Finding and applying for scholarships

In short: Scholarships support students financially and often also with ideas, for example through seminars or mentoring. Unlike BAföG, income is not the only factor in many programmes.

In more detail: In Germany there are over 2,000 scholarship programmes from various foundations, parties and companies.

In detail

• Talent support organisations: Party-affiliated and church foundations usually fund with a view to engagement and grades.
• Deutschlandstipendium: Combination of state and private funding at universities.
• Subject-specific scholarships: Companies specifically support students of certain fields.
• Applying: Usually a motivation letter, CV, reference and sometimes a personal interview.
• Criteria: Grades matter but social engagement and personal story often count too.
• Scholarship finder: Online databases help find suitable programmes.
• Combinability: Many scholarships can be combined with BAföG (studienfinanzierung-ueberblick).