. The point was, that students were left mostly on their own to consume the material provided by the professor and prepare for the single high stakes exam. Some professors were better than others, and I guess there were higher end university experiences available (e.g. German top universities). American students are much more coddled in comparison, they are given a ton of resources, many of which are used and provided inefficiently.