I have spent the last week immersed in websites and emails to sort out what it really takes to get into Germany and stay there. For the sake of anyone reading this and my own pride, I'll skip over everything I got wrong and straight to what I know for a fact.
As an American, I can enter any of the states in the Schengen Area (all EU countries except for the UK, Ireland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania) without a visa and remain there for 90 days. Once I've moved in, I can register my place of residence with the appropriate office. This has to be done within a week of arrival. After that, I can apply for a residence permit. Applying for this residence permit without a visa is practically identical to applying for a visa itself in terms of the required paperwork. I'll have to make an appointment and wait 6 weeks after applying to actually receive the permit. Thus, acting early is essential! You do not want your visaless grace period to run out before getting the residence permit. However, once you do receive the permit, you can use it to travel anywhere within the Shengen Area.
Here are some helpful websites for more detailed information in Germany.
Residence in Germany
Contacts for Various Demographics
Contact Information for the Office Servicing RWTH Students
(The above link also has useful documents offered in German and English on the bottom right)
Registering Address for RWTH Students
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