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You still have to go buffalo - but apart from that, a scholarship can make your studies much easier (symbol picture)
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Notoriously broke is part of student life like first-semester parties and cafeteria dinners.
Besides studying, there is only a limited amount of money that can be earned, and by no means everyone: r is blessed with generous parents.
A scholarship can be a great way to replenish your wallet.
According to myStipendium, there are more than 3000 scholarship programs in Germany, quite a large selection.
To provide some orientation, we are introducing the Deutschlandstipendium and the so-called gifted support organizations in our series »Scholarships explained« - 13 institutions supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research that promote particularly high-performing and committed students and award around 25 percent of the scholarships in Germany.
In the series, scholarship holders tell how they got their funding and what they particularly appreciate about their respective program.
They all emphasize one point: You don't need a high school diploma to get a scholarship.
Instead, it depends on the overall package.
Academic Foundation of the german people
In contrast to many other organizations promoting talented students, the German National Academic Foundation has no ideological focus and by far supports the majority of students.
Schools can propose a contingent of high-performing candidates every year, and you can also apply independently at the beginning of your studies.
In both cases, good performance is just as important as a willingness to get involved in society.
Scholarship holder Annabell Wähner, for example, gave free tutoring during her school days and was involved in the school medical service.
This is how she made it into the Studienstiftung, even though she was not one of the best in her class.
Hans Böckler Foundation
The German Trade Union Confederation, or DGB for short, is behind the Hans Böckler Foundation.
The DGB is the largest umbrella organization of trade unions in Germany, including Ver.di and IG Metall.
According to its own statements, the Hans Böckler Foundation wants to increase equal opportunities in the education system.
Scholarship holder Meri Asryan reports that she had no contact with trade unions before applying, but that this was "not an exclusion criterion".
Sociopolitical engagement can also convince at the Hans Böckler Foundation.
Asryan was involved as a dispute arbitrator and as an Anne Frank ambassador.
German Business Foundation
The Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (SDW) and its subordinate Klaus-Murmann-Studienförderwerk are financed by entrepreneurs and employers' associations, among others.
Although there is no ideological orientation, the SDW wants to promote "initiative and entrepreneurship" in particular.
Scholarship holder Amal Aarab stated in her application that she could imagine setting up a business one day.
A wish that was still nourished by the scholarship, as she says.
Party-affiliated organizations for the promotion of talented students
Party-affiliated foundations should contribute to political education in Germany.
Although, as the name suggests, they are each related to a specific party, they are formally independent of them.
How much money a foundation receives from the state depends on the election results of the respective party in the federal election.
Currently there is a party-affiliated foundation of the SPD, the CDU, the CSU, the FDP and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen.
The AfD's foundation will probably also receive state funding in the future.
The foundations fulfill their educational mandate, for example, with events or research projects - or through grants that support young people in their scientific training.
However, the fact that the foundations are close to parties does not mean that a party book is a prerequisite for a scholarship. Some of the scholarship holders are politically active, for example Zara Dilan Kiziltas, supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, sits on the Heidelberg city council for the Left. Others, such as Ammar Kamel, a scholarship holder of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which is close to the FDP, are members of the youth organization of the respective party. However, some scholarship holders have no connections whatsoever with the parties. Scholarship holder Inga Lahrsen, for example, appreciates that "only a minority is really politically active" at the green Heinrich Böll Foundation.
However, the foundations usually want applicants to be able to identify with the values of the foundation.
So it can be an advantage to apply to the foundation whose mother party you are closest to - even if you are not active there yourself.
Religious scholarships for gifted students
In addition to political foundations, there are also religious foundations that support students.
The Protestant and Catholic Churches have study programs for this purpose, and there is also a Muslim and a Jewish organization for the promotion of talented students.
Here, too, one does not necessarily have to belong to the relevant religion for all works in order to receive a scholarship.
However, the religious works are usually stricter in terms of denomination than the party-affiliated foundations in terms of party affiliation.
The Catholic Cusanuswerk, for example, only supports Catholic students.
There are exceptions to the Muslim Avicenna Works and the Jewish Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk, for example if someone is studying Islam or Judaism.
The Protestant Studienwerk Villigst, on the other hand, does not require membership in the Protestant Church.
The non-material support also includes other content than purely religious in all works.
Esra Eroğlu, Avicenna scholarship holder, is involved in a working group on inclusion that organizes workshops and creates guidelines on accessibility.
Roger Schwertfeger, a scholarship holder of the Protestant Studienwerk, reports that it even sent its own delegation to the climate conference in Glasgow.
Germany scholarship
The Deutschlandstipendium is not one of the organizations promoting the gifted, but it is one of the largest grantors. In 2020 alone, 28,000 students were funded with the Germany Scholarship. Scholarship holders also receive EUR 300 per month as well as non-material support through seminars and networks. Half of the Deutschlandstipendium is paid by the federal government and half by private sponsors.
The application process differs slightly from that at the gifted sponsorship organizations.
A special feature is that the personal biography is also taken into account.
This supports people who have overcome "personal hurdles" during their education.
Scholarship holder Robin End explains what such a thing can be: he was influenced by the fact that his parents separated during his school days - he also reported on this in his application.
