Clarity on Grants

Prez2

I'm trying to work out exactly what the wording of the cuts to the higher education grants means - I might be dense so apologies if it's terribly simple. This isn't a rant, I'm purely trying to grasp what the facts are so I can make a plan on the coming future.

The info I'm finding says: "There will be changes to the fee and maintenance grants system for post-graduate studies for new entrants which currently benefits over 9,000 students. No maintenance grants will be paid for new entrants from the 2012/13 academic year. Fees will continue to be paid for those students that would previously have qualified for the special rate of grant. Over 2,000 students currently qualify for the special rate of grant. In addition, based on their means, a further 4,000 post graduate students will be awarded a €2,000 fee contribution grant. This will apply to new entrants from 2012/2013 academic year. Saving in 2012 €6 million. Full year saving €54.2 million."

So is it basically the case that for any new applicants for the 2012/13 acadmic year the highest amount anyone can obtain for a Higher Education Grant is €2,000 and that will only be for those qualifying for the special rate and there is a cap of 4,000 potential students who can avail of this grant?

Annasopra

Prez2 wrote: »

I'm trying to work out exactly what the wording of the cuts to the higher education grants means - I might be dense so apologies if it's terribly simple. This isn't a rant, I'm purely trying to grasp what the facts are so I can make a plan on the coming future.

The info I'm finding says: "There will be changes to the fee and maintenance grants system for post-graduate studies for new entrants which currently benefits over 9,000 students. No maintenance grants will be paid for new entrants from the 2012/13 academic year. Fees will continue to be paid for those students that would previously have qualified for the special rate of grant. Over 2,000 students currently qualify for the special rate of grant. In addition, based on their means, a further 4,000 post graduate students will be awarded a €2,000 fee contribution grant. This will apply to new entrants from 2012/2013 academic year. Saving in 2012 €6 million. Full year saving €54.2 million."

So is it basically the case that for any new applicants for the 2012/13 acadmic year the highest amount anyone can obtain for a Higher Education Grant is €2,000 and that will only be for those qualifying for the special rate and there is a cap of 4,000 potential students who can avail of this grant?

This relates to post grad students

Annasopra

Student maintenance grants will be reduced by 3% next year and the student contribution will increase by €250. Over 40% of students currently qualify for a maintenance grant. The Exchequer will continue to meet the cost of the student contribution for students who qualify for a maintenance grant.

The means test for student maintenance grants will be amended to take account of the value of certain capital assets as well as income. This will be introduced in the 2013/14 academic year for new entrants.

The postgraduate student grant scheme is being scaled back and there will be no maintenance grants for new entrants starting in 2012/13. However, over 2,000 students on the lowest incomes will continue to have their fees paid and another 4,000 students will receive a contribution towards the cost of their fees of €2,000.

To summarise

Existing grant rates will be cut by 3%

The means tests will now take account of some capital assets

There will be no maintenance grant for new postgrad students - There will be fee grants

Prez2

Thanks for the reply - sorry I should have specified it was for the postgraduate grants and for completely new applicants I was asking about.

mango salsa wrote: »

There will be no maintenance grant for new postgrad students - There will be fee grants

This is the main area I am confused about; so there will be grants to cover the postgrad fees but it's only for 2,000 current students who qualified for the special rate and then 4,000 other current students will get €2,000 toward fees?

So then for a completely new applicant who was going to start a postgrad course am I reading it right as there is nothing for them anymore? The wording seems all focused on current students and not new applicants in terms of the fee grant.

Tree

afaict from reading that extract, as a completely new applicant for a postgrad course, you /might/ get up to €2000 towards your €6500 fees, and no extra money to live off.

/me wanders off muttering about the knowledge economy and imaginary friends

achmairt

The way I read it is:

If you got a top up grant in the year prior to you going on to do a postgrad, then you will get ALL your fee paid but no grant.

