When it comes to student grants, what they cover, who can apply and when, it can all get a little confusing. Here, we try to outline some of the main grants available to third level students.
The Student Grant Scheme is the main financial support scheme for students studying in Ireland and abroad. Student grants can be divided into:
Maintenance grants.Fee grants.Maintenance grants help students with their living costs. Fee grants pay tuition fees for students who do not qualify for the Free Fees Initiative. Fee grants can also pay the Student Contribution and the cost of essential field trips.
Students doing post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses do not qualify for fee grants, but if you qualify for a maintenance grant, you are exempt from paying the PLC participant contribution.
If you have qualified for a maintenance grant, you will generally qualify for a fee grant.
If you do not qualify for a maintenance grant, but your family’s reckonable income is below certain limits, you may qualify for a partial fee grant. This means that you will either be exempt from 50% of the student contribution or exempt from 50% of any tuition fees and all the student contribution.
How to apply
Whether you are applying for a maintenance grant or a fee grant, the application system is the same. You apply online through the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) website (www.susi.ie).
This website is really well laid out and very easy to navigate. On the website, there is also an eligibility reckoner, which can tell you what grants might be available to you. Simply enter your details and it will tell you whether or not you will be eligible for a grant.
Farmers
The access to these grants is means tested. Where some or all your household income in 2019 was from self-employment, farming or property/land rental, you will be required to provide, on request, a full set of trading accounts for 12 months ending in the year 2019 for the proceeding year (i.e, 2019 for the 2020-2021 academic year).
These must include a trading profit and loss account, a capital account, balance sheet and adjusted profit computation.
Deadline
The online application system for the 2020-2021 academic year closes at midnight on Thursday 5 November 2020.
What is the Free Fees Initiative?
To qualify for the Free Fees Initiative, you must meet criteria regarding:
Residence.Nationality and immigration status.Course requirements.Residence
You must have been living in a European Economic Area (EEA) member state or Switzerland for at least three of the five years before starting your course. The members of the EEA are the member states of the EU, along with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
Nationality and immigration
You must also fulfil certain criteria as regards nationality and immigration status in Ireland. A full list this criteria can be found under the eligibility criteria listed here.
Course requirements
You must also fulfil the following three course requirements:
You must be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least two years in duration (or certain shorter courses in institutes of technology).You must be a first-time, full-time undergraduate. However, students who already hold a Level 6 or a Level 7 qualification and are progressing to a Level 8 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications may possibly be eligible for Free Fees – you should check with the college providing the Level 8 course. Also, you may be eligible for Free Fees if you attend a course but did not complete it and are returning following a break of at least five years to pursue an approved course at the same level.In general, you must not be repeating the year because of failing your exams or changing course. This requirement may be waived if you repeat a year due to certified serious illness. The undergraduate courses where the free fees arrangements apply are courses in:
Universities.Institutes of technology.Publicly-funded colleges of education.National College of Ireland.Several religious education institutions.There is no separate application for the Free Fees Initiative. Your eligibility will be assessed based on the information you give when applying for a college place, i.e when you fill out your CAO application.
Being able to speak to someone in the know – rather than just reading information off a computer screen – can be much more reassuring. All colleges and universities have their own student services or students union. Within these, there will be dedicated advisors for financial assistance who will be happy to help and are well placed to give you the most relevant information and guidance for your particular situation.
Other good sources
of information are:
The SUSI website -
www.susi.ieThe Higher Education
Authority (HEA) website -
www.hea.ieOther student financial assistance
Depending on the course you are attending at third level, different institutions will also have other grants, bursaries and funds available to students. At a national level, these include the Student Assistance Fund, Back to Education Allowance, Fund for Students with Disabilities and the 1916 Bursary Fund. Again, check these with your student union or student services department.
€250 payment for third level students announced in budget
College life is looking very different for students this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, with many courses being delivered in part (if not completely) online.
A fund of €50m was announced in last week’s budget for full-time third-level students, to help ease the transition to online learning. With just over 200,000 full-time students in third-level education, this equates to a payment of €250 per student.
The payment is intended to help subsidise the added technological costs associated with online learning. This could be in the form of a new laptop/tablet, or for costs incurred with the installation of broadband.
While it may not cover all the costs, it will still be an added bonus for students and parents alike in a time when every euro counts.
Commenting on the payment, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on students this year. The majority of college work will be delivered online for this semester at least. In recognition of this, the Government have moved to provide financial assistance to students through this €50m fund.”
So far, the final details of how this payment is to be distributed to students is unclear.
However, it is thought it will be either a partial fee rebate for students who have paid the €3,000 student registration fee, or as a top up for SUSI grant recipients.
