top up grant

Verbal_Kint

http://www.studentfinance.ie/mp7559/check-grant-levels/index.html

at the above link it says that:

Did you know that mature students who qualify for the maintenance grant receive the non-adjacent (higher) rate of grant?
If you qualify for any of the grants in Levels 2 to 6 above and you are a mature candidate, you will automatically be entitled to the non-adjacent rate. The entitlement to the non-adjacent rate applies regardless of how far your college is from your normal residence and whether or not you are dependent on or independent of parent(s) or guardian(s).

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I will be starting a higher diploma in September but I didnt apply as a mature candidate, i applied directly through www.pac.ie


I will be 24 at the start of the course.


I intend to live close to the college.


I am independent.


Do I qualify?

*littlestar*

Yeah, once you are aged 23 or older in the January of the year you apply, you are classified as a mature student and therefore entitled to the non-adjacent rate and possibly also the top up grant depending on income earned the previous year. Limits for this year havent been released yet but last years are a good guide to go by. Check out studentfinance.ie for info, its pretty good

Verbal_Kint

do i have to apply separately for the top up grant or is it automatically assessed and awarded?

*littlestar*

You need to apply seperately for it alright, don't know when the window opens for applications though unfortunately.

therokerroar

Just a quick question about this top up grant. Do I need to apply for this seperately to the VEC grant as the form for both looks the exact same, so perhaps I have already applied for this top-up within the VEC application?

Verbal_Kint

the girl in galway county council told me the one application does for the main grant and for the top up. if your entitled to top up it will be automatically awarded.

however the same girl has been working there for 2 years she said and she had never heard of the non-adjacent rate for independent mature candidates. focking information you get depends on which girl you talk to and when i got in touch with the department of education and the minister for education they both told me it wasn't their job to deal with grant applications.

half tempted to write about this to galway advertiser and include the emails i got from both of them because this grant application is a balls and nobody will give you a straight answer.

Sad Professor

Yeah you don't have to apply separately for the special rate. If you are entitled and supply the documentation then you'll automatically get it.

And mature candidates get the non-adjacent rate regardless.

There is some conflicting information in the grant application/notes alright. The Department of Education is responsible for that though. The councils/vecs just administer it. Maybe it will improve when the Student Support bill is implemented. The current system is a bit antiquated. Too many bloody schemes that do the same thing.

Verbal_Kint

I suppose the main question is the total amount that can be received is E6,690?

That is someone getting normal grant, additional amount for independent mature and top up portion.

Im not sure about this but I think its a good guideline.

Verbal_Kint

Figured it was better to bump this one that start a new thread...


I have not received a letter from Galway county council about my grant but I was told when i went in today that they have processed my grant and I have been accepted.

I have applied for the top up grant but because I am also applying for the BTEA they need a letter from the social that shows I am getting the BTEA.

When I drop this letter into the council how will this affect my grant.

Will my application for top up be refused as I am getting BTEA? What about my independent status for the non-adjacent rate?

If I am an independent mature candidate for grant and also getting BTEA and have earned below the top up benchmark what is the highest amount I can expect to receive from the county council?

procure11

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

Figured it was better to bump this one that start a new thread...


I have not received a letter from Galway county council about my grant but I was told when i went in today that they have processed my grant and I have been accepted.

I have applied for the top up grant but because I am also applying for the BTEA they need a letter from the social that shows I am getting the BTEA.

When I drop this letter into the council how will this affect my grant.

Will my application for top up be refused as I am getting BTEA? What about my independent status for the non-adjacent rate?

If I am an independent mature candidate for grant and also getting BTEA and have earned below the top up benchmark what is the highest amount I can expect to receive from the county council?

I was never aware that you had to apply separately for the top -up grant,my understanding was that once you made the Grant application,if you are within the income limit and you are getting any of the specified social welfare payments ,the council would automatically pay the top- up grant.

I would advise you to wait for the letter from your county council,it should stipulate whether you get the top-up grant or not.

jellyt

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

I will be starting a higher diploma in September but I didnt apply as a mature candidate, i applied directly through pac

Great ! Never heard of PAC dot ie before though.

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

I will be 24 at the start of the course.

Great , so you are a mature student

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

I intend to live close to the college.

A wise mature student , Mature independents receive the non adjacent rate of grant whether they live close to the college or not.

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

I am independent.

Mature independent. You have to prove this to the authority processing your grant , by way of an ESB bill , or a PRTB letter.

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

Do I qualify?

It all depends on your appllication. But we now know according to your latest post , that you do qualify for a grant ! congrats !

