The personal circumstances of prospective students with a disability or chronic illness may be taken into account when applying for a spot in a degree program. To ensure that you, as an applicant in this situation, have equal access to higher education and a fair admissions process, the following information explains the hardship application and measures to compensate for disadvantages in the admissions process. Further information can be found in the information sheet on the admission process for programs with limited enrollment (at Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg).

You can receive counseling

• from the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg
• The Central Student Advising Office at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg
• At The Student Affairs Office at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg
• and from the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses at the Augsburg Student Services Organization

An application for admission under the hardship quota may be submitted if denial of admission would constitute an unreasonable hardship and requiring the applicant to wait would be unreasonable. Under the hardship quota, approval of a hardship application—without consideration of selection criteria (e.g., grade point average, waiting period)—leads directly to admission ahead of all other applicants.

Examples of justified applications:

1. You have a medical condition that tends to worsen and is highly likely to prevent you from coping with the demands of a degree program in the future (specialist medical report).
2. You must give up your current course of study or profession for health reasons; for these reasons, it is not possible to meaningfully bridge the waiting period (medical specialist’s report).
3. You have a physical disability. Due to your impairment, you are either unable to perform any other reasonable work until a college spot is assigned to you, or you would be unreasonably disadvantaged compared to applicants without impairments if you were required to continue waiting (medical expert opinion).
4. Special financial hardship, but only if combined with the circumstances described in items 1 and/or 3 (appropriate documentation required).
5. Special family or social circumstances that require immediate admission (appropriate documentation required).
6. You were admitted to the specified degree program in a previous semester but were unable to enroll for compelling reasons beyond your control (particularly illness). (Proof of the compelling reason). Does not apply to applicants with advance admission!

The hardship case must be substantiated with appropriate supporting documents (e.g., a medical specialist’s report).
The application and supporting documents must be submitted in full digitally by July 15 of the application year.

The medical reports should include information on the origin, severity, progression, and treatment options for the illness, as well as a prognosis regarding its future course, and should be understandable even to medical laypersons. Additional supporting documents may include, for example, a disability ID card, the determination notice from the Social Security Office, and the discharge notice from the German Armed Forces.

Further information and guidance on the hardship application are also available on the website of the German Student Services (Deutsches Studierendenwerk) – Hardship Application in the Admissions Process

Improving the Grade Point Average

The grade point average is a key selection criterion in the allocation of college spots. Therefore, any factors that prevented you from achieving a higher grade point average while earning your high school diploma should be compensated for. If you can provide evidence of such factors and their impact, you may, under certain conditions, be eligible to participate in the admissions process with an improved grade point average.

Justified Applications

In the following examples, an application for an improved grade point average or a reduction in the waiting period can generally be approved:

1. Special social or health-related circumstances:

• Prolonged absence from classes due to illness during the three years prior to obtaining the university entrance qualification (medical specialist’s report)
• Severe disability of 50 percent or more (disability certificate or determination notice from the social security office)
• Prolonged serious illness, unless covered by the points listed above, or comparable special health circumstances (medical specialist’s report)
• Pregnancy during the three years prior to obtaining the university entrance qualification (certificate from a specialist physician or the child’s birth certificate)

2. Special financial circumstances (appropriate documentation required)

3. Relocation to the Federal Republic of Germany

4. Special family circumstances:

• Caring for one’s own minor children, siblings, or relatives in need of care (in the ascending line) during the three years prior to obtaining a university entrance qualification, if no other persons were available to provide care (Birth certificates of the child(ren) or siblings, along with appropriate evidence that no other persons were available to provide care—e.g., a certificate from the social services office or proof of the need for care)
• Loss of a parent during the three years prior to obtaining a high school diploma, provided that you were unmarried at that time and had not yet reached the age of 25 (parent’s death certificate and statement regarding your marital status at that time)
• Repeated changes of school during the three years prior to obtaining a high school diploma due to the parents’ relocation (the applicant’s leaving certificate and the parents’ certificate of residence)
• Membership in the A, B, or C squad of a national sports federation for a continuous period of at least one year during the three years prior to obtaining a high school diploma