(October 2022)
How Can I Finance My Studies?
There are many ways to finance your studies.
BAföG
There is a law called, BundesAusBildungsförderungsGesetz (BAföG) that regulates that students may receive monthly monetary support under certain circumstances. Eligibility depends on your own income, but also on that of your parents, due to this there is unfortunately a lot of paperwork. But it’s worth it! An example is that if you are self insured and no longer reside with your family, you can get up to €934!
| Reside with family | Not residing with family | |
|---|---|---|
| under family insurance | 511€ | 812€ |
| self insured | 574€ | 934€ |
You can obtain BAföG for the 6 semesters of the standard period of study. If you get involved in university politics (e.g. in the student council!) you can get monetary support for longer.
From the 5th semester, a certificate of achievement is required in order to receive further support.
Half of the BAföG can be considered as a gift, the other half is an interest-free loan. Four and a half years after the maximum funding period, you’ll start paying back: you have to pay back half the amount, but never more than €10,010. Don’t worry, there are still options for paying in instalments and repaying if you are not able to pay.
The Office for Educational Support of the Studierendenwerk has an advice centre for BAföG, and they are actually also the people who approve the funds. All other questions can be answered there. An assessment for eligibility for BAföG can also be given there.
Bonn-ID (Ausweis)
Those who receive BAföG are also entitled to the Bonn ID card. This is a project of the city of Bonn that gives you a 50% discount on
- Admission to municipal swimming pools,
- Municipal museums,
- Theatres,
- Concerts,
- Events of the local community college,
- Admission fees of municipal music schools,
- Fees of the city library,
- Childcare,
- and an exemption from paying administrative fees from the city of Bonn
Bonn-ID cards can be applied for at the city administrative office.
Jobs
The usual way of raising money is to look for a job. The student council runs a job exchange in the form of a mailing list, on which we forward the relevant job offers that companies send to us.
The Hochschulrechenzentrum and the university also have websites for their respective job offers. All advertisements from all institutes should end up at the university.
For people with an interest in or even prior knowledge of IT things, the private sector is actually a good option. You can use a profile in XING/LinkedIn/… or use one of the many job portals. There are many student jobs that are well paid, especially in our industry.
Scholarships, Loans And Financial Start-up Aid For Freshmen
In addition to BAföG, the StwB also advertises other financing options.
With scholarships, there are many ways to receive not only financial but also non-material support. Grades are often not the most important point, but things like social commitment.
There are also loans for students, from interest-free to low-interest, which can be combined with and without BAföG.
There is start-up assistance specifically for freshmen if you are not able to pay the semester fee.
Housing Benefit And Child Benefit
Housing benefit is federal support for people who cannot afford adequate housing. Unfortunately, it is not BAföG compatible, but offers support for those who cannot obtain BAföG. It can be applied for at the city administrative office.
As long as you are under the age of 25 and you and your parents reside in Germany, your parents will receive child benefit for you. This should benefit you, even if you have moved out of your home!
How To Find A Flat
Student Dormitories
The StwB currently operates 29 residential complexes with around 3,800 places in Bonn, St. Augustin and Rheinbach, which are only for students. There are different rooms with different equipment, but they are always furnished. Depending on the equipment, the rent is between €184 to €492 per month, with electricity, heating and really good broadband Internet included.
You can only live there for the standard period of study, but you can stay longer by volunteering in the dormitories.
You can apply online for free places.
Dormitories Run By Private Providers
In addition to the dormitories of the StwB, there are also some private providers. There are many that are close to our institute. The modalities here depend on the provider.
The Free Housing Market
There are special platforms for shared flats, such as wg-gesucht.de. WGs are usually significantly cheaper than individual flats, because the housing market in Bonn is unfortunately brutally expensive.
Entsprechend bekommt man Einzelwohnungen nur mit viel Fleiß, Glück, Timing und häufig auch einfach guten Beziehungen. Falls es die aktuelle Wohnsituation erlaubt, ist es immer clever antizyklisch zu suchen — also mitten im Semester statt gegen Anfang/Ende, wenn viele auf der Suche sind. Ansonsten hilft leider nur suchen, suchen, suchen.
Accordingly, you can only get individual flats with a lot of diligence, luck, timing and often simply good connections. If you can afford it, it is always wiser to search for flats in the middle of the semester instead of towards the beginning/end when many people are looking. Otherwise, the only thing that helps is search, search, search.
Short Term Solutions And Options
If you need something quick to bridge a gap, there are also offers. The AStA has the Sofafrei project on its website, where people with a free sofa and people without a place to sleep can meet. There is a youth hostel in Bonn on the Venusberg where you can stay very cheaply. Otherwise, there is the base camp in Dottendorf, where you can find a place that is slightly more expensive. Indoor camping takes place there, so you might want to try it out even if you don’t have a housing emergency.
If you require something more medium-term, there is also the temporary living portal zwopo, where you can live furnished for a limited time. The university operates the Zimmerfrei platform, where classic flats can be advertised without shady middlemen.
Last but not least, there is the AStA’s Wohnen für Hilfe project, where you can get accommodation from senior citizens in exchange for help with everyday life and household chores.
Miscellaneous
For international students with problems when looking for accommodation, there is the contact point housing@uni-bonn.de from the International Office of the university. They probably also have opportunities to give additional emphasis to applications to the student dormitories for international students.
In Bonn there is a second home tax, which means that you have to pay 12% of the annual net rent if you move into a secondary home in Bonn. You should therefore register with the city as soon as possible to avoid these additional costs.