In 1968, Merkel joined the Free German Youth (FDJ), the official communist youth movement sponsored by the ruling Marxist–Leninist Socialist Unity Party of Germany.[22][23][24] Membership was nominally voluntary, but those who did not join found it difficult to gain admission to higher education.[25] She did not participate in the secular coming of age ceremony Jugendweihe, however, which was common in East Germany. Instead, she was confirmed.[26] During this time, she participated in several compulsory courses on Marxism-Leninism with her grades only being regarded as "sufficient".[27]