For a German citizen spending an academic year in America, the driver’s test is a big deal. Getting a license in America is a much different experience than it is in German. In Germany the driver’s license test is very expensive, costing about 1,600 euro, or $1780 American. To be eligible to apply for your driver’s license in Germany we have to be 18. We can start driving at 17 but we must be with an adult. The signs are different too. We learn these in a driver’s ed class. When the lessons are complete the driver’s test can be taken online, but with only three attempts to pass. Next comes driving lessons. Instructors show us everything and when he or she thinks we are performing well enough, we pass.
It takes a long time to get a driver’s license in Germany. So these are the differences of the German process to the American process. It is much cheaper in the states than in Germany, and there are fewer hour of driving with parents.
First American drivers must learn the 99 questions on the internet and study the handbook. Those questions can be found online at: www.nebraska.gov/dmv_cgi/2003exam/practice_test.cgi”.
The next step is studying and taking the test. When a student passes, he or she only has to pay $10.50 to get a driving permit. After a six month wait, or when the driver turns 16, he or she can take the driving test, but in those six months the driver should be practicing with an adult.
The organization that I came to America with as a foreign exchange student allows me to get my permit and license while I am here. But other exchange students are not allowed to do this. By the time they go back to their counties they’ll be old enough to get their license back home. 
