BTEA vs Maintenance Grant Question

roisin24

Hi all,

Something some of you guys may be able to clear up for me...

I've applied for a course which begins in September of this year. I have been on social welfare since December 2010. I am 25 and have never been to 3rd level college before, and from what i have been told this means i will be entitled to the Back To Education Allowance with free fees.
However some people have told me that i need to also apply for a maintenance grant.

1. Can anyone clarify if i am also entitled to this?
2. When you get the back to ed. allowance, does rent supplement come with it, and if so what is the average amount of rent supplement?
3. Do i need to apply for free fees separately from the BTEA and the maintenance grant or do they come along with either of those applications?

Sorry for the trouble but its tricky to get my head all around it all!

Thanx
Roisin

Agent_99

Back to education will give you a weekly allowance to live on and the social welfare will pay your fees,

You also need to apply for a grant from your local county council or VEC to have the admission fee paid approx €2000, if accepted this will be paid directly to your college.

The process could be streamlined but only you get everything sorted you should be fine. They will ask for a lot of paperwork regarding Independent living, Bills Bank statements, 3 of the passed 5 years living in Ireland etc....

check out http://www.studentfinance.ie/

roisin24

hi Agent,

thanks for your reply. And do you know if i would also be entitled to the grant if i get the BTEA? I live at home with my parents, but i would be moving to my place of study which is the opposite side of the country.

Thanks again,

Roisin

Agent_99

Hi Roisin,

It is an either or situation with the Grant and BTEA, If you have been accepted for BTEA go with that because it is more money over the course of the term.

The only Grant you will have to apply for is admission fees, you won't get the Maintainance portion of that as well they changed the rules last year so you can only receive one or the other.

I only get the Grant as I was working up until August last year before I returned to college which means I cannot get BTEA.

Good luck with your course !

Adam

I'm in basically the exact same situation as roisín, and was also wondering about applying for Rent Allowance on BTEA, as I will have to move to Dublin?

Also, how does BTEA work for the summer months and mid semester holidays?

darragh o meara

Adam wrote: »

I'm in basically the exact same situation as roisín, and was also wondering about applying for Rent Allowance on BTEA, as I will have to move to Dublin?

Also, how does BTEA work for the summer months and mid semester holidays?

Not sure about the rent allowance but I cant see it being a problem, as regards BTEA during the summer you simply have to sign on againg which unfortunately means if you were on a reduced amount before going on BTEA you will be going back on that amount again for the summer and then back to full allowance €212 in my own case in September when you return to college. Mid semester breaks are counted as college year so no break in your BTEA.

Its also worth noting that when you sign on in the college and provide suitable proof to the social welfare office you will automatically be entitled to a materials allowance of €500 and God will you need every penny of it.

Hope this helps

Adam

thanks for the reply! however I've just discovered that I need to have been on JSA/JSB for 9 months to qualify for BTEA, I thought the cut off was six months, i'll be on JSA for 8 months by the time the course I'm applying for starts, and it's in dublin...

how does one pay rent and survive on three grand for 9 months of college each year on the maintenance grant?? am i missing something?