How can I find out the equivalent of college credit hours for having graduated from a German high school or gymnasium?

There's no single, universally accepted equivalent for German Gymnasium credits in terms of US college credit hours. The systems are fundamentally different. The German Gymnasium focuses on a broad, academically rigorous curriculum leading to the Abitur, which is a university entrance qualification, not a measure of completed credit hours.

To determine a potential equivalent, you need to consider these factors and approaches:

* Individual University Policy: The most crucial aspect is the policy of the specific US college or university you're applying to. They will be the ones to decide how to assess your Abitur for credit. Their admissions office or credit transfer office is the place to contact directly. Some universities have agreements or established procedures for evaluating international credentials, while others may require a course-by-course evaluation.

* Course-by-Course Evaluation: Several private credential evaluation services (like WES, ECE, SpanTran) can assess your Abitur and potentially award college credit based on a comparison of your courses to US college courses. However, this is not guaranteed and the credit awarded might vary depending on the evaluator and the university. This can be costly.

* No Automatic Equivalence: Be aware that you will likely *not* receive a direct credit hour equivalent. It's more common to receive *advanced placement* or exemption from certain introductory courses based on the Abitur, rather than direct credit hour transfers.

* Documentation: You'll need your Abiturzeugnis (certificate) and detailed course descriptions (transcript) to provide to the university or evaluation service.

In short: Don't try to find a numerical equivalent. Instead, focus on contacting the specific US college or university you're interested in and asking *them* how they evaluate the Abitur and what credit or advanced placement they might offer.