How to afford a nutrition course?

Darragh11

Hello everyone I'm 25 lost my job last August after doing an apprenticeship in refrigeration but work fried up, I'm still on my job seekers benefit until August but I would love to do a corse in nutrition but they are all so dear and can anyone tell me do I qualify as a mature student, could I still get paid from social welfare even when my stamps run out in August?

Crunchy Friends

You can go back to college as a mature student if you are over 23 years of age.

You will qualify for 'free fees' if you are an Irish citizen and have never done a 3rd level course before. You would still be liable to pay the registration fee which for next year is 2250e.

You may be eligible for a student grant but it is means tested and isn't a huge amount of money - if you were successful in getting a maintenance grant it pays your registration fee for you, unless you get the lowest rate which pays half the registration fee for you.

The grant isn't a huge amount of money to live on and you will have to look at course materials etc as they can be costly.

Check out www.studentfinance.ie for more info on student finances.

If you have been unemployed for 9 months and claiming jobseekers allowance/benefit for 9 months you may be eligible for the back to education allowance. This is a weekly payment of €188. If you get the back to education allowance you will also get a small payment of €300 at the start of the college year to help you with materials.

You cannot claim the back to education and the student grant at the same time, however, if you were successful in getting the back to education grant you can still apply for the student grant scheme to pay your 2250 registration fee on your behalf as the back to education scheme doesn't cover this.

Darragh11

Thank you for all that info!