Scholarship winners will spend 10 weeks in Germany on average. The trip occurs during late-November to early-February each year.
During your time in Germany, you have the opportunity to experience a European winter, attend a German school with your host sibling, celebrate the holiday season, make lifelong friendships with your host family members, one week of independent free travel and partake in a 3 day excursion to Berlin.
The selection process involves two stages: a written application round, followed by an interview round.
Successful applicants will be informed within a month of their written application if they have been short-listed for an interview. Applicants who have not been informed of an interview within two months should assume that they have been unsuccessful.
The interviews will take place over two days in a weekend in July. On the first day of the selection weekend, students will attend “Kaffee und Kuchen”, hosted by GASS (SAGSE Alumni). On the second day, students will partake in individual interviews in front of a panel of SAGSE members. This will involve a small section speaking in German. However, students are not assessed on their language proficiency, but rather on their willingness to try.
Some of the attributes of an outstanding candidate may include:
The application process involves three steps:
The online application process requires you to complete 5 parts:
Scholarship winners receive paid return airfares from their hometown to their destination in Germany, and a paid Berlin Camp excursion. However, there are expenses which include the GASS Germany Wintercamp (approximate cost $200), Health and Travel Insurance (approximate cost $300) and train tickets (Approximate cost $200-300). Further, students will require their own spending money to last them the duration of the exchange.
No. All scholarship winners will travel together on the same flights, alongside a “Group Leader” who will be there to support all students leading up to, and during the entirety of the exchange. When a scholarship recipient is living with their host family, they must stay with their German host sibling or their family and are prohibited from travelling independently.
The SAGSE scholarship is a unique program which includes 7 days of Independent Travel for the scholarship winners. Scholarship winners are entitled to plan their own itinerary in which they may travel to any cities within Germany. During free travel students must only travel within Germany during specific dates. Students must travel in groups, maintain strong contact with their Group Leader, and follow SAGSE’s guidelines during this time.
The German Australian Student’s Society, GASS, is an alumni organisation run by students who have taken part in the SAGSE scholarship exchange. GASS members give back to the SAGSE community by running events for the hosting and scholarship programs, and providing support to new scholarship winners. Scholarship winners automatically become a GASS member once they arrive back in Australia after the exchange.
No. The SAGSE Scholarship program is separate from our hosting program. You may host as well as applying for the SAGSE scholarship, however hosting is not a requirement.
No. Students are only eligible for the scholarship during year 11 or 12, or equivalent. However, you are eligible to Host a Student.
Yes. We encourage all German students to apply, regardless of whether you are enrolled in VCE, VSL, IB, or equivalent.
Yes. The school a student comes from will not influence your success in your application or interview. In past years, students have been selected from private and public schools located all over metro and regional Australia. You may view our honour roll here.
You are not eligible if you hold German citizenship.
However, you are eligible to apply for a scholarship if you hold an Australian/New Zealand Citizenship. You are also eligible to apply if you have permanent residency in Australia, assuming that you do not have German citizenship. If you have a unique situation, please email us prior to submitting your application via selection.vic@sagse.org.au
Yes, Please download our brochure here.