Confused about fees! (first year)

biohaiid

Hi, I'm (hopefully) starting UL soon.
I got an information booklet about orientation etc in the post recently.
It says that all fees must be paid before enrollment, orientation etc.
However I have not yet finished the application for me grant. I think I should get it, but what do I do untill I do?
Do I pay the fees? How much will it be?
I know there are tuition fees and student contribution but I dont know the difference.
And how do I know if I am entitled to free fees and how do they work?
If I do pay before enrollment, will I be refunded the amount?
Or is there any way of reassuring UL I will be receiving the grant?

NiaBlack

Hi! I can't answer all your questions but I had to ask some of them myself recently too.

It's true that fees must be paid before enrolment (which opens Tuesday and must be completed before orientation). If you are an Irish national and this is your first time entering college then you're eligible for the Free Fees scheme. That means that you pay the Student Contribution fee and not the tuition fee. If you're eligible for this scheme (please double check your eligibility if you've done a Level 7) then for Semester 1 you will have to pay €1,197. That includes the student contribution and the student centre levy. You'll have to pay the second half of the student contribution in Dec/Jan.

I am not sure about the grants as I'm not eligible for one. However, I do think that the fee still has to be paid. May I ask how far are you in your application? Has SUSI (or whatever it's called) asked for your documentation yet? If they have then perhaps you might be able to call them and see if they can bump you up the queue a little... Although I don't think that would work.

Because I'm not sure about the grants then I'd recommend asking this over at http://ulorientation.wordpress.com/about/. They were very helpful with all questions I asked.

Ave Sodalis

I'm not sure about the lesser grants but I do know that with a full grant, the fees are paid for you I do think I had to pay a small contribution last year but I can't remember

Agent_99

If you think that you are entitled to the grant there are 3 sections of Fees

Tuition Fees (paid by SUSI if it is your first time attending Uni and Irish/EU national)

Student Registration Fee (€2250 can be paid by SUSI if your/Family income is under the limit) Otherwise paid by you. reckonable income limits 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

Student Contribution (€72 last year but I think it is going up to €100) has to be paid by you no matter if you qualify for the grant or not.

If you believe that you are entitled to the full grant then only paid the Student Contribution and have the receipt with you when you go to orientation and show the Fee office confirmation that you have applied for the grant and are waiting for a reply from them.
UL will start to chase the fees around Oct/Nov if they have not received them just keep copies of all correspondence from SUSI.

biohaiid

Thanks for the info.
The problem is I haven't yet finished the online app. due to family issues.
So, I do not think I will receive a letter confirming my eligibility to receive the grant to show to UL.

So, before orientation will I have to pay tuition fees, registration fees and the student contribtion? And then when I get my grant be refunded the first 2?

Agent_99

Is this your first bite at 3rd Level? Are you a Irish/EU national? Have you lived in Ireland for 3 of the past 5 years?

If you can answer all of these YES then you will be entitled to Free Tuition Fees,
You don't pay!

Is your family income below the limits for Higher Education Grant?
Yes, Pay only the Student Contribution portion.


No, Pay Student Registration Fees and Student contribution.

I don't know you circumstances regarding family income i.e. High Earners so the only query would be the Student Registration portion. If you pay it and are entitled to the Higher Education Grant you will receive a refund from the Fees office once they have received payment from the SUSI.

biohaiid

Okay, so I'm eligible for free fees.
And my family income is below the limits.
So I guess I only have to pay the student contribution before orientation, is this correct?

EDIT: Or, will I pay the student registration fees too, and get them refunded when I receive my grant?

Agent_99

Yes, What is it this year ? It was €72 last year but rumors that it was going to increase and I have not received my invoice yet

biohaiid

Agent_99 wrote: »

Yes, What is it this year ? It was €72 last year but rumors that it was going to increase and I have not received my invoice yet

I think it's still €72.
I'll check to make sure.

wnolan1992

Pay the €2072 if you have it.

€2000 of it will be refunded if your grant is approved.

It's easier that way just in case you don't get the grant for whatever reason IMO.

I'm almost positive it's still €72 for the contribution. AFAIK the SU has to hold a referendum to increase it, and I can't remember there being one last year. (open to correction on this as my head is a bit fried atm)

Agent_99

Student registration has gone up to €2250, when I started 2 years ago the fees office told us that if you believe that you will get the grant not to pay it as it only creates more work to do the refunds.
They will accept the receipt for the €72 at orientation to get enrolled and email set up etc,

€2250 payment would put a lot of families under pressure esp if they are entitled to the full grant as this proves they are of limited means in the first place

wnolan1992

Agent_99 wrote: »

Student registration has gone up to €2250, when I started 2 years ago the fees office told us that if you believe that you will get the grant not to pay it as it only creates more work to do the refunds.
They will accept the receipt for the €72 at orientation to get enrolled and email set up etc,

€2250 payment would put a lot of families under pressure esp if they are entitled to the full grant as this proves they are of limited means in the first place

Crap, completely forgot about the increase.

I was lucky in that I had savings before I started, so I paid the registration fee up front and got it refunded. Probably more hassle for the fees office, but it gave me peace of mind as the grant application was taking an absolute age-and-a-half to go through.

Agent_99

When I started I had the reg fee saved as well and was delight when they told us not to pay it, this was during Mature Student induction before the fees were due and I had already paid €100 to except my place so I got a €28 refund but it took until Feb to get my grant sorted so every time I received a reminder from the college about fees I just went up to the office and explained I was waiting on the grant.

Hopefully they will be quicker this year with the renewals as Limerick CoCo will have no new applications to deal with.

biohaiid

My mother rang up today and I only have to pay the €72.
For the student reg. fees I just present them with a copy of the email I will get from SUSI to say they are processing my grant.
Thanks for all the help