Waiting for SUSI dilemma- what to do?

AlexDublin

Hey guys,

I just need some advice. I am a mature student who has been approved for BTEA for a level 8 degree course starting on 24 Sept. I have applied to SUSI for a student contribution fees only grant. I applied to susi online on 30 july 2012 and last week (7 sep) sent in all my required documents ? (i was waiting for ages on a few from the tax office).

I am not sure if I am eligible for free fees so i have a level 6 plc course as a back up organised. However that PLC course starts next week 17 sep. I have spoke to the plc course director and they understand my predicament and are flexible until 24 sep. do u think that i can somehow get an answer from susi by then? of so, how?

I understand that everyone is in the same boat waiting for unorganised slow motion susi. but i really would love to get this all sorted by the end of next week. has anyone got any advice? i tried to ring and emailed susi today to no avail. I will try again tomorrow.

thank you in advance guys,

alex.


oh and also in my level 8 course there is a compulsory field trip. do i apply to susi for a contribution to this as well? is there a seperate process?

cheers
:-)

AlexDublin

any takers?

Buzzzzzin

Susi grants applications are being outsourced to a company in cork to deal with afaik. My docs arrived there on 4th Sept but still no reply. Everyone waiting on word back is in a q supposedly. No info available on individual applications and Susi are supposedly to reply to applicants who sent in documentation in mid Sept. First payments supposedly being scheduled for mid Oct. Very vague information on what is going on. Anyone else have any info??

PlainP

Yes we are all in the same boat unfortunately.

I rang SUSI last week, they said that I was provisionally eligible for fees but that I have to wait for them to send me an email or contact by post before I can send off the confirmation of acceptance form.

I have until the end of Sept to pay approx 4,500 euro. I am hoping the I get the email before then as I don't have that kind of money. So it's just a waiting game really.

achmairt

AlexDublin wrote: »

Hey guys,

I just need some advice. I am a mature student who has been approved for BTEA for a level 8 degree course starting on 24 Sept. I have applied to SUSI for a student contribution fees only grant. I applied to susi online on 30 july 2012 and last week (7 sep) sent in all my required documents ? (i was waiting for ages on a few from the tax office).

I am not sure if I am eligible for free fees so i have a level 6 plc course as a back up organised. However that PLC course starts next week 17 sep. I have spoke to the plc course director and they understand my predicament and are flexible until 24 sep. do u think that i can somehow get an answer from susi by then? of so, how?

I understand that everyone is in the same boat waiting for unorganised slow motion susi. but i really would love to get this all sorted by the end of next week. has anyone got any advice? i tried to ring and emailed susi today to no avail. I will try again tomorrow.

thank you in advance guys,

alex.


oh and also in my level 8 course there is a compulsory field trip. do i apply to susi for a contribution to this as well? is there a seperate process?

cheers
:-)[/QUOTE

I would ring the nearest VEC office and give them your details, past courses, being independent, income etc and they will be able to tell u if you are eligible for fees. If it is straightforward, you should be more or less sure that you will be awarded fees so it's a matter of waiting for the grant award letter.

AlexDublin

Thanks guys.

I rang SUSI today to see how my application is going. I got through to a guy who said they have not registered my documentation that i sent in as received yet. They said it may be in sorting. I sent it by registered post. Perhaps this slowed it down? anyways....

I asked when I am likely to hear back from SUSI on whether or not I am approved and he said he could not give a date. I asked will I hear back before my course starts on 24 Sept and he said "i am 100% sure that you wont"

So I said "ok so i am stuck in the backlog"
to which he replied...... " there is no backlog, you have had since june to apply and people who applied then will be dealt with first"

I was not rude or pushy at all but his attitude was not what i would have expected from a customer service agent. A little understanding goes a long way.....

I am really disappointed in SUSI, I would love to study my degree course this year and I feel they dont want me to......

yikes!

AlexDublin

Why does this whole SUSI grant application have to happen this late in the year?! So close to starting our studies. Surely there has to be a better way.....

Does the Department of Education not care?

michelleling

AlexDublin wrote: »

Hey guys,

I just need some advice. I am a mature student who has been approved for BTEA for a level 8 degree course starting on 24 Sept. I have applied to SUSI for a student contribution fees only grant. I applied to susi online on 30 july 2012 and last week (7 sep) sent in all my required documents ? (i was waiting for ages on a few from the tax office).

I am not sure if I am eligible for free fees so i have a level 6 plc course as a back up organised. However that PLC course starts next week 17 sep. I have spoke to the plc course director and they understand my predicament and are flexible until 24 sep. do u think that i can somehow get an answer from susi by then? of so, how?

