Am I right or totally wrong?

cul-2008

Hi folks,

Will try to keep this short and sweet. Changing courses this year and as a result I'm having to pay 7k worth of fees. I intend on applying for a maintenance grant as I have never done so in the past.

Due to a downward change in circumstances, I would now be elegible for 75% maintenance.

My question is - does the fact I have a year done already have an impact on whether or not I receive the grant? I have never applied for the maintenance grant before.

ANY help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks again!

If you repeat a year unfortunately you're not eligible for a grant for that year, however you can apply from year 2 onwards.

leeroybrown

You'll definitely receive it for year two and subsequent years of the course.

Year one is a little more complicated. The 'repeat year' restriction mentioned above by Dónal only applies to repeat years within the same course. I'd guess that it will be on a case-by-case basis and that you'll have to talk to your local authority about it. As you've never received the grant before and are changing to a new course they might be willing to authorise it for year one too.

Skyuser

Isn't there a 'change of mind' exception?

Earth Dweller

I think you would be eligable for a grant alright. My friend changed courses last year and applied for a grant but was turned down because of means testing not because she had changed courses.

jano1

Donal is right. I rang the VEC about this and if you have done a year already - grant or no grant, you will not be eligible for a grant until you have moved past the first year. After that you can apply depending on your finances. If you only did a term for example (grant or no grant!), then you could apply for a grant after the first term of your new course. It doesn't matter if you are repeating the year/term or doing an entirely new course, they don't care about that.

leeroybrown

I double checked my information and I was actually incorrect. Currently the 'official line' is that the grant is only payable for the first attempt at any particular regardless of institution changes, course changes or whether the applicant received the grant before or not. I still believe that the authorities have some latitude to be flexible in these cases but given the current financial mess I don't see much flexibility being forthcoming.

jano1

The only "latitude" they can give is if the student had very serious medical treatment which interfered with their successful completion of the year. They require detailed medically certified information before they will consider this.

cul-2008

Cheers for all the replies folks.

The majority are correct, the grant is only payable to one who is attempting a course for the first time.. oh well, debt it is then! :rolleyes:

leeroybrown

You're not alone in that cul-2008. There'll be an awful lot of students in debt this year.