[uoaei]

If you're accepted, you only pay "administrative fees" per semester. Covering textbooks, food, housing are on you though there are numerous stipends you can apply for and get.

This applies not just to German citizens but to anyone who studies in Germany. The stipend sources may be slightly different where you come from though.

[libertyEQ]

The answer to my question is "no."

The problem is that most people in the US that "know" Germany gives everyone a college edu, thinks it is literally everyone and it certainly is not the case. Could people from Germany please stop spreading partial truths?