I understand that everyone is in the same boat waiting for unorganised slow motion susi. but i really would love to get this all sorted by the end of next week. has anyone got any advice? i tried to ring and emailed susi today to no avail. I will try again tomorrow.

thank you in advance guys,

alex.


oh and also in my level 8 course there is a compulsory field trip. do i apply to susi for a contribution to this as well? is there a seperate process?

cheers
:-)

Firstly why do you think that you re not eligible for Free Fees?

Based on the information you've given, you wont be hearing from SUSI for atleast the end of September.

I dont know why you think that you dont qualify for Free Fees, but if you do, you dont need to worry as you will defo get a Grant Approval from SUSI

You submitted your documents a lit late that others so you gotta wait for atleast 2 weeks which then they ll send you an email confirming your provisional award or request some omitted documents. And then grant you afterwards.


You do not need to apply separately for field trip. It is part of the application that you've already made.

hdowney

Ok first of all you can't apply for a grant until you have a place in college ( I know that provisionally you 'can' send in your forms before your CAO letter comes, but they don't start processing anything until you have confirmation of a place) so starting any earlier in the year would be pointless cos they couldn't do anything anyway.

Secondly OP you seem under the impression you started your application in July and that when they got your documents it should have been as simple as reading over once and saying yes (as in they should have provisionally confirmed you (or denied) and were just waiting on the docs. This isn't the case. They don't look through your application UNTIL all supporting documents arrive in. You only sent these on the 7th so you would have gone to the bottom of the pile. You will have a wait yet I'd say and be pretty sure you won't hear anything before the end of September.

However surely you have an idea if you are eligible for the fees. Have you done a level 8 degree before? If so do you satisfy the 5 year rule for applying again? Do you live with parents etc? Did you assess their income with the income limit thresholds that are freely available on the website? Did you work last year? Have you taken into account the earnings from that. It is relatively easy to work out up to 90% if you should be eligble for free fees before you even send the application off.

michelleling

hdowney wrote: »

Ok first of all you can't apply for a grant until you have a place in college ( I know that provisionally you 'can' send in your forms before your CAO letter comes, but they don't start processing anything until you have confirmation of a place) so starting any earlier in the year would be pointless cos they couldn't do anything anyway.

Secondly OP you seem under the impression you started your application in July and that when they got your documents it should have been as simple as reading over once and saying yes (as in they should have provisionally confirmed you (or denied) and were just waiting on the docs. This isn't the case. They don't look through your application UNTIL all supporting documents arrive in. You only sent these on the 7th so you would have gone to the bottom of the pile. You will have a wait yet I'd say and be pretty sure you won't hear anything before the end of September.

However surely you have an idea if you are eligible for the fees. Have you done a level 8 degree before? If so do you satisfy the 5 year rule for applying again? Do you live with parents etc? Did you assess their income with the income limit thresholds that are freely available on the website? Did you work last year? Have you taken into account the earnings from that. It is relatively easy to work out up to 90% if you should be eligible for free fees before you even send the application off.

I totally disagree with some comments that you made. As per your first paragraph, SUSI will process your application for a Grant and award you provisionally, even without sending a confirmation of college place.

That simply means that they have processed your application and assessed your eligibility. A confirmation of college place will give them the fully assurance to award you a Grant immediately. So you re wrong to say its pointless. The earlier u apply to SUSI, the earlier you get your GRANT!.

Your second paragraph states that "They don't look through your application UNTIL all supporting documents arrive in"? How would they know that all documents aren't submitted if they dont look through it?

They will look through all your documents and tell you an omitted documents that needs to be submitted b4 the Grant approval.

I dont know where you got your information from, but pls do not discourage people if you re not 100% sure of what you re talking about

hdowney

michelleling wrote: »

I totally disagree with some comments that you made. As per your first paragraph, SUSI will process your application for a Grant and award you provisionally, even without sending a confirmation of college place.

That simply means that they have processed your application and assessed your eligibility. A confirmation of college place will give them the fully assurance to award you a Grant immediately. So you re wrong to say its pointless. The earlier u apply to SUSI, the earlier you get your GRANT!.

Your second paragraph states that "They don't look through your application UNTIL all supporting documents arrive in"? How would they know that all documents aren't submitted if they dont look through it?

They will look through all your documents and tell you an omitted documents that needs to be submitted b4 the Grant approval.

