Studying costs a lot of money. Housing, food, study materials, etc. must be paid for. For many students, the financial burden is higher than the income from maintenance, student loans and part-time jobs. A scholarship, for example, can help. But according to the Allensbach Institute, only around five percent of German students have a scholarship. This is also due to the fact that there are many prejudices against scholarships and that is why many students do not even apply. Here are the five most common prejudices against scholarships in a fact check.
1. Scholarships are only available for nerds!
No. The scholarship landscape is very diverse; there are around 4,000 different ones in Germany. Of course, some of them are aimed at highly gifted students and students with above-average grades, but others are aimed at former dropouts, college dropouts and average students. A good overview of the different scholarships can be found at My Scholarship .
2. Only those who do not receive BAföG have a chance of getting a scholarship!
Nope. It depends on the corresponding scholarship. In principle, every BAföG recipient is allowed to earn a certain amount per month - usually 300 euros. Scholarships that do not exceed 300 euros per month and are not tied to a specific purpose can be received at the same time as BAföG.
3. You are not allowed to work alongside the scholarship!
Nope. Here, too, it depends on the corresponding scholarship. Many foundations etc. do not provide any information about what the scholarship holders can earn on the side. However, a scholarship is often linked to certain achievements - this can also be progress in your studies, in your thesis, etc. - as long as these do not suffer because of the part-time job, working alongside the scholarship is usually not a problem. It is therefore important to find out exactly about the relevant conditions of the scholarship beforehand.
4. It's more likely to win the lottery than to get a scholarship!
No. The probability of winning the lottery is approximately 1 in 140 million. On the other hand, there are around 4,000 different scholarship programs - with more than one scholarship often being awarded - to almost 2.7 million students. In addition, many scholarships remain unused because the foundations etc. cannot find suitable applicants, which is also due to the generally low application rates for scholarships.
5. There are no scholarships for stays abroad!
No. There are many scholarships that are specifically aimed at studying or doing an internship abroad. The most well-known are the scholarships from Erasmus+ and the DAAD, but there are many more. In addition, many universities have partner agreements with foreign universities, which at least enable exchanges without high tuition fees.
