Questions regarding Mature Student entry

BornToRun88

I have a few questions I would like to ask about mature student entry. I tried google for them but they weren't direct to the point enough.

The questions are as follows

Are fees free for your course? I'm considering doing Arts in UCD. If fees weren't free in my situation I won't consider the mature student route.

Are there grants available for mature students with no income? I have savings but I don't want them to go away completely.

Is there a train allowance for mature students? I've earmarked that it's going to cost me €1,000 a year to travel to UCD from where I live.

If anyone( particularly current or past mature students) could help with these questions I would be delighted.

ResearchWill

BornToRun88 wrote: »

I have a few questions I would like to ask about mature student entry. I tried google for them but they weren't direct to the point enough.

The questions are as follows

Are fees free for your course? I'm considering doing Arts in UCD. If fees weren't free in my situation I won't consider the mature student route.

Are there grants available for mature students with no income? I have savings but I don't want them to go away completely.

Is there a train allowance for mature students? I've earmarked that it's going to cost me €1,000 a year to travel to UCD from where I live.

If anyone( particularly current or past mature students) could help with these questions I would be delighted.

I am assuming full time degree course.

Free Fees (if you can call them that registration fees are payable) are available if you have not studied at the same level before (I believe there are some exceptions)

Grants are available check with local authority. (this should also cover registration fees)

Not sure of the travel allowance, but if you are I think 45 k away from uni then you get a higher grant anyway.

Lots of info here http://www.studentfinance.ie/mp7237/back-to-education-allowance/index.html

If you are considering starting this September you need to get a move on closing date is 1st feb for many places, see here http://www2.cao.ie/handbook/handbook/index6.htm

Best of luck hope you have a great time.

Also make appointment with the SU welfare officer in which ever college you wish to attend, they should be able to give you info. There should also be a mature student society and or officer who should be able to give advice.

paperclip2

BornToRun88 wrote: »

Are fees free for your course? I'm considering doing Arts in UCD. If fees weren't free in my situation I won't consider the mature student route.

At present there are two sets of fees; Tuition fees and the Registration charge:

Tuition fees: At present tuition fees are covered by the government for Irish and EU students first attempt at third level education. As a general rule you can study up to a level 8 hons degree without paying tuition fees which can be anything from a few hundred euro to several thousand per year depending on the course. If you already hold any third level qualification you will not be eligible for free fees for an equivalent or lower level of qualification than the one you currently hold.

Registration charge This is a fee that is payable by all third level students. Currently it is €2000 and will rise to €2250 from Sept 2012. It is possible to have this paid on your behalf if you satisfy the eligibility criteria for the Fee Grant component of the Student Grant. The CIC website gives some good information on this here: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/third_level_education/fees_and_supports_for_third_level_education/maintenance_grant_schemes_for_students_on_third_level_courses.html

BornToRun88 wrote: »

Are there grants available for mature students with no income? I have savings but I don't want them to go away completely.

Yes grants are available and eligibility is based on a means assessment for the last tax year. The rate you may receive depends on the distance you live from the relevant college and your income. Again the Citizens Info link above gives full details.

If you are in receipt of a social welfare payment for at leat 9 months before your course starts you may be eligible to transfer to a Back to Education allowance which is a weekly payment from Social Welfare for people in full-time study. Details here: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/BackToEducation/Pages/ThirdLevelOption.aspx

BornToRun88 wrote: »

Is there a train allowance for mature students? I've earmarked that it's going to cost me €1,000 a year to travel to UCD from where I live.

No there are no grants specifically for travel. The Student Grant Scheme described above is meant to cover ancillary and education-related expenses.

NB regarding Arts at UCD:
If you are interested in applying for Arts in UCD as a mature student you need to apply to sit the MSAP test on the 18th February. http://msap.acer.edu.au/.
UCD will not consider your application without this. To apply for MSAP you need to have a CAO number.

Hope this helps

BornToRun88

Thanks for the information guys

ResearchWill: It's not my first time in university as I was in university before and dropped. First time on the first day and second time in January, past the October 31st date to get free fees.

Paperclip: What is the specific criteria to qualify for a student grant and get your tuition fees paid for? Going back to college for me depends on free fees and tuition fees. I haven't created a CAO application yet as I'm waiting to find out on this.

Also I live in the North East of Dublin so I'm not sure that's 45k from UCD.

paperclip2

BornToRun88 wrote: »

Thanks for the information guys
ResearchWill: It's not my first time in university as I was in university before and dropped. First time on the first day and second time in January, past the October 31st date to get free fees.

If you were in college already you will need to check if you can get free fees. If you left college previously with no third level qualifications more than 5 years ago you can qualify for full free fees under the second chance rule. If its less than 5 years then you may not have a free fee entitlement for the first semester of your new course. You can check your eligibility with the student support unit of the DES: 057 9325317.

BornToRun88 wrote: »

Paperclip: What is the specific criteria to qualify for a student grant and get your tuition fees paid for? Going back to college for me depends on free fees and tuition fees. I haven't created a CAO application yet as I'm waiting to find out on this.

Also I live in the North East of Dublin so I'm not sure that's 45k from UCD.

The criteria for the grant eligibility is really too long to go into in detail here but some of the main points are:

Qualifying for a student grant
Maintenance grant

To qualify for a maintenance grant, you must fulfil the conditions of the scheme as regards:

• Nationality and immigration status
• Residence
• Means

You must also be attending an approved course in an approved institution.

There are detailed conditions about the level of the course you are attending; whether you have attended a course at the same level already; and whether the course represents progression from your previous studies.

In general, you will not get a grant for repeating a year or attending a course at a level that does not represent progression from what you have done before. However, ‘second chance students’ may be eligible for a grant. A ‘second chance student’ is someone who is aged over 23, did not successfully complete an earlier course and is returning to pursue an approved course after at least 5 years.

Fee grant

If you qualify for a maintenance grant, you will qualify for all relevant elements of a fee grant.

You may qualify for a fee grant, but not a maintenance grant, if you are what is called a 'tuition student' under the Student Grant Scheme.

A tuition student is someone who fulfils all the conditions for a student grant except for residence in the State, but who has been resident in an EEA state or Switzerland for 3 of the last 5 years.

The full details of the income limits etc are available on the citizens info site: http://http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/third_level_education/fees_and_supports_for_third_level_education/maintenance_grant_schemes_for_students_on_third_level_courses.html
Scroll down to the 'Means Test' section and read on to the 'Rates' section.

BornToRun88

I think I'll have to pay the service charge and a half in First Year. I know someone who went changed course, not a mature student, and had to pay €3,200 for the first year as opposed to €2,000. Think I'll just have to pay tuition fees myself with a little help from the folks. Just desperately need to get a part time job lined up. I'm full time now but I'm not sure they'll take me on part time. I think they are full up for part time stuff.

Posy

If I did a degree some years ago in a private college, I assume I wouldn't now qualify for the 'free fees' scheme, no?