For all the rest of the students, they will have to be assessed and as long as they are under the limit of income, they will just get a 2000 contribution towards their fees. No grant will be paid to ANY student.

muscleshirt

achmairt wrote: »

The way I read it is:

If you got a top up grant in the year prior to you going on to do a postgrad, then you will get ALL your fee paid but no grant.

For all the rest of the students, they will have to be assessed and as long as they are under the limit of income, they will just get a 2000 contribution towards their fees. No grant will be paid to ANY student.

what is the situation in scotland?

achmairt

muscleshirt wrote: »

what is the situation in scotland?

There was never any fee grants for colleges outside Ireland for postgrads OR undergrads. Northern Ireland is treated the same as the Republic of Irl.

muscleshirt

achmairt wrote: »

There was never any fee grants for colleges outside Ireland for postgrads OR undergrads. Northern Ireland is treated the same as the Republic of Irl.

ye,but does'nt the scottish gov give free fees to EU undergrad students
not sure on the post/grad

achmairt

muscleshirt wrote: »

ye,but does'nt the scottish gov give free fees to EU undergrad students
not sure on the post/grad

not sure what they do. YOu may have to be resident there for a while to be eligible for fees I think

augusta24

Maybe the scottish govt have a system like that in place but I know its the not the case for all postgrad courses if so as I have looked into a course over there and I definitely would have had to pay fees etc.

The way I read the new details of the grant change is:

Current postgrad students who are getting grant will continue to do so next year (although the 3% decrease will affect them).

New students will be means tested. Those that would normally qualify for special rate top up i.e. have a sw payment counted in their income and income below the threshold (think its 22000 roughly maybe a bit more), will have their full fees paid (up to about €6500 that is).
Then everyone else will be means tested and you may or may not qualify for €2000 contribution towads your fees. But I imagine this won't be for everyone who would have got a grant as they say its only for 4000 students.

They said that they have roughly 9000 qualifying for grants every year and 2000 are special rate top ups so I would imagine that means the income levels will be a lot lower in order to qualify for this €2000 contribution.

muscleshirt

augusta24 wrote: »

Maybe the scottish govt have a system like that in place but I know its the not the case for all postgrad courses if so as I have looked into a course over there and I definitely would have had to pay fees etc.

The way I read the new details of the grant change is:

Current postgrad students who are getting grant will continue to do so next year (although the 3% decrease will affect them).

New students will be means tested. Those that would normally qualify for special rate top up i.e. have a sw payment counted in their income and income below the threshold (think its 22000 roughly maybe a bit more), will have their full fees paid (up to about €6500 that is).
Then everyone else will be means tested and you may or may not qualify for €2000 contribution towads your fees. But I imagine this won't be for everyone who would have got a grant as they say its only for 4000 students.

They said that they have roughly 9000 qualifying for grants every year and 2000 are special rate top ups so I would imagine that means the income levels will be a lot lower in order to qualify for this €2000 contribution.

what income is taking into account for P/G ..22 living at home on jobseekers..

Annasopra

Clarity and information on the very specific changes won't be available until around June or July next year.

Poor_old_gill

mango salsa wrote: »

Clarity and information on the very specific changes won't be available until around June or July next year.

Which makes planning all the more difficult!

So to qualify for the top-up grant as it now is- you need to be on social welfare for a year?
Is that the criteria?

Prez2

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

Which makes planning all the more difficult!

Yeah I just wish the clarity was out there already - I'm working voluntary while on the dole to get the experience to get on a course but now I'm screwed and the voluntary work I'm doing is pointless now. Really need to know the details so I can just move on and do something else to get a paid job.

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

So to qualify for the top-up grant as it now is- you need to be on social welfare for a year?
Is that the criteria?

It depends on what Social Welfare payment you were receiving e.g. to qualify you would have to have a reckonable income of less than €22,703 for the year prior to entering the course and have been on Job Seekers Benefit for 365 days or Job Seekers Allowance for 391 days also up until December 31st of the year prior to entering the course - both of these times periods seem to allow a cumulative number of days i.e. not a continuous period of 391 days (though the info is contradictory in the document as it suggests a continuous period of 12 months on JSB but then has a note saying that periods of JSB can be combined to make up the time period).