I could swop letters from the minister for education with you . And similartly I had a pretty much shunted response from the department.
I was told , that my letters were forwarded to another department! Even though it was an education issue !

So I can understand your frustration with the dept of edu.

re . the top up grant :

I applied for "a grant" I am a mature independent candidate.
And I was awarded NA1 level of grant.
I had a meeting with grant processors who said that , *if I would be in receipt of BTEA , then I may qualify for the top up grant* But they were not clear cut on the matter , despite having my application , and All of my documents from 08.

Then , I was awarded BTEA

So I have forwarded the BTEA letter to the coco and am now awaiting a response.

Verbal_Kint

Congrats on the grant and BTEA. what a headache to get them. they said..may get top up as well.. a TD will fix that. out of curiosity what do you receive for grant with and without top up. i was under impression that as independent mature i got non adjacent rate regardless of location.i havent heard any figures from county council but i am expecting 6690.

RoyalMarine

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

Congrats on the grant and BTEA. what a headache to get them. they said..may get top up as well.. a TD will fix that. out of curiosity what do you receive for grant with and without top up. i was under impression that as independent mature i got non adjacent rate regardless of location.i havent heard any figures from county council but i am expecting 6690.

you should get the 6690 on the condition your income last year included one of the social welfare payments, and income was under the 22k bracket.

Verbal_Kint

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

you should get the 6690 on the condition your income last year included one of the social welfare payments, and income was under the 22k bracket.

Those conditions are ok.

So why do the county council want to know if Im getting BTEA if it wont affect my application / rate?

Sad Professor

The BTEA is one of the social welfare payments you must be receiving in order to be entitled to the "special rate". Maybe that's why they want it.

jellyt

Ok , surely What a grant applicant is receiving NOW income wise , only pertains to NEXT year , as the year in scrutiny for now is 08?

RoyalMarine

i guess they want to know if your getting BTEA (€204.30) a week and if they should give you the full special rate grant (€171.51) a week on top of that.
i dont think anyone needs 375 euro a week in college.

Verbal_Kint

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

i guess they want to know if your getting BTEA (€204.30) a week and if they should give you the full special rate grant (€171.51) a week on top of that.
i dont think anyone needs 375 euro a week in college.

What about when the course finishes and you have no money and BTEA allowance ends. should you live in a homeless shelter for 3 months waiting for social to process your claim or do you just assume everything will work out and there will be a job waiting for everyone when they finish. at least if people can qualify for these schemes they can put a few quid aside for when the course ends. anyone who doesnt agree with that i would assume is making weekly calls home for cash or is one of the lucky ones to have kept their jobs and should not lord it over others and say how much they need or deserve each week. can we stop all the speculation and answer the original question... for the coming year has anybody been awarded BTEA and the full grant 6690 thanks

RoyalMarine

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

What about when the course finishes and you have no money and BTEA allowance ends. should you live in a homeless shelter for 3 months waiting for social to process your claim or do you just assume everything will work out and there will be a job waiting for everyone when they finish. at least if people can qualify for these schemes they can put a few quid aside for when the course ends. anyone who doesnt agree with that i would assume is making weekly calls home for cash or is one of the lucky ones to have kept their jobs and should not lord it over others and say how much they need or deserve each week. can we stop all the speculation and answer the original question... for the coming year has anybody been awarded BTEA and the full grant 6690 thanks

your entitled to claim unemployment benefit/assiatance once you finish college. then your BTEA claim will resume when you begin college again in september and so on for all year's your in college.
if your claim takes a while to process, then go see your county's social welfare officer and she will write you a check.
the thought of putting money aside for rainy day's and when you finish college for the summer is NOT the purpose of the grant. im sorry, but the grant is to help people get through college who have no other means of finance like the BTEA.

dnside

Verbal_Kint You enquired under state benefits what was the rent allowance is for Maynooth, AFIK its €112 so you've got €112 a wk rent allowance, €128 a wk maintenance grant, €204 BTEA = € 444 a wk , 52 wks , just wondering how many students are in this situation?

lifeboats

Trying to get this straight, if a potential student wanted to avoid paying fees for next year,(1) move out of the family home ,so you woulnt be either assessed on the parents income or be entitled to the non-adjacent rate(2) apply for jobseekers allowance,(3) make sure you have a utilty bill for october, apply for your course, apply for BTEA, Get full grant and rent allowance and you end up having more than the minimum wage!Am i missing something here ,surely it's not that simple?

Verbal_Kint

be Over 21 at beginning of year you start college and the answer is yes. they will probably change it next year as has been recommended in An bord snip nua. Your a year too late. an extra 3200 If your over 23.