Second Study & Special Applications

In cases of recognised hardship, applicants are admitted directly to the course of study without consideration of other selection criteria. A maximum of five percent of the study places can be allocated for cases of exceptional hardship. Within this quota, the recognition of an application for hardship cases without consideration of the selection criteria of the selection procedure or after the waiting period leads directly to admission before all other applicants. The ranking is determined by the degree of exceptional hardship. An application for hardship in accordance with §24 HZVO (is this true?) must be justified and proven in detail. The legal basis is paragraphs 22 and 24 of the Hochschulzulassungsverordnung (HZVO) Baden-Württemberg.

A case of exceptional hardship only exists if the applicant's health, social or family circumstances are so serious that he/she cannot reasonably be expected to wait even one semester for admission. You must therefore be in a special exceptional situation. This special exceptional situation must be so serious that you cannot reasonably be expected to wait for a delayed start to your studies. It is important that the reasons are your own, are not your responsibility and exist at the time of application.

The possible reasons include

• special health reasons (e.g. illness with a tendency to aggravate or disability that require an immediate start of the study)
• special family or social reasons (not in case of financial difficulties, maintenance obligations, etc.)
• Late resettlement
• earlier admission and (e.g. due to illness) prevention

An application for hardship for special health reasons can be affirmed under the following conditions:

• Illness with a tendency to aggravate, which will lead to a high probability that in the future it will not be possible to endure the stresses and strains of studying in this degree programme (expert medical opinion).
• Disability due to illness; vocational rehabilitation can only be ensured by immediate admission to the course of study, because the disability does not allow for a reasonable bridging of the waiting period (expert medical opinion)
• Restriction to a narrow field of work due to physical disability; the intended course of study leads to the expectation of successful rehabilitation (medical specialist's report)
• Necessity of giving up one's previous studies or previous profession for health reasons; a meaningful bridging of the waiting period is not possible for these reasons (expert medical opinion)
• Physical disability; the disability prevents any other reasonable activity until the allocation of a place of study (medical certificate)
• Restriction in the choice of profession or exercise of profession as a result of illness; thereby preventing a meaningful bridging of the waiting period (medical specialist's report)

For the evaluation of the applications the guidelines of the Foundation for University Admissions are applied analogously (link). Here you will find further information on justified and unfounded applications.

As a rule, no application for hardship can be justified

• Financial circumstances that require immediate admission to studies,
• Illness or need for care of parents or other relatives

A hardship application for immediate admission to the programme can be made in the online application form and must be uploaded and submitted together with a letter of justification and the required evidence or at the latest by the application deadline (winter semester 15.07./summer semester 15.01.) in the application portal. These deadlines are cut-off dates! Documents submitted after these deadlines cannot be considered for admission. If your application for hardship is rejected, you will still take part in the normal selection procedure.

• medical opinion

In the specialist medical opinion, sufficient comments must be made on the individual criteria mentioned in the respective points (see "special reasons for a hardship application"). The expert opinion should contain statements on the origin, severity, course and treatment options of the disease as well as a prognosis on the further course of the disease. It should also be comprehensible for medical laypersons.

• additional evidence

For example, the severely handicapped person's identity card, the assessment notice of the pension office, the notice of withdrawal from service of the Bundeswehr etc. are suitable.

Application for compensation for disadvantages (improvement of the average mark)

With this special request, you can claim circumstances that have prevented you from achieving a better average mark.

The average grade is an essential selection criterion for the allocation of study places. Therefore, the aim is to compensate for performance impairments which have prevented applicants from achieving a better average grade/score when acquiring their higher education entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur). If such circumstances and their effects are proven, the application for admission with an improved average grade/score will be included in the award procedure. It should be noted here that the focus is not only on the Abitur examination itself, but also on performance in the upper school years leading to the Abitur.

Application for compensation for disadvantages (improvement of the waiting period)

With this special application, you can assert circumstances that have prevented you from obtaining your university entrance qualification earlier.

The waiting period is calculated from the time you acquire your university entrance qualification. However, there may be circumstances which have delayed the acquisition of the higher education entrance qualification. Applicants will then have less waiting time. In this case, the waiting period will be taken into account on the basis of an earlier date on which the higher education entrance qualification was acquired. The applicants concerned can then participate in the selection with a waiting period which would probably have been reached without the delays.

1.) Reasoned applications for a disadvantageous grade

Special health conditions

• prolonged absence from education due to illness during the last three years before obtaining the university entrance qualification (specialist medical opinion)
• Prolonged severe disability or illness (medical certificate)
• Other comparable special health conditions (medical certificate)
• Pregnancy of the applicant during the last three years before obtaining the university entrance qualification (medical certificate or birth certificate of the child)

Special economic circumstances

• Appropriate documents are required as proof.

Other comparable special social circumstances

• Appropriate documentation required for verification.

Special family circumstances

• Care of own minor children in the last three years before acquiring the university entrance qualification (birth certificates of the children)
• Care of relatives in need of care in the ascending line or of siblings in the last three years before acquiring the university entrance qualification (certificate of classification in care levels 3 to 5 (formerly care levels II or III) according to the Social Security Code XI or medical certificate of the need for care)
• Care of unprovided for underage siblings who lived with the applicant in the same household as the applicant during the last three years prior to obtaining the university entrance qualification (birth certificates of the siblings)
• Loss of one parent in the last three years before acquiring the university entrance qualification or loss of both parents before acquiring the university entrance qualification, provided that the applicant was single at that time and had not yet reached the age of 25 (death certificates of the parents and declaration of marital status at that time)
• Several changes of school in the last three years before acquiring the university entrance qualification due to relocation of parents (leaving certificates as well as registration certificates of parents)
• Other comparable special family circumstances (documents suitable for proof)

2.) Reasoned applications for a disadvantage equal to the waiting period

Special health conditions

• Prolonged absence from school due to illness (specialist medical opinion)
• Severely handicapped person of 50 or more percent (assessment notice from the pension office + certified copy of the severely handicapped person's ID)
• Prolonged severe disability or illness (medical certificate)
• Other comparable special health conditions (medical certificate)
• Pregnancy of the applicant during the school period (medical certificate or birth certificate of the child

Special economic circumstances

• Appropriate documentation required for verification.

Other comparable special social circumstances

• Appropriate documentation required for verification.

Special family circumstances

• Care of own minor children during school time (birth certificates of the children)
• Care of relatives in need of care in the ascending line or of siblings during their own school years (certificate of classification in care levels 3 to 5 (formerly care levels II or III) according to the Social Security Code XI or medical certificate of the need for care)
• Care of unprovided for underage siblings who lived with the applicant in the applicant's home during their own schooling (birth certificates of the siblings)
• Loss of one parent or loss of both parents prior to the acquisition of the university entrance qualification, provided that the applicant was unmarried at that time and had not yet reached the age of 25 (death certificates of the parents and declaration of marital status at that time)
• Multiple changes of school due to relocation of parents (leaving certificates and registration certificates of parents)
• Other comparable special family circumstances (documents suitable for proof; e.g. the following special family circumstances come into consideration: Applicant*had already previously pursued the desired course of study and had demonstrably worked towards it, but the course of study had to be postponed in view of special family obligations, for example, because under-age children had to be looked after or because a job was necessary in order to finance the spouse's studies without recourse to state support

The guidelines of the Foundation for University Admissions are applied analogously for the evaluation of applications. Here you will find further information and details on justified and unfounded applications.

Application

• An application to compensate for the disadvantage of the average grade and/or waiting period can be made in the online application form and must be uploaded and submitted together with a letter of motivation and the required evidence or at the latest by the application deadline (winter semester 15.07./summer semester 15.01.) in the application portal. These deadlines are cut-off dates! Documents submitted after these deadlines cannot be considered for admission. If your application for hardship is rejected, you will still take part in the normal selection procedure.

Evidence

1.) Application for compensation for disadvantages (improvement of the average grade)

• You must enclose certified copies of your school reports as proof of the drop in performance. As a rule, a report from the school (not the teacher!) must be submitted as further proof - because only the school can assess whether and to what extent the stressful circumstances have affected your school performance. The report must also state the exact average grade or score you would have achieved if the reason for application had not occurred. You can find out what content the school report must have and what requirements the report must meet on the homepage of hochschulstart.de.

• In addition, you must enclose with your application all documents on which the school report is based (e.g. certificates and specialist medical reports).

• A school report can only be dispensed with if the school is not in a position to prepare it. In this case, you will need to obtain an expert opinion from a pedagogically and psychologically trained person at your own expense. You must also enclose with your application all the documents on which the pedagogical-psychological report is based (e.g. certificates and specialist medical reports). You must also enclose the school's notification that it was unable to provide a school report

2.) Application for compensation for disadvantages (improvement of the waiting period)

• A certificate from your school stating the reason for and duration of the delay in obtaining the right to study, as well as any other documents suitable as proof of the reason for the delay.

Applicants who are members of a national A, B or C squad or a comparable selected team as well as teams of the highest league of a national association of the German Olympic Sports Confederation

Application

The application for a location commitment in the public interest can be made in the online application form and must be uploaded and submitted together with a letter of justification and the necessary evidence or at the latest by the application deadline (winter semester 15.07./summer semester 15.01.) in the application portal. These deadlines are cut-off dates! Documents submitted after these deadlines cannot be considered for admission. If your application for hardship is rejected, you will still take part in the normal selection procedure.

Evidence

• Proof of membership of a national cadre (A, B, C or D/C cadre) of a top professional association in the German Olympic Sports Federation
• Proof of local training and club name

If you have already been admitted to a course of study at Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences at the beginning or during your voluntary service, you may be given preferential admission within the framework of the pre-selection process.

According to §30 of the Hochschulzulassungsverordnung (HZVO), the service counts as a service:

• Maximum of three years of service with the German Armed Forces, the former Federal Border Guard or the Federal Police,
• voluntary military service according to the law on compulsory military service,
• Federal voluntary service according to the Federal Voluntary Service Act
• Voluntary social/ecological year (even if it did not last a full year),
• a one-year European Voluntary Service or "other service" (if recognised by the Federal Office of Administration),
• at least two years' service as a development aid worker under the Development Aid Workers Act
• Care or nursing of a child or other relative in need of care (first and second degree) for up to three years (proof by birth certificate/medical certificate and credible/supported declaration that other persons were not available).

If you have been awarded a study place, you may be admitted to the same course of study in the two application periods following the end of the service period with priority over all other applicants (so-called preselection according to §30 HZVO). Therefore, please revoke your notification of admission.

You can apply for preferential admission to the same course of study in a new online application. In addition to your application, please submit your previous letter of admission and an officially certified copy of your service record, or proof that you are looking after a child or relative. The service period must be at least 6 months.