Grants And social welfare for mature students

thelongwait08

Hi Guys,
I am hoping to get the opportunity to study as a mature student in IT Sligo next year, but i have a few questions

1: I have been living in london since september 2011 and i will be moving back pending i get a place in college, what are my entitlements as a mature student if i get accepted to college will i be able to sign on whilst im in college

2: when i move back to ireland am i better off moving in somewhere other than a relatives house in order to set myself up better to be supported by grants and benefits otherwise i wont be able to afford to go to college,

its hard to know where i stand as at the moment i am not living in ireland and i will have to apply for grant from another country, pending being accepted i plan to move to sligo in mid july?

Please Advise

Captain Slow IRL

This should tell you everything you need to know:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/back_to_education/

thelongwait08

ive looked through the information on that website and its hard to get a straight answer from it, i think i will be known as a second chance student and i will be deemed independent if i have not lived with a family member since October last year, but i cant see anything regarding moving from another country as a mature student who is an irish citizen

T-Bird

To get grant from VEC you will need to produce proof of residence in Ireland for past 3 years. I think applications for this start in mid June.

To qualify for BTEA you have to be signing on for 10 months I think (I know it was less than a year).

achmairt

You do not say if you already have a qualification? If you're going to college for the first time,you will only be able to get the free fees (no grant) as u need to be living in the state for three out of the last five years. If you were previously in college and dropped out, you need to be out of college for five years to qualify as a second chance student.