Disclaimer - Everyone knows that housing here is a problem. This is a cry for help but also quite the panicked rambling.

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I'm an international student (F, just in case) and I'll be arriving to Potsdam towards the end of September. Beyond a tiny little sponsored trip a year ago, this is my first time leaving my country and I was stoked.

I received a scholarship, very thankfully, and I have been admitted to HPI, which after months of quite a bit of hectic work related to collecting documents, formatting and submitting them, juggling other admissions/rejections alongside, felt like quite the reward. Getting to live in Potsdam also felt like I'd be getting the best of both words, a quiet calm environment and Berlin's urban rush. So I was pretty excited.

Now however, I'm spiralling and questioning my decision to study abroad to begin with.

The Studierendenwerk portal had opened for WiSe 26/27 on May 8, and I had applied on May 30. Dumbly, I had thought this was actually quite the "early" application. I had also gotten a room at Studierendenwerk Stuttgart (I had an admission there too but picked HPI) within a few months of applying, so I thought it shouldn't be too bad. But then, I was told that people try to apply within the first 15-30 minutes of the portal opening here. I read a couple of local news articles about the housing crisis and statistically speaking, it seems like getting a room in time would be impossible.

So, I tried Studentendorf Schlachtensee twice, as recommended by the uni, and they keep telling me there are no vacancies.

Then, I tried the informal student groups I had been added to by my uni seniors, and managed to get banned from sending new messages to non-contacts on Telegram because I responded to subletting offers they were posting 🤡. Now, I can't reply to any more offers that show up (trying to get a different number of mine added there).

Then I tried WG-Gesucht. Notably, Studierendenwerk sublets on WG-gesucht because that seemed like a guaranteed way to avoid scams. They firstly, don't respond (by now, expected) and also, keep requiring a Schufa, which I don't have because I'm an international student.

So now, I'm reading accounts of homelessness by international students in Germany.

They really leave this bit out of some notably popular "coming of age" and "chasing the dream" TV shows, don't they? I just don't know if I'm built for this and I have nothing but admiration for those who are.