I dont know where you got your information from, but pls do not discourage people if you re not 100% sure of what you re talking about

Um I was specifically told that they don't process your application unless they have everything (obviously they need to open it to see what documents are missing), they put it to one side and concentrate on the people who have submitted everything. When all your documents come in they put you to the bottom of the pile and you get done when you get to the top. I was specifically told this, so in this case I do know what I am talking about, don't presume to tell me that I don't please

Maldesu

From what I can tell, you put in the application, they send the request for the documents and you send them in. When they get the docs, they check what is there and if there is something missing, they request it from you, holding your docs until all are sent in.
When they have the docs, they are scanned onto the system being attached to your application, which is then sent onto an assessor who will make the final judgement.

michelleling

hdowney wrote: »

Um I was specifically told that they don't process your application unless they have everything (obviously they need to open it to see what documents are missing), they put it to one side and concentrate on the people who have submitted everything. When all your documents come in they put you to the bottom of the pile and you get done when you get to the top. I was specifically told this, so in this case I do know what I am talking about, don't presume to tell me that I don't please

Ok now you changed the story slightly. what you wrote b4 was that "They don't look through your application UNTIL all supporting documents arrive in"? now you said that "they don't process your application unless they have everything" which is far different from what you stated last time. Processing and looking through are totally different. Take the correction.

Besides, they looked through and processed my application even though some documents are missing. They requested those documents and told me to expect to hear from them in a few days/week later.

Maybe you dont know but it takes a lit time for them to open a document that just arrived, thats why omitted documents submitters have to wait a bit longer

michelleling

Maldesu wrote: »

From what I can tell, you put in the application, they send the request for the documents and you send them in. When they get the docs, they check what is there and if there is something missing, they request it from you, holding your docs until all are sent in.
When they have the docs, they are scanned onto the system being attached to your application, which is then sent onto an assessor who will make the final judgement.

An SUSI staff member was viewing my scanned documents when I was checking with her what documents that I have submitted even tho I did not submitted all documents.

They will scan the documents, request missing document from you during processing and finalise the processing after all documents have being submitted

hdowney

michelleling wrote: »

Ok now you changed the story slightly. what you wrote b4 was that "They don't look through your application UNTIL all supporting documents arrive in"? now you said that "they don't process your application unless they have everything" which is far different from what you stated last time. Processing and looking through are totally different. Take the correction.

Besides, they looked through and processed my application even though some documents are missing. They requested those documents and told me to expect to hear from them in a few days/week later.

Maybe you dont know but it takes a lit time for them to open a document that just arrived, thats why omitted documents submitters have to wait a bit longer

I phrased the wording wrong is all. Can happen to anyone.

Obviously it takes time to open documents. I am just telling you what I was specifically told. Granted it was last year by the VEC but the process is the same just centralized

michelleling

I was told that my application has been processed and I am provisionally awarded for a Grant, that all I need to do is to send them a document that proves that I am living independently since 1st of Oct 2011.

hdowney

michelleling wrote: »

I was told that my application has been processed and I am provisionally awarded for a Grant, that all I need to do is to send them a document that proves that I am living independently since 1st of Oct 2011.

That is possibly (and this is just speculation) because it isn't a financial document as such (i.e. it isn't proof of income in the preceeding year or what have you) but then I don't know. What kind of documents help prove your independence if you don't mind me asking?

michelleling

hdowney wrote: »

That is possibly (and this is just speculation) because it isn't a financial document as such (i.e. it isn't proof of income in the preceeding year or what have you) but then I don't know. What kind of documents help prove your independence if you don't mind me asking?

UPC bills, Electric bills, Phone bills, Internet bills, Housing contract, A statement from social welfare. etc

hdowney

michelleling wrote: »

Ok you seem not to accept your mistake but like to challenge a poster why they corrected you.

Not only that you said wrong my frnd, you also states that it is pointless for people to submit an application earlier. Well people that submitted all their documents like 2 month ago can expect their grant to be approved in 2 weeks or so, but those that submitted after then and now will wait a bit longer.

You also state that "they don't start processing anything until you have confirmation of a place" which again is wrong..

Its alright my friend, I wont argue with you anymore cos I wanna focus on helping people out here.

Your condecending attitude is far from necessary. I am not a child to be spoken down to, which is exactly how your words come across.

Where did I not accept when I had made a mistake - I said I phrased it wrong!!!

I was told they don't start processing anything, you were obviously given different information, but telling me that I don't know what I am talking about is insulting, I am repeating what I was told by people who processed grants last year. If that has changed fair enough but that is how it was according to my local vec and therefore wasn't wrong. It is good if they don't insist on waiting for a confirmation of a place, that is handy. Means you can get on with it and hopefully won't be waiting until new year for first grant payments.

sean1976

I applied on the 18th of June to SUSI, I did not receive my pack till the 7th of August. I sent all supporting documents back on the 12th of august. I called SUSI on the 10th of September to ask how my application was going, I was told " you will receive a letter soon for supporting documents." I explained I received that letter on the 7th of August and sent the documents back on the 12th of August, his reply " oh yes I see now that we sent you the pack on the 7th, we haven't got around to opening your documents yet."

