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Unable to pay student contribution

sleepyheadh

Hi guys,

Just a quick question, I'm going into my second yr. I struggled to pay the sc last year, but this year with the increased cost I don't think I'll be able to pay. Does anyone have any advice as to how I might be able to solve this ?

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NormalBob Ubiquitypants

When I was in undergrad I found the grant system unfair as it was based on my family income, nothing to the fact that I was going to be paying for everything. As a result I was not eligible for a grant. Went to university and a load of people who lived within walking distance of the place were getting some kind of half grant.

Lawliet

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Someone said the exact same thing about 15 posts ago, and in pretty much every other discussion that's ever been had about third level fees. Still it never seems to add anything of value to the conversation.

I haven't seen anyone demanding free third level education, just people being frustrated with the current system.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

sleepyheadh

adocholiday wrote: »

It's very unfair on families caught in the middle. My brother is hoping to start a course this year but my parents fall into that area where they can't afford to pay fees/maintenance/rent/materials but are outside of the grant cut off. Very frustrating and he may not be able to go as a result.

OP I presume you've been down the road of grant application etc?

Same boat as you in that respect.. over the income total, but they don't take into account any of the debts the family might have!

adocholiday

It's very unfair on families caught in the middle. My brother is hoping to start a course this year but my parents fall into that area where they can't afford to pay fees/maintenance/rent/materials but are outside of the grant cut off. Very frustrating and he may not be able to go as a result.

OP I presume you've been down the road of grant application etc?

sleepyheadh

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

https://www.tcd.ie/academicregistry/fees-payments/course-fees/UG_EU_Fees_2013-14.pdf

But you don't have to pay that amount to attend the course. You only need to pay the Student Contribution

bscm

Lawliet wrote: »

Actually not including the student contribution its closer to 5500 for STEM and 6300 for some health science courses. Basically the SC is roughly 50-75% of the tuition fees depending on your course, and its not even tax deductible which full fees would be.
There's nothing free about third level education.

True but CS is over 6700 in tuition alone, Information Systems is also ridiculous money in tuition.

Still sickening that we have to pay so much money in SC alone for what is now considered a basic/necessary qualification for entry level jobs in a lot of industries.

Lawliet

bscm wrote: »

Down our end though it's closer to 7000 for a year in some science courses

Actually not including the student contribution its closer to 5500 for STEM and 6300 for some health science courses. Basically the SC is roughly 50-75% of the tuition fees depending on your course, and its not even tax deductible which full fees would be.
There's nothing free about third level education.

SureYWouldntYa

sleepyheadh wrote: »

Where is this?

https://www.tcd.ie/academicregistry/fees-payments/course-fees/UG_EU_Fees_2013-14.pdf

sleepyheadh

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

7417 in most Science and Engineering course this year, rising by 250 for next year

Where is this?

SureYWouldntYa

bscm wrote: »

Down our end though it's closer to 7000 for a year in some science courses

7417 in most Science and Engineering course this year, rising by 250 for next year

bscm

Lawliet wrote: »

It currently costs students €2750 to attend college and that's increasing to €3000 next year. When you take away the student contribution (which I don't think even goes to the college) full tuition fees for arts and business courses are just over €3600.

Calling it free fees at this stage is a joke.

Down our end though it's closer to 7000 for a year in some science courses

Lawliet

TheBandicoot wrote: »

If the government believes that why do they still keep the Free Fees program?

It currently costs students €2750 to attend college and that's increasing to €3000 next year. When you take away the student contribution (which I don't think even goes to the college) full tuition fees for arts and business courses are just over €3600.

Calling it free fees at this stage is a joke.

sdanseo

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

I like the English model, where you take a loan but don't pay it back until you start working

Just gotta work on the fees. Our fees, even where payable in full, are only about €4,000 including the Student Contribution for the likes of an IT (obviously more in universities).

I don't necessarily think that free fees are a good idea because students who have the SC and nothing else to pay, in addition to the many whose parents help them out (myself included) are less incentivised to work as hard because they don't have to slug away at a job afterwards to pay it back.

Sum total of all this, OP, is that it's not the end of the world. If you have any sort of a decent work ethic and can demonstrate this to an agency capable of lending you the money then I'd have every confidence that you will both be able to secure finance and also pay it back without too much problem.

TheBandicoot

Anything would be better than the current half assed approach, it is just causing undue stress and confusion due to a failure to legislate.

SureYWouldntYa

I like the English model, where you take a loan but don't pay it back until you start working

TheBandicoot

If the government believes that why do they still keep the Free Fees program?

The problem is the government agrees with you, but don't have the balls to follow through on what that belief means.

SureYWouldntYa

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Are we really moving to a US model of burdening students with debt to pay for their education?

Things in life aren't supposed to be free. Education at this level is a privilege, not a right

TheBandicoot

Are we really moving to a US model of burdening students with debt to pay for their education?

bscm

You can pay in two instalments. Or in extreme cases apply for financial assistance if you don't receive a grant.

Failing that, banks like AIB and BOI do student loan deals/overdrafts. If you know you're going to get a chunk of money within the next year (through a job etc), then you can get an interest free student overdraft. Otherwise the mentioned banks do student loan deals. You can take out X amount per year (you can increase it according to student contribution as long as you tell the bank before you need it), and they can work out a repayment plan for you.

You can pay interest only (with AIB it's less than 30 a month), and then repay whatever's left after you graduate (up to 4 years of student contributions, unless you choose to stay in education in which case they change your plan until you enter full time employment provided you've met the previous repayments). Or you can pay off some capital with the interest, and have less to pay off after graduation or whenever you start earning enough to pay some of the loan off.

sleepyheadh

Thomas D wrote: »

You won't be able to enrol.

Thanks for that

tenifan

sleepyheadh wrote: »

Hi guys,

Just a quick question, I'm going into my second yr. I struggled to pay the sc last year, but this year with the increased cost I don't think I'll be able to pay. Does anyone have any advice as to how I might be able to solve this ?

Get a Job.
Defer until you can afford it.
Get a loan (credit union / bank)
Ask parents for help.
See if there's a hardship fund in your college.

sdanseo

Try and look at a student loan. Many banks will see the potential earnings and offer you finance even with minimal income.

IIRC, AIB had an advert running during the year in the papers and online also. See http://personal.aib.ie/our-products/loans/finance-for-students (No affiliation, I'm sure other banks do the same).

Thomas D

You won't be able to enrol.