Study Loans For Students In Germany
Since early 2005, when new rules regarding the tuition fees were set by the Constitutional Court, alternative loan schemes in Germany have been developed. Until that time some banks had already presented plans for student loans (German: Studentenkredite). Long after the DKB (Deutsche Kredit Bank) had implemented the first academic credit supply together with Career Concept, the world’s first provider of educational funds, in October 2005 also the Deutsche Bank began to offer student loans. Meanwhile, there are several offers from other private and public banks, including the KfW.
The “dbStudentenKredit” of the Deutsche Bank can be taken by any student at a German university or college, regardless of the study subject. The maximum age is 30 years. As a prerequisite for the award of a “dbStudentenKredit” the bank requires a detailed study plan. All future courses of study shall be listed up and the main intention regarding the later career plans should be explained. In addition, the bank gets some information about the creditworthiness of the students from the Schufa book that lists up the financial details of every German inhabitant. These two categories of information give the bank a certain amount of security.
In the 1st and 2nd Semester one can get a maximum of 200 euros per month for living expenses and tuition fees. Later on at a further stage of the study one gets up to 800 euros. The interest rate is variable. After a student has finished his studies the interest and the total amount of money that has to be paid back is determined by a new contract. In the first year after the end of study no repayments have to be made. In total the students have 12 years left to repay the loan (Studentenkredit) including the interest to the German bank. But it is also possible to settle the total debt at once.
The Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (Credit Institute for Reconstruction), was created shortly after the 2nd World War with the goal of supporting the restoration of the German country. Since April 2006, also the KfW bank offers a student loan for people studing for their first degree.
The KfW Student Loan (Studentenkredite) does not call for many background information, but it is not approved in the case of a private bankruptcy. Furthermore it is free for all German students (also EU foreigners) and for all state-recognized universities. The only conditions are that the applicant has not yet ended his studies and not yet reached an age of 31.
Find out more about the student loan (German: Studienkredite)situation in Germany and visit my blog about Studienkredite. Various possibilities of student funding in Germany discussed further.
