BWL student, 27, from Bavaria: "The office told me to sue my father"
"Even before I started my studies, I had to apply for Bafög." Actually, I wanted to be a parent-independent student, because I had already worked and I did not have the best contact with my parents, but unfortunately that was not possible.
Two times my Bafög application was rejected because I had not respected the deadlines. But that was not my fault. My father forgot signatures, did not provide evidence, filled out applications incorrectly. And my mother has been living in an accommodation for mentally ill people for 20 years.
Because I missed the deadlines, I had to bridge for a few months without income. That was not easy and only went with part-time jobs. I've been working alongside my studies since the first semester - on Saturdays and Sundays in a bakery on a 450-euro basis. If I live very sparingly, I need 500 euros a month, but then I can really afford nothing more for myself.
I also moved several times because the rent was too expensive. With my current room, I was very lucky, I pay only 200 euros a month. My student loan is 350 euros, of which 92 euros for the health insurance.
According to the Bafög decision, my father would have to give me 400 euros a month because he earns so much. But he does not do that. The office tells me I should sue him. But I would never do that, then I could never go home again. We have now agreed that he gives me 200 euros a month.
I buy my food only at discounters, I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables - but I can not afford organic. If I have money left, I save everything, because soon I would like to do a semester abroad. But I'll probably have to look for a waiter job there, too. "
DPA
Student loan application
Medical student, 31, from Lower Saxony: "Working would not be worthwhile for me"
"I get 1125 Euro Bafög a month, which is more than most of the other students receive, but I'm not a typical student either, I'm 31 years old and have been studying medicine in Lower Saxony for almost three years." Every weekend I travel to my partner to Thuringia We have three children together, and she has brought an older child into the relationship For each birth child, I get a surcharge of 150 euros.
The Bafög application I find quite complicated, especially because we receive various benefits from the state - ie parental allowance, child support and housing subsidy. Actually, I could go to work during the semester break, I'm a trained physiotherapist, but that would hardly be worth it for us. Then we risk that my partner's housing allowance will be cut because my income is rising. In addition, it would be a huge bureaucracy, because I have to communicate any change to the Bafög office.
When I turned 30, I got out of student health insurance. Since then, I pay a hundred euros more. I think that's unfair.
I have to pay attention to the money, the only luxury I can afford is my car - a Skoda station wagon. If I need a new phone, then I can only wish that from my parents. We can not really go on holiday with four children. The last vacation was a long weekend in an apartment in the Lüneburg Heath. "The customer review has been automatically translated from German.
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Legal trainee, 28, from North Rhine-Westphalia: "I found it humiliating to ask the office for money"
"On my first student loan application, I contacted the office several times because I needed help, so I did not reach anyone for a telephone consultation, so I went and gave it my all, and the editor told me everything was complete, four weeks later I received a letter that documents were still missing.
I was to prove that I had tried to reach my dad - whom I had not had contact with for ten years. I should write him a letter. I sent that by registered mail. But that was not enough for the office. I had to send another registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. When he refused to accept it, the office acknowledged that he did not want to contact me.
The editors then took care of it themselves. But I had to repeat the registration procedure every year - even when it was hopeless to get information.
Until he gave out the documents, time passed again. When I asked why it took so long and mentioned that I needed money for food, somebody told me that I could go to the table if I was hungry.
Unbelievable, right? I already felt like a stupid petitioner anyway. I always found it very humiliating to ask the office for money. One co-worker once told me I was lying when I said I would not get any money from my grandparents.
Overall, it took half a year for my application to be approved and I received money. After the second or third application I received a new editor, with her everything works quite smoothly.
Because the student loan was never enough, I had been working alongside my law studies since the first semester. First in a nightclub, later in a bistro, then as a working student with a lawyer. Once when I had to change course because I could not reconcile him with the work, a research assistant told me that I should study business administration, with a side job I could forget Jura. I still graduated, but I needed two semesters longer for that.
I am in favor of the student loan being paid independently of the parent. In that case, those who have rich parents would also be able to afford them, but they would save a great deal of bureaucracy. In addition, the student loan should be adjusted: If you live in Munich, needs more money to live than in Greifswald. "