DAAD Study Grant

[pinkUnicorn]

vordhosbntwin, I doubt it, they might have started without having the full list yet (I think that's how they started last year, at least that what the DAAD North America facebook status mentioned). You might hear from them next week?

[slal]

My son called to say that he also was accepted today. He is also waiting to hear about the Fulbright. Is one any better than the other?

[vordhosbntwin]

fulbright carries more prestige than the DAAD (can't be very much more, however), but i think their respective cash values are equal.

[slal]

I think that you are right about the prestige part. From what we have read, DAAD can possibly be extended for a year so that the student can complete a two year degree. I haven't read anywhere that this is a possibility for Fulbright. Just curious if anyone knows more....

[doctordestiny]

I think that you are right about the prestige part. From what we have read, DAAD can possibly be extended for a year so that the student can complete a two year degree. I haven't read anywhere that this is a possibility for Fulbright. Just curious if anyone knows more....

The Fulbright can as well, in Germany (according to their website).

And I got the DAAD as well! Yay!

[coffeekid]

Yikes! A lot of activity in this thread all of the sudden! Congrats to those with good news!

Did anyone in this thread apply to the 8-week intensive language course grant? I was told "Early March" as well but haven't heard anything. I know it's only March 3, but it sounds like a lot of people were notified and I haven't heard either way!

[this is the part where you wish me luck!]

[waveaflag]

has anyone else applied for the graduate study scholarship in fine arts? are they on a different schedule? the website says all announcement dates are late march, but i haven't heard anything either way.

additionally, those that were accepted...what specific grant did you apply for?

Edited March 4, 2012 by waveaflag

[slal]

I think my son applied for the graduate study scholarship. He will be attending Hamburg Univ. of Technology for a degree in environmental engineering.

[slal]

Another question...According to the DAAD website, they will pay a stipend of approx. 750 Euros per month. Do they also pay a stipend for rent? We are just trying to figure what out of pocket expenses my son will have. Thanks in advance....

[pinkUnicorn]

Same here - graduate study scholarship to use for a Master's degree (in theoretical physics). I would think that the scholarship for the arts has a different committee, and thus a different timescale than the study one!

slal, I was also wondering about that - they say that a rent subsidy is possible, but it's not clear whether this is just for students with families or for everyone. I'm operating under that assumption that 750/month is all you get, and frankly, it's more than enough to live on. Hamburg is arguably more expensive than many other places in Germany, but it should still suffice. It would be great if your son could get a room in a student residence - those are usually cheaper, so he should definitely start looking into that.

[waveaflag]

you can apply for a rent subsidy if you have proper documentation of a lease and your rental fee is more than 30% of the monthly stipend. they will give you up to 1000 euros/ month. all that info comes in the packet they mail in april.

[slal]

Thanks for the info. A friend of his in Hamburg is looking for a bigger apt. and he is hoping to slip into that one. I think he said that it was either 300 or 350 eu. a month. I don't know if he has to pay utilities on top of that. I have also heard that deposits can be rather steep in Germany as well. But between what he should be able to save over the summer, and the stipend, he should be fine. Thanks again.

[doctordestiny]

you can apply for a rent subsidy if you have proper documentation of a lease and your rental fee is more than 30% of the monthly stipend. they will give you up to 1000 euros/ month. all that info comes in the packet they mail in april.

Oh that's really awesome. I'll probably be living in Munich which is apparently a preeeeetty expensive city. Do they have any stipulation on what kind of housing you can go for and get the subsidy? (ie: I'm sure they won't subsidize a swanky penthouse if I could've gone for something less extravagant)

[vautrin]

just found out I was awarded the scholarship in the end! (originally rejected but apparently about half a dozen extra spots opened up). congratulations to all who were succesful!

[pinkUnicorn]

Thanks for the info waveaflag! I'll be in Munich too, so the rent question is tricky. By the way, for anyone who's not planning to live in a dorm, what will you do about furniture? I gathered that most rooms for rent come bare.

Congrats vautrin! Where will you be in Germany?

[coffeekid]

Well, after much waiting, I'm out. Got an email just now telling me my "application could not be accommodated" for the Intensive Language Study Grant. Pretty painful, but this means I'll be able to actually make some money this Summer.

Best of luck to the rest of you!

[vautrin]

sorry, coffeekid!

pinkunicorn - i'll be studying in berlin at humboldt, hopefully getting my whole masters there. In terms of furniture, though I live in berlin already and when I moved in I got a couple of cheapo things from ikea and the ebay.de kleinanzeigen section (bed, blanket, bookshelf, etc.), less than €100 total, and moved into a WG where there was a bunch of spare furniture floating around. fleamarkets are also good, though I don't know what the situation with that is in München. you can also sometimes find shorter term furnished flats, especially if someone is out of town and subletting, etc. ...

[waveaflag]

vautrin what did they say when you were first rejected then accepted? were you told you would be an alternate or just a flat reject and then an "oh sorry..." kind of deal?

