Parents wont pay for college.

Paradoxaholic

I was wondering if there is some support for students whose parents refuse to give any form of financial aid in college. Im 17, waiting for the Leaving cert results and hoping to study medicine/biomed. My parents have refused to pay anything and im so upset. No idea what to do. The grant scheme is not an option for me as my parents earn way more than the reckonable income. Any one have any advice for me?

Agent Smith

Job?

orestes

Are Supermacs hiring?

leeroybrown

Unfortunately, it's not going to be easy. From a financial point of view you're completely tied to your parents so as you point out the grant isn't an option. A lot of the people I knew in college who had the hardest time where those who couldn't get a grant due to their parents but didn't receive any money either. How come your parents are unwilling to help you out?

As Agent Smith points out, your only real option is to somehow get a job. Combining a job with med/biomed style courses will be awkward due to the hours involved but I do know people who had to hold down three part time jobs as well as doing a heavy course just to pay their way through college. You'll also need to find over €1700 to pay the registration fee and non-tuition levy in order to start the year seeing as you don't qualify for the grant.

Also, bear in mind that getting into the system now while free fees are still available would be a good idea. If fees were to come in next year it could make the difference between you getting free tuition or having to pay some form of fees because of your parents income.

rbrbrb

you may be able to get an interest free loan from a bank. apparently they some banks offer this for med students. of course you'll only know you're in medicine about a month before you start it but that's the cao for you.

leeroybrown

As rbrbrb points out, some of the banks offer special loans to people doing 'professional degrees' in well paid areas such as medicine. I'd expect the credit to have tightened up a lot now but some of the banks may still be offering deals.

yoursaviour1989

there used to be a system in place where if the parents legally disowned a child the child then qualified for a grant, not sure if it still is but a friend of mine did it about 10years ago.........maybe research that

leeroybrown

yoursaviour1989 wrote: »

there used to be a system in place where if the parents legally disowned a child the child then qualified for a grant, not sure if it still is but a friend of mine did it about 10years ago.........maybe research that

As far as I remember that was always an extraordinarily rare circumstance and extremely difficult to accomplish. It's also worth remembering that grant assessment is based on the personal circumstances of the student at October 1st of the year preceding application. The OP's circumstances are further complicated by the fact that at 17 they can't really make any legal decision on their own behalf.

bonnie1810

the student assistance fund could help if your stuck for rent and that think you have to apply and state your case to a board it has nothing to do with your parents income btw so that could help but I think you should try and reason with your parents first!

Cathal Kelly

dude that sucks
my advice would be to take out a loan
and try and get a job
people above were saying about intrest free loans fo med students
call the fees office and ask them if they know of anything
i dont see how your parents can really be that bad
if they earn a good bit of money then i cant see why they wouldnt pay 4 u to do a proper degree course especially med
they cant be that bad surely

hblock21

What are your parents going to do when they're 85 years old and need YOUR help?

bean na gaeilge

Hey the only thing you can do is get a job.... especially during the summers and pack in as many jobs as you can so you can get your rent paid with what you earn in summers and then a weekend job or a job a few evenings a week for other expenses during the year... food esb etc... my parents didn't help me either but I am actually grateful now because when I was in college I worked hard for what I got and appreciated in alot more than those who were getting everything handed to them on a weekly basis... its tough but not impossible!!!!

JoeyJJ

Why have children if your unwilling to pay for their education, I have a 7 month old daughter and I'll be encouraging her to go to Uni not the other way around.

Yeah regarding the 85 year old comment your right, its all about paying it forward your grandparents and parents did it for you, pass it on.

I didn't expect my parent to pay for all my education and had a job all through college however they would have provided more if I needed, I wanted to work.

Macker1

hblock21 wrote: »

What are your parents going to do when they're 85 years old and need YOUR help?

What have the ops parents done so far in regards to his upbringing over the first 17 years. :rolleyes:

hblock21

Macker1 wrote: »

What have the ops parents done so far in regards to his upbringing over the first 17 years. :rolleyes:

Your damn right, why the hell did they spend their money and time on clothes, food, entertainment, warmth for the past 17 years when they could have spent it on themselves. Children should spend their time in third level education worrying.



