Can't afford college . . .

LegacyUser

Can someone offer some advice please. I'm a student living at home, which is an hour and a half away from college. Last year I really struggled with money. There were times where I didn't even have bus fare to get to college.

My patents try to help but my father is unemployed and my mother is on careers allowance, looking after my sick grandmother. So there is very little they can do.

Last year I got the grant of approx 3200 plus 800 from the esf as I'm an access student. I also applied for a grant from my local partnership but was turned down as they had limited resources and apparently there were worse of people.

Someone suggested that we contact st vincent de paul but my mother won't. She is afraid they will just refuse us, because we have a nice house(from when we had money) and thinks they will think we don't need it and she thinks it's too shameful.

I'm from a disadvantaged area and I'm the first in my family to go to college but I really don't know if I'll be able to continue. Does anyone have any idea of what I can do? I've tried and tried to get a job but I just can't.

littlefriend

There should be a student welfare/advice officer in you college. Go to them and they will help you as there are usually funds in place this kind of thing. Unless you are in a plc or further education course you can apply to the student assistance fund - info here - http://www.studentfinance.ie/mp7235/student-assistance-fund/index.html

There is also a section on student finances under 'edu' on boards. Might find some helpful information there.

Good luck.

homerjay2005

maybe get a small loan to fund the bus trips for the year? once your able to get there and attend, its a start. the grant can cover the rest hopefully.

Sleepy

How expensive are bus fares? Would it be cheaper in the long run if you used some of your grant to buy a second-hand scooter (allowing in your calculations for petrol, tax, insurance etc? Is there anyone else from your area attending the college that you could carpool with? Petrol money would surely be cheaper than a bus fare (maybe stick up a few notes in college?).

In my old university college term took up roughly 8 months (35 weeks) of the year, assuming you have lectures 5 days a week that means 175 days you need to commute to the college for. With a total grant of €4,000, that allows you just under €23 per day. Of course, I've not allowed for books or materials from that but materials tend to be no more than a few A4 pads and pens, you have access to computer labs in college and the books you require should be well stocked in the college library.

It leaves little room for luxury or a social life but it should be possible for you to attend college on that grant if you budget carefully.

Contact your Students Union and see if they can help. Certainly when I was in college, the union could also be a source of work so no harm asking if they have work going (I variously worked the union bar, cloakroom and photocopying office over my time in college. None paid brilliantly but would surely cover buses to and from college). Even if you picked up a couple of hours a week it might let you eat in the canteen instead of bringing sandwiches, splash out on a fancy coffee or have a night out once in a while. A lot of shops will be looking for temporary staff to cover Christmas soon, a few good weeks of work in the lead up to it and over your holidays would boost your funds significantly. It will mean having to juggle this with your exam study but that's a reality most students face tbh.

The Credit Union do pretty decent student loans but I'd be wary of one unless you know you'll have work over the summer that you'll be able to pay it back with.

I'm sure it'll be galling to watch the rich kids driving to college in the Mini Cooper Daddy bought them slugging lattés like there's no tomorrow and wearing designer everything whilst planning their J1 or latest night out but their existence is a simple fact of life us normal people have to deal with. The chance to make your own kids lives that easy starts with your degree.

Ever2010

I was pretty much the same in college only that I didn't get a grant. Worked all summer for bus fares and some books (not all!), my dad did work near enough so I would get a lift with him in my final year, so I had a 45 min walk in and out.

I worked in the college canteen washing dishes etc for an hour each day - it paid about 30 a week so that was the only thing that saw me through. My mam would throw me the odd 20 quid for bus fare when she could.

amen

Sorry you get approx 4,000 in grants each year and all fees/registration costs paid for ?

So the average college year in Ireland is around 36 weeks thats 100euro per week tax free and you live at home. You need to manage your money better.

Make a budget and determine how much you need to bring to live on each week. Bring a packed lunch to college ( I did). Get a student card and buy monthly student travel tickets. Only go out once every 3-4 weeks. Stay in a friends house if you are out late.

Don't use Taxis. Walk/Cycle everywhere.

Fenian Army

You are managing your money disastrously.

4000? Even if you have to pay the reg fee out of that you till have over 1500 left. Thats plenty of money tbh, much more than I have to live off.

You live at home and have little expenses (ie dont have to pay for food). If you need books there is the library and there should be a fund in your college to help out on that front too.

Mr. Incognito

I worked all the way through college to fund it.

Can you not get a job?

Neyite

I think that if you can car pool with someone and pay them petrol money, it might help a lot - do you or your parents know anyone who commutes to and from work that would be willing to give you a lift. Or invest in a cheap bike? It would work out cheaper in the long run than buses maybe?

For part time jobs, a lot of places dont advertise so its really a matter of pounding the streets looking for adverts in windows with a few cv's ready to hand in. See if you can get someone to help you out with your cv. I've seen over in Work & Jobs posters are really knowledgeable and helpful.

There is nothing to stop you from approaching SVDP yourself, just to see if they can help - if they say no, then you never have to mention it to your mother, but if they do, it might be even to help set you up with contacts for work or a lift, or help you with say, funding a cheap bike for you.

Bring food from home as much as you can during your day instead of buying it in a canteen unless its heavily subsidised. See if you can share books with a classmate for any subjects. That's about all I can think of for now.

Neyite

Mod:

Oops! Zombie thread. I reckon the OP has graduated by now so locking this.