Studierendenwerk Bremen und Hochschulen starten BAföG-Kampagne

The Studierendenwerk Bremen, together with the University of Bremen, the Hochschule Bremen (HSB), the HfK Bremen and the Hochschule Bremerhaven, is running a BAföG campaign from April 13 to 17. The aim is to encourage more eligible applicants to make use of their BAföG entitlement and not be intimidated by myths.

Misconceptions about their own eligibility, the funding conditions and the repayment modalities prevent many students from submitting an application at all. Although more students are entitled to BAföG benefits, the number of applications nationwide is stagnating or even declining.

"With the BAföG campaign, we want to ensure that students are better informed about the BAföG guidelines and submit an application on bafoeg-digital.de. The parents' income limit in particular is almost always overestimated. Even with a parental income of over €80,000 gross per year, there may still be an entitlement. For example, if siblings are in education. In addition, allowances are deducted so that the qualifying income is usually much lower. An application is almost always worthwhile," says Stephanie Benke, Head of the Office for Educational Support at Studierendenwerk Bremen.

A representative survey of over 22,000 students in Germany ("Warum Studierende trotz Anspruch kein BAföG beantragen - und wie Informationen helfen können", Fraunhofer FIT/Max Planck Institute) has shown that 70% of those eligible do not apply for BAföG. Of these, over 82% wrongly assume that they are not entitled - often because they massively underestimate their parents' income limits. A further 13.2% do not apply despite being entitled for fear of falling into debt, with three quarters of this group greatly overestimating the actual repayment.

"We want to refute myths, make opportunities visible and motivate students to exercise their right to BAföG. BAföG is a fair, state-guaranteed grant that creates financial freedom during your studies and half of it is even a gift," continues Benke.

Various online and offline channels of the participating universities and the Studierendenwerk Bremen are being used for the campaign. The central point of contact is the website www.stw-bremen.de/de/bafoeg/bafoeg-mythen, which bundles fact checks, calculation examples and application assistance.