Read more
Coach's corner: your top career coaching questions answered
Graduate programmes and what they can offer
When it comes to student grants, what they cover, who can apply and when, it can all get a little confusing. Here, we try to outline some of the main grants available to third level students.
The Student Grant Scheme is the main financial support scheme for students studying in Ireland and abroad. Student grants can be divided into:
Maintenance grants.Fee grants.Maintenance grants help students with their living costs. Fee grants pay tuition fees for students who do not qualify for the Free Fees Initiative. Fee grants can also pay the Student Contribution and the cost of essential field trips.
Students doing post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses do not qualify for fee grants, but if you qualify for a maintenance grant, you are exempt from paying the PLC participant contribution.
If you have qualified for a maintenance grant, you will generally qualify for a fee grant.
If you do not qualify for a maintenance grant, but your family’s reckonable income is below certain limits, you may qualify for a partial fee grant. This means that you will either be exempt from 50% of the student contribution or exempt from 50% of any tuition fees and all the student contribution.
How to apply
Whether you are applying for a maintenance grant or a fee grant, the application system is the same. You apply online through the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) website (www.susi.ie).
This website is really well laid out and very easy to navigate. On the website, there is also an eligibility reckoner, which can tell you what grants might be available to you. Simply enter your details and it will tell you whether or not you will be eligible for a grant.
Farmers
The access to these grants is means tested. Where some or all your household income in 2019 was from self-employment, farming or property/land rental, you will be required to provide, on request, a full set of trading accounts for 12 months ending in the year 2019 for the proceeding year (i.e, 2019 for the 2020-2021 academic year).
These must include a trading profit and loss account, a capital account, balance sheet and adjusted profit computation.
Deadline
The online application system for the 2020-2021 academic year closes at midnight on Thursday 5 November 2020.
What is the Free Fees Initiative?
To qualify for the Free Fees Initiative, you must meet criteria regarding:
Residence.Nationality and immigration status.Course requirements.Residence
You must have been living in a European Economic Area (EEA) member state or Switzerland for at least three of the five years before starting your course. The members of the EEA are the member states of the EU, along with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
Nationality and immigration
You must also fulfil certain criteria as regards nationality and immigration status in Ireland. A full list this criteria can be found under the eligibility criteria listed here.
Course requirements
You must also fulfil the following three course requirements:
You must be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least two years in duration (or certain shorter courses in institutes of technology).You must be a first-time, full-time undergraduate. However, students who already hold a Level 6 or a Level 7 qualification and are progressing to a Level 8 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications may possibly be eligible for Free Fees – you should check with the college providing the Level 8 course. Also, you may be eligible for Free Fees if you attend a course but did not complete it and are returning following a break of at least five years to pursue an approved course at the same level.In general, you must not be repeating the year because of failing your exams or changing course. This requirement may be waived if you repeat a year due to certified serious illness. The undergraduate courses where the free fees arrangements apply are courses in:
Universities.Institutes of technology.Publicly-funded colleges of education.National College of Ireland.Several religious education institutions.There is no separate application for the Free Fees Initiative. Your eligibility will be assessed based on the information you give when applying for a college place, i.e when you fill out your CAO application.
Being able to speak to someone in the know – rather than just reading information off a computer screen – can be much more reassuring. All colleges and universities have their own student services or students union. Within these, there will be dedicated advisors for financial assistance who will be happy to help and are well placed to give you the most relevant information and guidance for your particular situation.
Other good sources
of information are:
The SUSI website -
www.susi.ieThe Higher Education
Authority (HEA) website -
www.hea.ieOther student financial assistance
Depending on the course you are attending at third level, different institutions will also have other grants, bursaries and funds available to students. At a national level, these include the Student Assistance Fund, Back to Education Allowance, Fund for Students with Disabilities and the 1916 Bursary Fund. Again, check these with your student union or student services department.
€250 payment for third level students announced in budget
College life is looking very different for students this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, with many courses being delivered in part (if not completely) online.
A fund of €50m was announced in last week’s budget for full-time third-level students, to help ease the transition to online learning. With just over 200,000 full-time students in third-level education, this equates to a payment of €250 per student.
The payment is intended to help subsidise the added technological costs associated with online learning. This could be in the form of a new laptop/tablet, or for costs incurred with the installation of broadband.
While it may not cover all the costs, it will still be an added bonus for students and parents alike in a time when every euro counts.
Commenting on the payment, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on students this year. The majority of college work will be delivered online for this semester at least. In recognition of this, the Government have moved to provide financial assistance to students through this €50m fund.”
So far, the final details of how this payment is to be distributed to students is unclear.
However, it is thought it will be either a partial fee rebate for students who have paid the €3,000 student registration fee, or as a top up for SUSI grant recipients.
Read more
Coach's corner: your top career coaching questions answered
Graduate programmes and what they can offer
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: