Find out everything about the Corvinus Scholarship  

If there is one topic that has been a constant theme in the last three years, I would say, in relation to admissions and university years, it is the Corvinus Scholarship. Questions are justifiably being raised by prospective and active students alike, as it is a new way of financing scholarships. In reality, however, it is not as complicated as it might first seem.   

The University moved from state to foundation in 2019, which inevitably changed some things about the scholarship places.  

The first change is that the Scholarship is not automatically awarded for the whole course, but only for the first year. A ranking is held at the end of the year, i.e. after two semesters, and who has completed a minimum of 46 credits in that year, with a 3.8 (credit-weighted) grade point average, is likely to continue with a scholarship for the following year. It is also important that the number of Corvinus Scholarship students is not decreasing, so there is a really good chance of staying in the top three. It is also possible to apply for English-language courses, so this is not an obstacle to receiving funding.  

Under the previous system, it was only possible to get a government-funded place if others dropped out at the same time. At Corvinus, however, there is a much greater likelihood of free tuition for good results, so those who started their studies on a self-financing basis should not be discouraged.    

After obtaining a diploma, there is no obligation to complete years of training in the country, and the good news is that the number of government-funded semesters is not reduced. E.g. a student can apply for a scholarship place, who has used all 12 government-funded semesters.   

To continue the list of benefits, from 2021 onwards, students do not have to pay a language contribution as it is also covered by the Scholarship.  

However, the foundation grant does not support housing as opposed to government housing, nor does it support livelihoods, which can be funded more smoothly by applying for separate grants. It is important to note, however, that if the student does not complete the course within twice the training period, they will be obliged to repay the amount of the scholarship. The number of semesters supported is always equal to the number of semesters of the course. If the course is six semesters long, six semesters are subsidised, with the possibility to apply for a fairness award in justified cases.   

Finally, here are some encouraging facts to show that it is not impossible to win the Scholarship. In 2022, almost 70% of full-time bachelor’s programme students and 90% of full-time master’s programme students were studying free of charge.  

Written by: Valter Tóth  

The original article was published first on Közgazdász Online (Economist Online).