Your damn right, why the hell would children spend their money and time on their crippled old mother that cant even walk for the past 17 years, when they could spend it on themselves. Old people should spend the rest of the last years worrying.

Carsinian Thau

hblock21 wrote: »

Your damn right, why the hell did they spend their money and time on clothes, food, entertainment, warmth for the past 17 years when they could have spent it on themselves. Children should spend their time in third level education worrying.



Your damn right, why the hell would children spend their money and time on their crippled old mother that cant even walk for the past 17 years, when they could spend it on themselves. Old people should spend the rest of the last years worrying.

To be fair, you don't know that they can afford it. All the OP said was that they earn more than the limit but that they refused to provide any financial assistance. It sounds bad but what if they have nursing home fees or other unavoidable expenditure that we weren't told about yet?

I'm not saying that you should agree with what the OP's parents are doing but maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. Even if it does sound as though they're just hanging onto their money, they may not be and the situation could be way more complicated than we know.

chocgirl

OP that's really unfortunate that your parents aren't in a position to help you out. I don't know the ins and outs of the grant system but you won't be the only one in this position and you should try to speak to your welfare officer as soon as possible to see what supports are available to you.

My advice would be to seriously look into giving grinds once you have your results. If you are studying medicine or any science degree that's known to be difficult people will have immense faith in you. It's much much more lucrative than a part-time job (if you do manage to secure one) and will allow you more time to study and socialise.

Big Chief

spoiled kid requires job

im sure when you say your parents "wont" thats not the full picture and more the case of "can't"

do what the kids in our family did... work part time, u will be tired alooot.. but if its what you want then chase it.

[edit- and yes my parents made over the government "limit" aswell but mortgages and loans for them didnt mean squat as on paper they made over the limit]

becksy

My parents told me before I started college they won't be giving me any money towards it. I took a year out and worked one full time and one part time job, sixty hour weeks. Now I've saved enough to put me through three years of college with a part time job evenings and weekends. If you really want it you can find a way of putting yourself through.

rbrbrb

You can't put a price on education. Every parent should do their best for their child where possible, not paying for college fees when they can afford them is an absolute disgrace. That said, we don't know the full picture in this case.

MuireannO

You can apply to the student loans and fees committee to have the registration fee reduced or even waived based on your circumstances, and you can also apply to the student support fund to help with books, groceries etc (remember to keep your receipts!!)

Call into the SU in the college and they can put you on a notification list for part time work as well.

daveyid89

that is the mot ridiculous thing ive ever heard... now u make is sound like your parents are evil heartless monsters who sit by the fire sipping cognac smoking cigars saying "what ever will we do with that child of ours, can you imagine, wasting OUR money on someone elses education?... hahaha, well i never"... *more condescending laughter followed by wiping tears of joy with 500€ notes.

now if thats the case your clearly in a disney movie and they will get their comuppance and you will inherit all the money before college starts....
if their just being mean however then try explaining to them that you will get a weekend job and put that towards it yourself limiting personal expenditure. they have to see that even with you getting a job you cant be expected to pay your own way, if they want you to get a loan state that you dont want to be in debt....
if this reli doesnt work out a loan may be the only way....:(

UnitedIrishman

MuireannO wrote: »

You can apply to the student loans and fees committee to have the registration fee reduced or even waived based on your circumstances, and you can also apply to the student support fund to help with books, groceries etc (remember to keep your receipts!!)

Call into the SU in the college and they can put you on a notification list for part time work as well.

With regards the student assistance fund, how successful are applicants in receiving money for rent etc? I looked at the forms online but it's a bit hard to complete in that A) I pay rent monthly so does that mean I have to submit forms every time I'm looking for assistance i.e every month? How can you provide receipts if you can barely afford to pay for it. But anyways, moving on.

Basically, been trying to find work all summer and have easily made 40-50 applications at different places but no joy. So for the whole summer have been living off my parents and given their incomes (mother doesn't work during summer and father is semi-retired), it's becoming a bit too much debt on them.