[vautrin]

nope, there was no hint in the original email that I was an alternate, just a flat rejection ... I was a little depressed but had gotten over it and was already making different plans, so I was totally stunned when the message showed up in my inbox. It sounds like they frequently have a sort of wait list (it makes sense the spots would often open up, since so many people applying for the DAAD are probably also applying for the Fulbright)- in the second email they said I was just below the cut off and at the top of the "reserve list", and that I should reply as soon as possible so they could notify others on the list if I didn't want it. but they don't seem to TELL those on the waiting list that they are actually on this list! so, kind of a strange process.

Edited March 14, 2012 by vautrin

[hereslookinateuclid]

So...I've been a lurker here for the past few application cycles, but this is the first time I've had a successful application (yay!), so now I've got some burning questions, and the lady in charge of my program at the FU Berlin has proven herself determined to leave any and all emails unanswered. And of course, I'm just antsy =)

1) For those of you who have also been awarded a DAAD Grad Study Grant: the email said to expect the official package from the Bonn office "in early April." Anyone have an idea of what "early April" has meant in the past? Knowing this won't make the next few weeks go any faster, but...still. I find myself going on the DAAD website every day, just in case they've changed anything that could possibly hint that that package is finally in the mail...

2) Like most of you (I'm assuming), although I've officially got the DAAD, I have not yet been accepted into my MA program, although they know who I am, have seen all my application materials, transcripts, etc, said they'd "be really happy if my DAAD app was accepted," and provided me with a letter for my DAAD app that said as much. The fun part of this is that the lady I corresponded with for months, who wrote the letter, looked over my transcripts and such, etc...is no longer affiliated with the program. The new lady knows I exist, but knows nothing about me, and hasn't answered my emails introducing myself, etc. Kinda freaking out. There's definitely a Numerus Clausus for the program, but...what are the odds of them rejecting me if I have a DAAD scholarship specifically for their program? When I called DAAD New York, Ms. Kim said that the official Bonn office letter will specifically say that my award is for the FU Berlin program I wrote my proposal on, which makes sense. She also said that they had rarely, if ever, had issues with people getting scholarships and being rejected from their programs. Apparently this has only happened when people have lied about their German language capabilities...which I didn't do.

Anyone have wisdom to share? I still have to submit my app to uni assist in mid April, wait 2 weeks for them to go over it and send it to the FU Berlin, then wait at least 4 weeks to get an official answer back from the FU...I'm going INSANE, knowing I have the scholarship, but am still not officially officially in.

Anybody else nervous? Excited? Where/what else is everyone studying?

[vautrin]

not sure when the package will arrive, but re: the application thing, it should be fine but just double check you have all the documentation that they need. my impression is that the german school application process doesn't seem to be super competitive but it is extremely bureaucratic and nitpicking on the documentation side of things. My partner had a DAAD last year and couldn't find his highschool diploma and even though it clearly stated on his highschool transcript that he had graduated it turned into a huge issue (although one that was resolved in the end, fortunately). having some kind of official german test score (Test DAF or Goethe, etc.) is also important. there should be a list of stuff on the uni-assist site, so as long as you have everything covered you're probably good.

and in terms of not having your emails answered, my impression is also that many german academics just don't answer their emails frequently for some reason (not totally sure why but there is definitely a different relation to email and this has been confirmed to me in discussions with several professors), so I wouldn't freak out or interpret it as some kind of negative judgment of you.

[hereslookinateuclid]

thanks for your reply! I actually found out that the person I had been corresponding with in 2011/who wrote the letter/etc was a recent grad student who was covering for the official koordinatorin while she was on some sort of health-related leave, I think. so the person I'd talked to is pretty much the same age as me and super chill, and the real lady who will now not answer emails is more of the old school bureaucratic variety. sigh.

my program is the only one of its kind in Germany (Public History MA at the FU Berlin), and it's rather new. according to the chill lady from last year, they accept around 20 people out of 100 applicants each year, and it's entirely based on grades, so they can't take motivation letters, rec letters from professors, etc into consideration. which doesn't mean I won't send them anyway, just in case...

I don't think my program requires my high school diploma/transcripts, just my college ones...no idea where my high school diploma is =/

Anybody else running into issues? I am jealous of how busy the Fulbright topic is!

[vautrin]

curious if anyone's received the package yet? Ms. Kim told me I should expect it in late March and while it's not terribly late yet I was just slightly concerned - I already live in Germany so I'm not sure if that might screw something up.

[pinkUnicorn]

I just got mine today, and I'm in Canada, so I guess everyone's packages are in the mail! The stamp is from March 28th. So much information O_O!

[hereslookinateuclid]

East or west coast of Canada? I'm in Los Angeles...crawling out of my skin. Was expecting (desperately hoping?) it would come today...I suppose this means I will actually grade those papers I've been putting off...