Denied grant from Galway County Council

charlie_says

I applied for the grant as a mature independent candidate for this academic year. I was certain that I would get it, but have just received a pre printed letter that is used to ask for more documentation for the grant.

There was a space at the bottom for the officer involved to write any extra notes. All it said was see section 7.6 grant has been denied, written by hand.

Apparently because I attended a first year undergrad course (I had to quit college for financial reasons) several years ago I am not entitled to the grant, even though I didn't receive any funding whatsoever at the time.

I am going appeal this decision, and bring it to the department of education if necessary. Not happy with this situation at all. I cannot afford to not get this grant, as I have had to pay for my fees this year, which is nearly 8K. I am pretty depressed about this as I attended college before but had to quit as I couldn't afford my living expenses, as my course has a huge amount of hours (engineering) and working on the side was almost impossible as I had no time whatsoever for studying and projects and the like when I was doing part time work.

Maybe some of the moderators or anybody who has gone through the appeals process might be able to shed any light on my chances or what to do.

The worst thing is I suspect that if I didn't tell them about my previous college attendance they would have given me the grant as I'm sure they don't have the time to check up on everyones statements in the application form. Being honest brought me 3/5 of 4/8 of **** all.

Gutted.

nofi

How long ago did you drop out? this from dept of Ed website.

Can I ever get grant assistance for a second time if I drop out of my first course?
Yes. There is provision in the HEG and VEC Scholarship Schemes for SECOND CHANCE STUDENTS i.e. students who have attended but not successfully completed a course and are returning after a break of at least five years from the date which s/he had left the previous course, in order to pursue a course at the same level.

Under the TLT Scheme a candidate who enters first year of his second third level course having not completed more than first year of his first course is eligible to apply.
There is no provision in the PLC Scheme for Second Chance Students

Swamps

Yeah you can get the grant I think if the course you dropped out of was an honours degree?

and are now going on to do a Level6/7 course on the TLT scheme. But if your going for another honours degree and are applying to a county council again and not a vec im not sure your eligible. Though there are ways you can get it such as second chance etc mentioned above. Look into it a bit more though and get in touch with them

charlie_says

nofi wrote: »

How long ago did you drop out? this from dept of Ed website.

Can I ever get grant assistance for a second time if I drop out of my first course?
Yes. There is provision in the HEG and VEC Scholarship Schemes for SECOND CHANCE STUDENTS i.e. students who have attended but not successfully completed a course and are returning after a break of at least five years from the date which s/he had left the previous course, in order to pursue a course at the same level.

Under the TLT Scheme a candidate who enters first year of his second third level course having not completed more than first year of his first course is eligible to apply.
There is no provision in the PLC Scheme for Second Chance Students

It was 3 years ago 06-07 academic year so I am not eligible.

FluffyCat

You should get a grant from second year but will have to pay fees and get no grant in first year. Im a mature student and went to college before. Ive been told that I wont get any financal help regardless of anything.
I think appealing is your only option cause I think you need to be 10 years out of college to get a grant for a second go

GAAman

I can only speak from my experiences, i was told incorrectly by a miserable ignorant cow in my county council that i was not eligible for a grant and not to bother submitting a form, well i did anyway and had to fight tooth and nail back and forth and long story short and give you an idea of how much back and forth there was i submitted the form in September 2008 and got the grant in Feb 2009 :rolleyes:

Anyway i then found out about the top up and was told no can do, fought again but this time got a local TD on the job and within days it was sorted

My advice coming forward from this is do not let up keep at them and explain why you couldnt complete your previous studies and if all else fails get a local politician on the ball

All the best with it

ontour

Did you complete the full year when you went to the college charlie says? Im in a similar situation did the college you attended deregister you halfway through the year? will you also have to pay tuition fees?

charlie_says

ontour wrote: »

Did you complete the full year when you went to the college charlie says? Im in a similar situation did the college you attended deregister you halfway through the year? will you also have to pay tuition fees?

Yes, for the purposes of fees I did the complete year.

mayonnaise

a friend of mine was told by the VEC that he wasn't entitled to a grant twice during his degree, then in 4th yr enquired again, and was told 'oh yeah you were entitled to a grant all along. aso he asked could he apply and he was told, sorry you've missed the closing date. I don't think they have a clue and they will make it as hard as possible for you to get it. When i applied as a mature student they send me through hoops and rings to get it. I'd say it'd be worse this year.