Mature Student, studying in Derry (fees, childcare, maintenance)

pennylanes

Hi,

I live in the Northwest and I really want to go back to do my degree as a mature student so I can open my own business. It a fairly specific course and luckily it's available in Derry (I live in Donegal) in a three year course. It's only a 40 minute drive away so I can commute. I have a child and a mortgage. My partners earnings are minimum wage so we don't have a lot to splash out on college fees. I have tried to call every government agency and even tried contacting councils to see if I could get assistance but I've hit countless brick walls. I am in a full time fairly well paid job, but I don't think it's going to last.

I would like to know the following;

Am I entitled to any fee payments because Im going over the border?

Is there any maintenance or childcare grants available? In the north, the students are given grants for all of these things but I do not qualify if I'm crossing the border.

If anyone can point me inthe right direction here as I am cracking up trying to figure a way of doing this without any money at all!

Thanks:rolleyes:

Annasopra

You MIGHT be entitled to a grant. The problem is that grants are means tested based on your income of October of the previous year. So your wages in October 2011 would be means tested. There is a clause regarding change of circumstances so obviously if you leave your job that is a change of circumstances

meoklmrk91

If you don't mind my asking are you in receipt of any social welfare payments?

paperclip2

To be honest most assistance is targeted at people on low income or in receipt of social welfare. Someone who leaves a job to study full time is usually at a disadvantage in relation to education funding.

Depending on your income you might be eligible for a 'fee grant':

Fee grants
A fee grant can cover any of the following 3 elements:

• All or part of the student contribution
• Costs of essential field trips
• All or part of a student’s tuition fees (but not if covered by the Free Fees Scheme)

In general, if you qualify for a maintenance grant you will qualify for all elements of the fee grant. However, you will not get the tuition element of a fee grant if you already qualify for free tuition under the Free Fees Schemes.

You may qualify for a fee grant, but not a maintenance grant, if you are what is called a 'tuition student' under the Student Grant Scheme. A tuition student is someone who fulfils all the conditions for a student grant except for residence in the State, but who has been resident in an EEA state or Switzerland for 3 of the last 5 years.

The members of the EEA (the European Economic Area) are the 27 members of the EU, along with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

Students doing Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses do not get fee grants, but if you qualify for a maintenance grant you will be exempt from the PLC participant contribution.

Fee grants are available for approved courses below graduate level in Ireland and for approved postgraduate courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, there are no fee grants for courses in other EU states.

See ‘Approved courses and institutions' below for further detail.


How student grants are administered
Under the Student Grant Scheme, local authorities continue to deal with student grants in respect of:

Universities

• Prescribed educational institutions in Ireland (such as colleges of education)
• Approved undergraduate courses in approved educational institutions in the EU
• Approved postgraduate courses in approved educational institutions in Northern Ireland

These grants were previously handled under the Higher Education Grants Scheme.

Taken from Citizens information: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/third_level_education/fees_and_supports_for_third_level_education/maintenance_grant_schemes_for_students_on_third_level_courses.html