Check Schedule 2 of the Student Grant Scheme 2011 for details on the special rate requirement.

igwe

please i need advice, i have been living in ireland since july 2010 also married to irish citizen. i have also be on jobseekers since then. i got an offer in carlow IT and i wanted to know if i will be getting the student grant or fee grant becos the said u have to be living in ireland for 3 of the last 5 years.

achmairt

igwe wrote: »

please i need advice, i have been living in ireland since july 2010 also married to irish citizen. i have also be on jobseekers since then. i got an offer in carlow IT and i wanted to know if i will be getting the student grant or fee grant becos the said u have to be living in ireland for 3 of the last 5 years.

If you lived in the EU prior to coming to Ireland, you will get your registration fee paid but no grant (provided you are under the income limit). If you lived OUTSIDE the EU prior to coming to Ireland, you will not be considered for a grant or fees until you are here for three years and you must prove permanent residency in Ireland (letter from Dept. of Justice giving the reason why you are allowed to remain).

igwe

achmairt wrote: »

If you lived in the EU prior to coming to Ireland, you will get your registration fee paid but no grant (provided you are under the income limit). If you lived OUTSIDE the EU prior to coming to Ireland, you will not be considered for a grant or fees until you are here for three years and you must prove permanent residency in Ireland (letter from Dept. of Justice giving the reason why you are allowed to remain).

You have a very strong point here, i am living in ireland through marriage to my beautiful wife and she an irish citizen. i have been living in ireland since july 2010 and i am under the jobseekers and also have a stamp 4. do u think i am eligible

paperclip2

Have you checked the step by step residency info on studentfinance.ie?:
http://www.studentfinance.ie/mp9546/step-2-check-your-residency-status/index.html

Step 2: Check your Residency Status
In order to qualify for a grant a student must be legally resident in Ireland for at least 3 of the 5 years up to the day before your approved course commences in an approved college. If you do not qualify at the beginning of your course, it is possible for you to meet this requirement during the course of your studies; reviewed at the beginning of an academic year.

In Section B of the application form you will be asked to confirm if you were legally resident in Ireland for 3 of the last 5 years. If your answer is yes - just click the box and SUSI will at a later stage in the application process request supporting documents from you. Suggested documents would be:

• Evidence that you sat the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate exams in Ireland, or equivalent school exams in the EU, EEA or Switzerland;
• a letter from a school principal in Ireland, the EU, EEA or Switzerland confirming your attendance at a school;
• Social welfare statements, or equivalents from the EU, EEA or Switzerland;
• Utility bills;
• Registration with the Private Residential Tenancies Boards (PRTB), or equivalent from the EU, EEA or Switzerland;
• If you are a non-EEA national, a letter from the Department of Justice and Equality confirming the period of your lawful presence in Ireland. Periods of unlawful presence will not be considered.
• Other supporting documents that may be requested in respect of 3 of the last 5 years:

If you were working, a photocopy of your P60 Revenue Statements;

• Bank statements.
• A combination of any of the above documents may be requested as considered appropriate by SUSI.

Note: A minimum of one document per year is required.

If you have not been resident in Ireland for 3 of the last 5 years you click the no box and you will then have the following options:

EU Member State /the EEA/Swiss Residents

If you have been living in another EU Member State, the EEA or Switzerland for at least 3 of the last 5 years immediately before the date on which a year of study commences, you may be eligible for a grant for tuition fees only. If you do not qualify at the beginning of your course, it is possible for you to meet this requirement during the course of your studies; reviewed at the beginning of an academic year. You will be required to provide photocopies of supporting documents such as income tax returns/domestic bills showing your residency in that country.

If you were Studying Abroad

If you do not meet the residency requirement in Ireland because you were temporarily resident outside Ireland because you were pursuing an approved course of study or postgraduate research in the EU, then you may still be eligible to apply for a student grant. In this case, you will need to have been legally resident in Ireland for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately before you commenced that course of study or postgraduate research.