Overview

• New dpa surveys report thousands still seeking accommodation in North Rhine-Westphalia, with Cologne allocating about 850 places while 2,500 remain on the waitlist and Bonn and Münster listing roughly 3,000 and 2,200 waiting, respectively.
• In Aachen and Jülich, the Studierendenwerk counts about 11,000 people on the waitlist, up roughly 2,000 from the prior winter semester, as more students try to leave the private market.
• Brandenburg’s Studierendenwerk West cites around 3,300 applications for only 800 spots, including 2,600 applicants in Potsdam for about 580 places available at the 1 October start.
• Studierendenwerk Ost reports average waits of three to four months in Frankfurt (Oder), Eberswalde and Senftenberg, extending to six to twelve months in Cottbus.
• Dorms remain far cheaper than private options—about €323 average in the West—while private studios in Potsdam can cost around €865; short-term coping includes youth-hostel stays and ‘Wohnen für Hilfe,’ as new builds like 423 places in Golm are due from the summer semester.