So from what I can gather it doesn't matter when you send the documents in or applied for susi. They have made a complete BALLS of the whole process.

paperclip2

Michelleling please amend your posting style to something less confrontational please.

hdowney

sean1976 wrote: »

I applied on the 18th of June to SUSI, I did not receive my pack till the 7th of August. I sent all supporting documents back on the 12th of august. I called SUSI on the 10th of September to ask how my application was going, I was told " you will receive a letter soon for supporting documents." I explained I received that letter on the 7th of August and sent the documents back on the 12th of August, his reply " oh yes I see now that we sent you the pack on the 7th, we haven't got around to opening your documents yet."

So from what I can gather it doesn't matter when you send the documents in or applied for susi. They have made a complete BALLS of the whole process.

There was a lot of talk when it was announced that the grants were to be centralized of it going the same way as the medical cards (less said about that the better) but I suppose we should give them the benefit of the doubt for now, the college year has only just started. When the VECs were on top of the grants system you didn't often get your first payment until into October, so I wouldn't say, based on that scale that SUSI are overly behind yet. But we shall see. It is meant to be an improvement so that people are not STILL waiting at the end of the college year for FIRST grant payments like they have been the past couple years. Hopefully they are successful in getting the payments out quickly to people. It is a bit worrying tho eh?

PlainP

hdowney wrote: »

There was a lot of talk when it was announced that the grants were to be centralized of it going the same way as the medical cards (less said about that the better) but I suppose we should give them the benefit of the doubt for now, the college year has only just started. When the VECs were on top of the grants system you didn't often get your first payment until into October, so I wouldn't say, based on that scale that SUSI are overly behind yet. But we shall see. It is meant to be an improvement so that people are not STILL waiting at the end of the college year for FIRST grant payments like they have been the past couple years. Hopefully they are successful in getting the payments out quickly to people. It is a bit worrying tho eh?

I don't know if its the payments that people are mostly worried about though. Of course everyone needs the money, but its the fact that some of us can't register until we have proof from SUSI that we are going to get the grant, which in turn means that we cannot get the letter from the college saying we have registered to get the BTEA.

Its a vicious circle.

hdowney

PlainP wrote: »

I don't know if its the payments that people are mostly worried about though. Of course everyone needs the money, but its the fact that some of us can't register until we have proof from SUSI that we are going to get the grant, which in turn means that we cannot get the letter from the college saying we have registered to get the BTEA.

Its a vicious circle.

Yea I had noticed colleges were becoming much stricter on this, which is stupid in one way. There should be some kind of letter the colleges can give that would satisfy the BTEA that you are attending, or the SUSI should have a way to temp approve ( with formal approval if everthing is in order). ARGH doing my head in

AlexDublin

michelleling wrote: »

Firstly why do you think that you re not eligible for Free Fees?

Based on the information you've given, you wont be hearing from SUSI for atleast the end of September.

I dont know why you think that you dont qualify for Free Fees, but if you do, you dont need to worry as you will defo get a Grant Approval from SUSI

You submitted your documents a lit late that others so you gotta wait for atleast 2 weeks which then they ll send you an email confirming your provisional award or request some omitted documents. And then grant you afterwards.


You do not need to apply separately for field trip. It is part of the application that you've already made.

Hi Michelle,

i have no reason to think that I wont qualify for the free fees. I have sent of all the documentation required. I guess its just so close to college starting and I'm a little anxious about getting things right.

I am so excited to finally educate myself and get a degree :-) A simple definite yes or no is really what I would like. And to be honest I now realise this is most likely not gonna happen any time soon :-/ Thank you for your kind words. you have helped me relax a little :-)

I find it crazy to think of how many people might be in this limbo situation right now. Wow.

AlexDublin

michelleling wrote: »

Firstly why do you think that you re not eligible for Free Fees?

Based on the information you've given, you wont be hearing from SUSI for atleast the end of September.

I dont know why you think that you dont qualify for Free Fees, but if you do, you dont need to worry as you will defo get a Grant Approval from SUSI

You submitted your documents a lit late that others so you gotta wait for atleast 2 weeks which then they ll send you an email confirming your provisional award or request some omitted documents. And then grant you afterwards.


