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Grants & Schemes
Note that the information contained in this section is correct to the best of our knowledge. You are strongly advised to check with the respective agencies for the most up-to-date information. Studentfinance.ie has detailed, up-to-date information on many sources of funding.
The issue of finance and funding your way through University is an extremely important one. Many students are giving up a monthly or weekly wage to go into full-time education. Others may be in receipt of social welfare payments. Students may be getting financial support through parents or partners, while others may have little or no financial support and are relying on grants or welfare payments to get them through.
Whatever the circumstance, students often find, when enrolled in their course, that college has turned out to be more costly than they first anticipated. While there are no longer full tuition fees (€5,000 per annum) to be paid (providing you are eligible for the Government's Free Fees initiative), there are many other ‘hidden' costs in being a full time student.
The first and ‘not-so-hidden' cost is the Registration/Student Levy and Student Services Charge which is roughly €900 each year. If you are eligible for a Higher Education Maintenance Grant, you will only have to pay around €60 of this and the Local Authority pays the rest. HOWEVER, if you have not received your grant approval letter by the time you have to register (which is usually the week before lectures begin), then you have two options:
1) Pay the €900 and it will be refunded (except the €60) to you when you produce your grant approval letter
2) Pay just the €60 and be only ‘provisionally' registered until you get the approval letter, which means that you do not get your full student and Library card.
For more information on the government's Higher Education Grant Scheme see studentfinance.ie, but it is important to point out that Grant approval is often slow to come through and many students, even though they know they will be eligible, end up having to wait for the approval letter.
Many costs incurred in being a student are those that you may be used to encountering anyway such as travel, food, rent, mortgage, childcare, socialising, etc. However there will be new costs such as books, photocopying, field trips, events run by University clubs and societies, and more.
Academic books can be quite expensive, but there are ways to keep those costs down. Make good use of the Library (in college or your own local library), or buy second-hand books. You may be unable to avoid spending a good bit of money on books that are core to your courses.
The issue of finance and funding your way through University is an extremely important one. Many students are giving up a monthly or weekly wage to go into full-time education. Others may be in receipt of social welfare payments. Students may be getting financial support through parents or partners, while others may have little or no financial support and are relying on grants or welfare payments to get them through.
Whatever the circumstance, students often find, when enrolled in their course, that college has turned out to be more costly than they first anticipated. While there are no longer full tuition fees (€5,000 per annum) to be paid (providing you are eligible for the Government's Free Fees initiative), there are many other ‘hidden' costs in being a full time student.
The first and ‘not-so-hidden' cost is the Registration/Student Levy and Student Services Charge which is roughly €900 each year. If you are eligible for a Higher Education Maintenance Grant, you will only have to pay around €60 of this and the Local Authority pays the rest. HOWEVER, if you have not received your grant approval letter by the time you have to register (which is usually the week before lectures begin), then you have two options:
1) Pay the €900 and it will be refunded (except the €60) to you when you produce your grant approval letter
2) Pay just the €60 and be only ‘provisionally' registered until you get the approval letter, which means that you do not get your full student and Library card.
For more information on the government's Higher Education Grant Scheme see studentfinance.ie, but it is important to point out that Grant approval is often slow to come through and many students, even though they know they will be eligible, end up having to wait for the approval letter.
Many costs incurred in being a student are those that you may be used to encountering anyway such as travel, food, rent, mortgage, childcare, socialising, etc. However there will be new costs such as books, photocopying, field trips, events run by University clubs and societies, and more.
Academic books can be quite expensive, but there are ways to keep those costs down. Make good use of the Library (in college or your own local library), or buy second-hand books. You may be unable to avoid spending a good bit of money on books that are core to your courses.
