12 Italy DSU Mistakes That Cost International Students the Grant
Most rejected international DSU applications fail on paperwork and timing, not on income. These twelve mistakes come straight from what the 2026/27 calls say leads to exclusion or revocation.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
3 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Fatal mistakes (1–7)
1. Waiting for admission before applying
The earliest 2026/27 calls closed on 21–22 July 2026 (PoliMi later-years, DiSCo). Calls say outright that the DSU deadline is independent of enrolment and binds students who will enrol later. Apply as a prospective student.
2. Sending affidavits or self-declarations
DiSCo and Tuscany refuse any self-certification, affidavit or sworn statement. Income and property must be certified by the competent authority in your country. A notary’s stamp on your father’s own statement is still a self-declaration.
3. Getting certificates for the wrong year
In 2026/27, Lazio wanted 2024 income; ER.GO, Tuscany and EDISU (non-EU) wanted 2025. A perfect file for the wrong year is an incomplete file.
4. Skipping legalisation or translation
Documents must be legalised by the Italian mission (or apostilled where accepted) and translated into Italian. Tuscany excludes, with no chance to fix it, files “totally lacking legalisation” or sent entirely as photocopies instead of originals.
5. Declaring a family income of zero
DiSCo says the family’s declared income cannot total zero and must be consistent with the means needed for a study residence permit. PoliMi applies a minimum linked to the visa means threshold in 2026/27 and says it will check it from 2027/28 for families abroad. If your family is genuinely poor, look at the poor-country certificate route instead.
6. Using the wrong CAF or a home-made ISEE
PoliMi and Padova accept the ISEE parificato only from their own approved CAF. EDISU accepts only the parificato it calculates itself and ignores any value you send. Lazio requires a DiSCo-approved CAF.
7. Failing the first-year credits
Missing 20 credits (35–40 at PoliMi) by 30 November means repaying the grant and the value of your room and meals. EDISU charges a flat €2,700 for an eleven-month residence stay.
Costly mistakes (8–12)
8. Leaving out a family member
Both parents must be listed even if they live apart, plus siblings in the household. ER.GO requires income certificates for adult siblings too. Gaps trigger requests for more documents, which cost weeks.
9. Not confirming the application
Some bodies require a final confirmation step — ER.GO asks for PIN or PEC confirmation in some cases. A saved but unconfirmed form is not an application.
10. Forgetting the IBAN
DiSCo voids the payment if you have not entered an IBAN within six months of the award. At EDISU, missing the 14 December IBAN date can push your first instalment to late April.
11. Not proving fuori-sede status
Where internationals are not automatically fuori sede, failing to declare paid accommodation drops you to the commuter rate — at EDISU, €4,669 instead of €8,097 in the top band.
12. Paying an agent
ER.GO and EDISU both warn that no intermediary is needed and that paid offers may be scams. You pay a fee and still carry the risk if anything in the file is false.
Spotted one already?
Mistakes 3, 4, 8 and 11 can usually be fixed before the documents deadline or in the appeal window after the provisional ranking. Mistakes 1 and 2 cannot be fixed after the deadline. Mistake 7 is fixed only by planning your exams from the first semester — see Merit Rules.