Which decision is financially better in an individual case cannot be assessed by the SG. In the overall view, there is calculative equality between the immediate and the later payment. This means that regardless of whether you pay immediately or later, on average all students and graduates pay the same contribution.
If you earn considerably more than the average assumed by the SG for your degree programme, for example because you become a chief physician in an American hospital, then you may also pay back more than the equivalent of the immediate payment – but only up to the maximum limit. However, if you earn much less because you decide to work for „Doctors without Borders“, for example, you may pay back less than the equivalent of the immediate payment amount as a late payer.