DScholarships and the word nord are closely related to many people. Scholarships are not just for students and students with the best grades – regardless of whether they have been acquired through talent or hard work. In addition to eleven classic, largely talented institutions such as the German National Academic Foundation, there are more than six thousand scholarships in Germany, which also cover numerous unusual niches. There are funding programs for young owl researchers, for Jewish singers, or for children in need of Bavarian doctors – and recently there is another section: the “Anti-Zick Scholarship” builds a career. The only measure is: be different.
But is it enough? In Germany, the two leading universities in Witten-Hardek and Friedrichshafen are currently trying to bridge the gap. It sounds like this: “Are you a long-term student and proud of it? Are you from China and studying viticulture in Germany?” Thus the “Bird of Paradise Wanted” scholarship program continued to attract unusual applicants until January 2014. Scholarship founders are not intentionally looking for top candidates with an excellent CV, but for those who have mastered the art of living and have a special story to tell.
“There are no hard and fast standards like good grades, requirements or commitment,” explained Thomas Bezler, who created the scholarship with Mira Mayer, managing director of Witten / Hardke University’s “Transparent Student Support Initiative.” . Bezler himself comes from a working-class family and is now the managing director of insurance broker Mavista near Stuttgart, which assists Witten / Hardke. With the scholarship, which is worth 500 euros per month for one year, he wants to enable people on the same path to study. In January, one of the five most attractive applicants will be selected online.
“Anti-Nord Group”
Germany’s smallest university, Friedrichshafen’s Zeppelin University (ZU), wants to diversify the bodies of its students. His “Scholarships for Being Different” targets twelve “anti-Zick groups”, apparently “students”, children or dropout students from the university. Scholarship holders do not receive a living allowance, but tuition fees at private foundation universities are waived.
Corinna Scholz was one of the first twelve scholarship holders and began her studies in communication and cultural studies in September. During her school days, she was bullied, her parents suddenly lost their jobs, and the financial situation at home has deteriorated ever since. The nineteen-year-old jumped from hopschool to real school and then to the gymnasium. Karina is the first person in her family to graduate from high school. “I depend on being able to stay home because my parents can’t support me financially,” said the high school graduate. So only the offer near Lake Constance came into question. He more or less accidentally discovered the JU scholarship. “I didn’t even know about the scholarship because I assumed I wouldn’t have the opportunity.” He was a believer in election interviews. “If I hadn’t got the scholarship, I wouldn’t be studying today.”
According to a study by Allensbach on student financing published in 2010 and still current, about six percent of all students have already received scholarships. Most come from academic families. Thomas Bezler, founder of the Stuttgart Scholarship, says, “Many educational children are already on their parents’ side, with more support during school and more financially.” It receives about ten applications per day, from more than five hundred. Applicants come almost exclusively from non-academic families, about 80 percent have a migration background and are older than the average student.