Am I eligible to receive BAföG between receiving my bachelor’s degree and starting my master studies?
In terms of BAföG eligibility, your university education is seen as ending in the month when you receive notification of the result of your successfully finished studies, but at the latest two months after the month in which you took your last exam. Whether you are still enrolled thereafter is not relevant in terms of BAföG eligibility. This holds true even if you retake an exam in attempt to improve the results of your free shot.
If you begin your master studies immediately upon finishing your bachelor’s degree, this is considered a new phase of your education as per § 2 para. 5 BAföG. Your eligibility to receive BAföG might begin in the month when you master classes begin. However, you will need to submit a new BAföG application.
The Financial Aid Office will first check when you received notification of your successfully completed bachelor studies and, based on that, when you stopped being eligible to receive BAföG for your bachelor studies.
If you finished your bachelor studies two months before you began your master studies (e.g. bachelor exam in August and your master program began in October), you can receive temporary financial aid as per § 15 b para. 2 BAföG for the month of September if you filed your application for BAföG for your master studies by no later than the end of September.