You can submit this special application if you have already received a letter of admission for the degree program you applied to pursue at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz within the last two semesters, but were unable to begin the degree program due to some form of service.

The following count as service:

• Military service or service with the Federal Border Guard for up to three years;
• Civil service and other services abroad in accordance with section 14b of the Civilian Service Act (ZDG);
• A voluntary social year, a voluntary ecological year, European voluntary service, or the “Weltwärts” support program, lasting at least six months;
• Federal volunteer service;
• At least two years of service as an aid worker;
• Caring for a biological/adopted child under the age of 18 or a relative in need of care for up to three years.

Evidence: previous letter of admission, proof of service (single copy).

You can submit this special application if non-admission to your desired degree program would result in exceptional hardship for you. Exceptional hardship is deemed to exist if special personal health, social, or family reasons make it absolutely necessary for you to commence your studies immediately or to change your place of study immediately. According to case law, these are reasons which, in the event of a delay in commencing studies, would prevent the student from succeeding in their studies from the outset and would result in their exclusion from studies. A spot at the university as part of the hardship case quota is therefore not intended to compensate for previous hardship, but to prevent future hardship.

Reasons

1. Special health reasons relating to the applicant that make it absolutely necessary for the applicant to commence their studies immediately or to change their place of study immediately:
   • Illness with a tendency to worsen, which is very likely to lead to the fact that it will become impossible to cope with the stress of studying on this course in the future
   • The wait time cannot be observed due to illness or disability; immediate admission to the desired degree program is expected to lead to professional rehabilitation
   • Other reasons
2. Special familial and social reasons relating to the applicant that make it absolutely necessary for the applicant to commence their studies immediately or to change their place of study immediately:
   • Local proximity (Mainz and surrounding area) required to ensure nursing or medical care for the applicant; if the location of study is to be changed, proof of current enrollment in the desired degree program at a German university is required
   • Other reasons

According to case law, a particularly strict standard must be applied when deciding whether a case of hardship is at hand and if so, what degree of hardship, as admission in the hardship quota leads to the rejection of another applicant who has not yet been admitted.

A hardship application is also permitted in the event of a change of subject, change of place of study, or a change to a higher semester. Reasons that could have been used in the admission procedure that led to the applicant’s admission to the previous degree program cannot be taken into account.

The following applies to a hardship application for health reasons: The specialist medical report must adequately comment on the individual criteria listed in the possible reasons. If, for example, the reason given for the hardship application is that the wait time cannot be reasonably observed for health reasons, the specialist medical report must explain this fact. The specialist medical report must contain statements about the nature and severity of the illness or disability as well as an individualized prognosis about the further course of the illness. A reference to a statistical probability is not sufficient. The individual probable impact of the illness on the future ability to study is decisive in the assessment of a hardship application for health reasons. The specialist report must also be comprehensible to a medical layperson. An ID card for the severely disabled, an assessment notice from the pension office, or a military discharge notice are suitable as additional proof.

You can submit this special application if particular circumstances have prevented you from obtaining the university entrance qualification at an earlier date. The particular circumstances must be personal to you, and you may not be responsible for causing them.

Evidence

• A description of the circumstances that led to a longer period of school attendance and their impact on the duration of school attendance (issued by the school)
• Determination of the earlier date of the university entrance qualification (issued by the school)

You can submit this special application if particular circumstances have prevented you from achieving a better average grade. The particular circumstances must be personal to you, and you may not be responsible for causing them. This includes applicants who, through no fault of their own, were prevented from reaching their full academic potential.

Reasons

• Prolonged absence from lessons
• Severe disability
• Prolonged serious illness & other health circumstances
• Pregnancy
• Special economic or social circumstances
• Looking after children or underage siblings, caring for relatives
• Loss of one or both parents
• Other family circumstances
• Frequent change of school due to relocation
• Membership of the A, B, or C squad of the national sports associations
• Other comparable circumstances

Evidence

• A description of the circumstances that led to a deterioration in your academic performance, their impact on your performance in the individual subjects and thus on your average grade (issued by the school)
• The last two report cards prior to the occurrence of the impairing event and all subsequent report cards (single copy)
• Determination of the improved grade for each subject under consideration and determination of the improved average grade (issued by the school)