How many universities should you apply to for a scholarship application?

For DAAD and other German scholarships, 3-6 universities are recommended. Too few will reduce your chances, too many will make your motivation letters insufficient.

#Optimum Number: 3-5 Universities

#Specific to DAAD Master Studies

• A maximum of 4 universities can be selected in the application
• Priority order is specified (Erstwunsch, Zweitwunsch, Drittwunsch, Viertwunsch)
• DAAD evaluates while maintaining your priority

#Strategy: University Diversity

#University Selection Criteria

#1. Program Compatibility

• Do the Master's program admission criteria suit you?
• Is your Bachelor's degree in the accepted fields?
• Is your German/English proficiency sufficient?

#2. City/Location Preference

• Large city (Berlin, München) vs small city (Heidelberg, Tübingen)
• Difference in cost of living
• Size of the international student community

#3. DAAD Priority List

• DAAD has special agreements with some Universitäten (Excellence Universities)
• TU, Charité, Bayreuth, Konstanz etc. are generally preferred
• You can find out by searching for "DAAD partnerships"

#4. Professor/Department Recommendations

• If you want to pursue a Master's under a specific professor → the Universität where they are located is a priority
• For Sandwich Programmes, your advisor's connection in Germany is important

#University Number Strategy

#Few (1-2 Universitäten)

Advantages:

• Motivation letter is very detailed + specific
• Strong professional communication (started beforehand)
• High chance of success (if accepted)

Disadvantages:

• No alternative if rejected
• May require re-application during the waiting period

#Medium (3-4 Universitäten)

Advantages:

• Diversity (different cities, different programs)
• Alternatives available if rejected
• DAAD can maintain priority

Disadvantages:

• Writing a separate motivation letter for each Universität takes time
• Document repetition (new sets of documents for each Universität)

#Many (5+ Universitäten)

Advantages:

• Very broad range of alternatives
• General scope

Disadvantages:

• Motivation letter might be a template (impersonal)
• DAAD evaluation committee will notice the difference (weak motivation)
• It becomes unclear which Universität you truly want to attend

#Practical Strategy (Recommended)

#Step 1: Candidate List of 6-8 Universitäten

• Filtering with the DAAD database
• Program compatibility with you
• City/program diversity

#Step 2: Narrow Down to 3-5 Universitäten

• Most compatible programs
• Advantage of DAAD partnerships
• Universitäten where previous international scholarship holders gave good references

#Step 3: Prioritize

• Erstwunsch (1st choice): The one you want most
• Zweitwunsch (2nd choice): Backup + good option
• Drittwunsch (3rd choice): Alternative
• Viertwunsch (4th choice): Last chance

#Common Mistakes

• Applying to only one Universität — if rejected, the scholarship chance for that year is lost
• Applying to 6+ Universitäten — motivation letters become lifeless, generic
• Applying to 2 Master's programs at the same Universität — program choice appears confused
• High prestige but low compatibility — applying to TUM/RWTH for a program not suitable for your Bachelor's

#For Other Scholarships

#For KAAD, KAS, FES

• 2-3 Universitäten are sufficient — these are smaller programs
• Political/religious foundation network connection is important

#For Erasmus+

• 1-2 Universitäten — your Turkish Universität's partnerships are limited
• Which German Universitäten does your Turkish Universität have Erasmus agreements with?

#Important

• If you submit incomplete documents, your application will be rejected — double-checking is essential
• Universität application + DAAD application are done in parallel — the Zulassungsbescheid is submitted to DAAD
• The Universität's application deadline (generally July 15th) is before the DAAD deadline — don't be late!

Related: DAAD documents | DAAD dates