You do not need to apply separately for field trip. It is part of the application that you've already made.

sean1976 wrote: »

I applied on the 18th of June to SUSI, I did not receive my pack till the 7th of August. I sent all supporting documents back on the 12th of august. I called SUSI on the 10th of September to ask how my application was going, I was told " you will receive a letter soon for supporting documents." I explained I received that letter on the 7th of August and sent the documents back on the 12th of August, his reply " oh yes I see now that we sent you the pack on the 7th, we haven't got around to opening your documents yet."

So from what I can gather it doesn't matter when you send the documents in or applied for susi. They have made a complete BALLS of the whole process.

WOAH! This is crazy!!! Best of luck Sean. I hope it works out for you.

michelleling

AlexDublin wrote: »

Hi Michelle,

i have no reason to think that I wont qualify for the free fees. I have sent of all the documentation required. I guess its just so close to college starting and I'm a little anxious about getting things right.

I am so excited to finally educate myself and get a degree :-) A simple definite yes or no is really what I would like. And to be honest I now realise this is most likely not gonna happen any time soon :-/ Thank you for your kind words. you have helped me relax a little :-)

I find it crazy to think of how many people might be in this limbo situation right now. Wow.

Helping reasonable adults is what I do . Good to know that you re relaxed. You will get your Grant for sure. Try and think of having great fun in college whilst studying for your degree. As for the Grant approval on your behalf, its a done deal!:cool:

AlexDublin

PlainP wrote: »

I don't know if its the payments that people are mostly worried about though. Of course everyone needs the money, but its the fact that some of us can't register until we have proof from SUSI that we are going to get the grant, which in turn means that we cannot get the letter from the college saying we have registered to get the BTEA.

Its a vicious circle.

Yeah, I totally agree PlainP.

For me its also the assurance that I can plan my future without stress and anxiety. Going to college/university is an opportunity to better our lives and making this an anxiety-free process should be a priority for the Department of Education.

I knew in March this year which course I planned to study this September. I had passed the college assessment stage. I had the leaving cert requirements from doing my exams way back(mature student). My course of study does not rely on "the points system" So really I could have been offered a place by CAO/ the college then. Soon after I could have applied for my grant and could have heard back on a decision by May/June/July. Is this a totally unrealistic situation? I personally dont think at all.

hdowney

AlexDublin wrote: »

Yeah, I totally agree PlainP.

For me its also the assurance that I can plan my future without stress and anxiety. Going to college/university is an opportunity to better our lives and making this an anxiety-free process should be a priority for the Department of Education.

I knew in March this year which course I planned to study this September. I had passed the college assessment stage. I had the leaving cert requirements from doing my exams way back(mature student). My course of study does not rely on "the points system" So really I could have been offered a place by CAO/ the college then. Soon after I could have applied for my grant and could have heard back on a decision by May/June/July. Is this a totally unrealistic situation? I personally dont think at all.

I do always wonder why the CAO make people hang on so long - like you say your course didn't reply on points or anything so why make you wait so long til they send you your acceptance, especially if you already know the college has accepted you and you are just waiting for it to go through formal channels

daychris76

PlainP wrote: »

I don't know if its the payments that people are mostly worried about though. Of course everyone needs the money, but its the fact that some of us can't register until we have proof from SUSI that we are going to get the grant, which in turn means that we cannot get the letter from the college saying we have registered to get the BTEA.

Its a vicious circle.

I'm not sure what 3rd level institution you are in but I can speak from personal experience. I'm a 4th year in GMIT who has had to apply to SUSI this year instead of my local VEC. I am also awaiting BTEA.
If you ask your registration office for a letter of 'provisional registration' (telling them that you have applied to SUSI and are awaiting further information), this will suffice for the BTEA application. I know this to be a fact, having been through the process for the past 3 years.

As for SUSI, it really is anyone's guess how long it will take. I would advise you to download this form in advance of receiving notification about provisional grant approval and get it filled in too by the college you are attending, it may help speed up the process slightly, http://www.cdvec.ie/getattachment/Student-Supports/Grants/Final-Course-Acceptance-Form.pdf.aspx .

Hope some of this helps. Remember, the college NEED you to be there just as much as you need to be there, I hope they are as helpful as GMIT are to me in this regard.

Chris.

omar1987

PlainP wrote: »

I don't know if its the payments that people are mostly worried about though. Of course everyone needs the money, but its the fact that some of us can't register until we have proof from SUSI that we are going to get the grant, which in turn means that we cannot get the letter from the college saying we have registered to get the BTEA.

Its a vicious circle.

I have this exact problem. I rang SUSI today and was told i was " in the queue" which the girl I was talking too said takes up to three weeks before reaching the accessors desk. Going to ask registeration department in college tommorrow for the letter to give the social for BTEA so hopefully I can get it sorted without having to wait for SUSI. Either way I'll let ye know.