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applying to college in the uk as a mature student

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  • 02-12-2010 1:56am
    #1
    RainbowRose81
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 444 ✭✭


    Hello,
    Im a mature student, im currently studying a fetac level 5 course and I want to apply to uk next year to study for a degree. Im on back to educational allowance. Would i be eligible for a EU student grant? because i don't think i would be able to study in the uk if i couldn't get a grant or financial help. Does anyone have experience of studying there? How did you cope financial, could you get the grant? Is it enough to get by on? I have researched and looked in to it abit i know it doesn't offer the tuition fee. I know its unpredictable, the uncertainty about the economy and many things might change so its hard to know whats going to happen. I would really appreciate to get any information or thoughts on it. Thank you


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    #2
    pow wow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,288 ✭✭✭pow wow


    When you say EU student grant, what grant are you referring to?

    At the moment, if you satisfy the conditions to qualify for a grant from your local council to go to college in Ireland, you can still get the same grant from your local council/VEC if you go to college in the UK. You effectively have the same entitlement as someone who studies at home and if you're awarded the grant they can pay it to you in sterling if you like.

    You are also eligible to apply for a tuition fee loan from the UK government up to a maximum (at the moment) of £3,290 per year. The money is paid directly to your university for the fees so if your actual fees are less than that amount you don't get to keep the remainder ;) Although it's a loan you don't have to start repaying it until you earn a certain amount and the interest ins inflation linked so in real terms you don't end up paying back any more than you borrowed. To illustrate, I went in as a mature student in 2005 (the system and amounts were slightly different then) - I owe about £15k to the Student Loans Company for my degree and I don't really think about it. In the UK it's regarded as the cheapest loan you'll ever get but I know that as you don't have the same system here the idea of owing £9k or £10k on graduation seems daunting!

    Your biggest outlay will be rent and this is higher in the bigger cities. Halls of residence are expensive but worth it for the first year at least. Shared houses can work out really cheap if you're in a particularly studenty area. One thing to remember is that if you're going to a medium sized or bigger town, part-time work is very easy to get for students, and you'll most likely be able to get a few hours wherever to subsidise your grant.

    This link will give you more info about the tuition fee loans and repayment process.

    Info on the process for Scotland is here.


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