BAföG
The Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) gives students who do not have enough money to live on and fund their education the legal entitlement to individual support for an education that fits their interests, aptitude and skills. The amount of this funding is determined based on the needs, income and assets of the student, their parents and, if relevant, their spouse.
Advice and application
Amt für Ausbildungsförderung des Studierendenwerkes Bonn AöR is responsible for handling BAföG applications. It can give you information on whether it would be worthwhile applying for educational assistance based on your income or that of your parents or spouse and, if so, what amount you would roughly be likely to receive. Staff at the Amt für Ausbildungsförderung will need details of your family’s financial situation (e.g. income, number of children in education) before they can give you any advice.
Good to know....
01.
Documents required
The best thing to do is to take the relevant documents along with you to your consultation at the Amt für Ausbildungsförderung, such as your parents’ income tax assessment from the calendar year before last. Various exempt amounts can be deducted from their monthly income. After all such deductions have been made, an “offset amount” may remain that your parents will be able to put toward funding your education in accordance with the law. Your entitlement and individual BAföG amount will then be calculated based on this amount.
02.
When should I apply?
You should apply as soon as possible (two to three months before the beginning of the semester) so that payments can start as soon as you commence your studies. The financial assistance is initially granted for 12 months. The best time to apply for an extension to your support is two to three months before the start of the following semester to prevent your payments being interrupted.
03.
Amount of funding
The maximum amount of assistance for students not living with their parents amounts to:
- up to the age of 24 (covered by family insurance) €855 per month
- up to the age of 29 (in accordance with student health and care insurance rates) €992 per month
- from the age of 30 (paying voluntary statutory health insurance) €1,088 per month
BAföG recipients with children under the age of 10 receive an additional childcare supplement of €160.00 per month for each child.
A one-off grant of €1,000 to enable commencement of studies can be awarded to applicants under the age of 25 who are in receipt of benefits such as accommodation benefit or Bürgergeld before they commence their studies, and is designed to facilitate the transition to a first degree program. This payment can be awarded to applicants independently of any subsequent BAföG funding and is not offset against the BAföG received.
Up-to-date information is available from the BMBF here: www.bafög.de.
04.
Changing subject
Continued BAföG funding is also possible in the event that a student decides to change the subject that they study. Students wishing to change subject up to the beginning of the fourth semester are usually not even required to state grounds for doing so (general presumption). Funding can continue if a student changes subject up to the start of the fifth semester if they are able to present evidence of an important reason for doing so. An important reason can include, for example, a lack of intellectual, psychological or physical aptitude for their current degree program or a fundamental change of inclination.
The situation is different for those wishing to change subject for a second time or those wishing to change subject for the first time after the fifth semester. In such cases, students are required to stipulate an important reason or compelling grounds for doing so. A change of focus with no implication for funding means that a student changes between degree programs of identical content, or if all the semesters completed within the scope of the previous degree program are subject to complete credit transfer to the new degree program.
Up-to-date information is available from the BMBF here: www.bafög.de.
05.
Duration of funding
The maximum funding period depends on the chosen subject and the standard period of study of a degree program plus a “flexibility semester”. The latter feature allows for a one-off extension of the standard period of study by one semester in a bachelor’s or master’s degree program. If the Higher Education Act of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and/or the study and examination regulations as the applicable legal regulations stipulate an extension to the standard period of study in order to acquire language skills, this extended standard period of study shall determine the maximum funding period. However, this does not apply to German, English, French or Latin.
Funding will be granted for a reasonable period of time after the end of this maximum period if it has been exceeded for a good reason (such as illness, the need to care for close family member, involvement in university bodies, following a failure to pass the final examination at the first attempt, as a result of a disability or pregnancy or to care for a child up to the age of 14).
Up-to-date information is available from the BMBF here: www.bafög.de.
06.
Repayment
Students are not required to start making repayments of the interest-free loan (50 percent of the financial assistance granted) until after the career entry phase, which is five years after the end of the maximum funding period. The total amount a student can borrow is capped at €10,010 (regardless of the total amount of funding) and must be repaid in monthly installments of at least €130. However, repayment can be suspended if the student is not earning enough money. Details are available from the Federal Office of Administration (BVA) in Cologne: www.bva.bund.de.
467,595
students receive BAföG
€ 2.3
billion
total student funding
€579
average funding per month
BAföG-Statistics 2021, Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis, 2022)
More information
Funding under BAföG
Students who have not been able to complete their degree within the maximum BAföG funding period can apply for financial support for up to 12 months after the end of this period. They will only be granted this additional assistance if they are admitted to an examination within four semesters of the end of the maximum funding period and the university confirms that they will be able to complete their studies within the time covered by the extra funding for the final stages of their degree. This support is provided as a full interest-free loan and will have to be repaid.
Continued support will be provided for a master’s degree program if completing the previous bachelor’s degree is a requirement for proceeding to the master’s and it is a self-contained program continuing in the same (or a related) discipline (consecutive master’s degree program).
Students can continue to receive BAföG funding for a second degree if completing a second degree program is absolutely essential in order to enter their chosen profession (e.g. oral and maxillofacial surgeons will need degrees in dentistry and human medicine).
An internship outside the university can be funded by BAföG if it is a mandatory requirement in accordance with the examination regulations for the relevant degree program.
A student spending time abroad in a member state of the European Union (EU) or in Switzerland can obtain full funding at German rates from the start of their period abroad until they obtain their foreign university degree.
Studies forming part of cross-border cooperation between a German and one or more foreign universities can be funded for the relevant period of time spent abroad.
Time spent at a university outside the EU or Switzerland will be funded for one year if the course in question is beneficial for the student’s education and at least some of the work that they complete abroad can be credited toward their program in Germany.
Online BAföG applications
This video provides a brief explanation of how the online application for BAföG works.
BAföG Digital - So funktioniert der schnelle Online-Antrag
Bild © FLASH / YouTube
Deutschlandstipendium
The Deutschlandstipendium scholarship is another way to finance your studies. It is aimed at all students who are enrolled at the University of Bonn and all high school students and prospective students who are looking to start a degree program at the University in the near future. As well as outstanding achievements at school or university, the selection process also takes account of social engagement outside school or university.
Contact information
See also
Scholarships
Besides BAföG, scholarships are a key component of student finance. They are particularly attractive as they are a form of study support that does not usually need to be paid back.
Working while studying
Earn money and gain real-life experience – a part-time job is a welcome help for many students.
Education Loans
Monthly payments during or in the final stages of a degree can be financed via student and education loans granted on favorable terms.