Meet Mario Kolar: He is the first student to make use of our ISA for living expenses
Mario is studying real estate and construction management at the public Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. In doing so, he is pursuing the goal of making this industry future-oriented.
Even after my school days, I didn’t know what career direction I wanted to take for a long time. I came to the construction industry by chance. In 2017, I received a job offer in this field and got the opportunity to start over in a new city – in a different profession and social environment. It was here I realized that this is exactly what I wanted to do and started my studies.
Before I started my dream studies, I researched my financing options and took out a student loan with KfW. While researching, I also came across CHANCEN eG and found the offer interesting. However, at that time, financing for living expenses was not yet offered. A few months later, I tried again and was pleased to receive a positive response – I subsequently looked more deeply into the concept of the cooperative and the ISA. I liked the flexibility and the fact that my repayments are used to enable others to pursue their studies. The minimum income threshold and therefore the security of being able to follow up with a master’s degree directly after my bachelor’s degree convinced me to switch from KfW to CHANCEN eG.
The application process at the cooperative was quite extensive and, unlike what I was used to, revolved a lot around character and personal aspects. I always felt looked after. I was surprised at the beginning at how quickly everything went. I was not used to that from KfW and was all the more pleased about it.
I had underestimated some of the costs involved in financing my living expenses at the beginning of my studies. In addition, the costs for rent, food, etc. are becoming more and more expensive – especially as a student right now, it’s all a bit up in the air. Through CHANCEN eG, I had the opportunity to switch to a lower-paid working student job, which, however, offers me more perspective than the better-paid one I had previously held.
I see my future in project development. One of my dreams is to further develop the concept of residential buildings in which a variety of social classes can live due to the price structure and in which a social mix is encouraged. Lawyers and bricklayers should be able to live in the same apartments, regardless of how much they earn. This can be made possible by over- and underpayments: the lawyer pays more than the bricklayer, thus creating social diversity within the house and the society. I got this inspiration from CHANCEN eG.
You can find more information on our living expenses ISA here.
