What a bank counts as student income
Social scholarship, rector's award, ministry grant, all count as income. Most banks ask for a confirmation from the dean's office and 3-6 months of transfer history on the account. A civil-law contract works if it's continuous (minimum 3 months). Cash-in-hand gig work, invisible to the bank. Parental support arriving regularly on the account isn't formal income, but the Open Banking score reads it.
Specific student-friendly banks
mBank runs the eMax student account with a connectable loan up to 5 000 PLN on a 3-month civil-law contract. ING extends a student loan up to 3 000 PLN on a scholarship with at least 6 months of history. PKO BP offers a student overdraft up to 1 000 PLN on the scholarship alone, no contract required. That's the bank lane. If you don't qualify, non-bank lenders pick up.
Non-bank lenders tolerant of student profiles
Smartney, SuperGrosz and Vivigo accept a scholarship plus small gig inflows as proof of regular income. Limits usually 2 000-5 000 PLN, term 6-24 months. RRSO between 60-90% — above a bank, below a chwilówka. Usually the best compromise for a student with patchy income.
What to avoid as a student
A 30-day chwilówka without a certain scholarship date is the wrong mix, because a 2-day delay triggers a cost equal to 25% of principal. A „no verification” loan advertised to students usually means: maximum RRSO 290-330%, plus a KRD entry on the first slip. Watch out for campaigns running through student channels (Discord servers, Facebook groups), often a low-credibility offer rather than honest communication from the lender.
My take: order of attempts
First the bank where you already have an account and a scholarship history. Second step: an account and a student loan at mBank or ING if the first one failed. Third, if both banks refused: Smartney or SuperGrosz on an instalment loan. Leave the chwilówka for the very end, and only with a guaranteed scholarship date.