@dfbdfb, @insanedreamer, yes, CSU to UC is actually very much like Fachhochschule to Universität, including the small number of very highly regarded Fachhochschulen comparable to Cal Poly (not that any school in Germany is actually very much like a school in the US). Insanedreamer, Hochschule simply means institute of higher education and as such comprises all types. There is a big difference between schools that style themselves Technische Hochschule, which is comparable to institute of technology and which have always had admission and education standards at least as high as universities, and former Fachhochschulen which have dropped the “Fach” (meaning restricted to preprofessional subjects) in an attempt at better branding.