Problem

The educational gap between the children from high income backgrounds and low income backgrounds is present in almost every country in the world.

There are small statistical differences between countries, but they all share the same result: people from certain disadvantaged groups have more difficulty succeeding in their education and self-expression than privileged people.

These differences arise from many different aspects, such as the financial background or the extracurricular support they receive.

Even in very developed countries such as Germany, these inequalities still exist. For Example:

• A quarter of all students with a migration background cite financial problems as a reason for dropping out of university. This clearly shows that even in a country like Germany, where there are no tuition fees, the financial background still has a decisive influence on the path one will take in the future.
  Source: 21.Sozialerhebungsstudie
• Of 100 non-academic children, only 21 begin studies (compared to 74 children whose parents have an academic background), 15 complete a Bachelor's degree (comparison: 63 children), 8 complete a Master's degree (comparison: 45 children) and only one do a doctorate (comparison: 10 children).
  Source: Hochschulbildungsreport
• People with a migrant background dropout of school more than twice as often as people without a migrant background
  Source: BertelsmannStiftung-Chancenspiegel
• Achievements of ninth-graders "from disadvantaged backgrounds are still more than two school years behind their classmates from privileged backgrounds".
  Source: BertelsmannStiftung–Chancenspiegel
• Financial and psychological differences ensure that not even half of the non-academic children begin their studies with an "Abitur"/A-levels (compared to children whose parents have an academic background: 95%).
  Source: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin

The global scholarship landscape and the range of funding programmes is enormous, but is still too rarely used by the people who would need it most.
Here are some possible examples of reasons why certain groups are still unrepresented:

• Lack of knowledge about the existence of scholarships and funding programmes
• No experience in applications for funding programmes (what is important; how to present yourself, etc.)
• Misconceptions about scholarship holders
• Lack of confidence and support from others
• Missing role models
• No access to a network that could provide help
• And many other reasons...

These problems can be found in different populations and age groups. That's why we at ApplicAid will transform the scholarship system so that those who need help the most will benefit the most.