Attempted to get a loan last year/this year and can't really. Have an overdraft from college last year and just about got that.

leeroybrown

The other major issue that will crop up with the Student Assistance Fund is that it's a limited pool of money. A huge number of new/returning students will have earned very little over the summer and won't be able to get part-time jobs so there will be a lot of applicants and not much cash to go around. Also, I'd expect that the last college year will have used up most (or possibly all) of the surplus cash that might have built over the preceding few years.

reap-a-rat

one positive is that if you're hopin for med you've probs got brains which means if you got over 560 you should be getting €1600 from NUIG in an entrance scholarship! wont last 5 or 6 years but i mean it all helps!!:)

procure11

hblock21 wrote: »

What are your parents going to do when they're 85 years old and need YOUR help?

Before crucifying the parents ...I think it would wise to understand the facts first.
1.Parents that bring up a child to be studious enough to have the ability to read medicine.
2.He/She then gets the grade to be admitted for the course...in most cases would be a source of pride to them.
3.OP says he cant get a grant because they earn above the income limit ..which means they can afford to pay his/her fees .
4.They refuse to pay his fees.

Only 2 explanations for that.

a)The OP has problems that the parents have identified would hinder his progress eg drug problems,serious alcohol issues or he has fallen out with them .
b) The OP is a troll.

bethm24

you should look into care assistant shifts with a nursing agency , that way you will be working in an environment suitable to you and with the agency you can pick your own shifts etc , so it would suit you in college, the staff in the hospitals etc would be delighted to have someone doing med working with them, ive seen some med stds do this b4. good luck to you , get a loan aswell

blue_belle

you know, "over the limit" doesnt necessarily mean able to afford to pay fees, they could be only just over the limit...its not fair to assume that everyone who earns more than the limit for everything means tested is rich. and the people who are just over the limit often end up worse off then the people with medical cards because they have to pay for everything whereas the people with medical cards dont pay for sh1t, as soon as a bill comes in their face they can hide behind their cards, the OP's parents could be in the group that have to pay for ****ing everything and just cant afford to pay the costs of college....

leeroybrown

The OP appears to have abandoned this thread. There doesn't seem to be any point to responding further.

Zulu

I can't believe the attitude of some posters... ...no wait, I see now.
I tell you one thing, this recession is going to be great if it only gives the spoilt children a good dose of reality.

OP, to quote the big lebowski, "do what your parents did, get a job". Part of going to university is learning independance. You learn how to be self sufficiant. You learn the value of money. You learn to live for a week off weekabix and water because you are saving your money for a big value pizza, a six pack of scrumpy jack, entrance to a night club, two pints inside, and a bag of chips afterwards. Being a student is about not being able to afford a mug of coffee.

Your parents are doing you a massive favour; they sound like great parents tbh, teaching you life lessons as opposed to spoiling you rotten. You'll appricate this later in life.

For the moment, suck it up and get a job.

Zulu

procure11 wrote: »

Only 2 explanations for that.

a)The OP has problems that the parents have identified would hinder his progress eg drug problems,serious alcohol issues or he has fallen out with them .
b) The OP is a troll.

...or they want him to learn the value of money.
Or they can't afford to give him the money - the grant wasn't available to me, and my parents couldn't afford to put me through college. They helped whenever they could - sure - but I worked a job, and made my own way.

Paradoxaholic

Hey all.

Im not a troll. nor a spoilt unappreciative child. I dont drink, or smoke. My parents dont hand me 500 euro notes.


I recieved my irish citizenship today meaning i no longer have to worry about the ridiculous amount the HEI charges Eu-students in order to study. Looks like i'll be piggybacking on the government aye. So screw you all! FREE FEES, BIOMED, AND GALWAY.. here i come baby! wahoooo!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::P:P:P

The_Conductor

Keep in mind the fees are only one aspect of it- and they are due to be reintroduced next year anyhow. The costs associated with the course (lab fees, books, seminar costs, accommodation and upkeep) can be a multiple of anything the fees might be.

The fees are an upfront cost- but do not forget the other costs.

po0k

Not that it will matter in a few weeks (looks like fees/loans are going to be introduced), but you need to prove that you're not being supported by your parents, and then I'm pretty sure you can apply for the grant under your own steam.
You may need to be 18.
You may need to living on your own.
You may be means-test/audited.

You are most likely a troll.

Thread closed.