Around 15,000 Leaving Certificate students were already approved for college grants this year before the main business of courses being offered began today, writes Niall Murray of the Irish Examiner.
They are among 17,380 students, not including those at college last year, whose grant applications were provisionally cleared late last week. The award of these grants is subject to registering and beginning their courses.
At this time last year, just over 4,400 people were similarly given provisional approval to receive financial assistance from Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), but most were mature students or people accepted onto further education courses.
With 47,654 of the 55,708 who got Leaving Certificate results on Wednesday seeking entry to third-level through the Central Applications Office (CAO), the knowledge that they are deemed eligible for grant support should be of assistance.
They should have more security about their budgeting for scarce rental accommodation, particularly in Dublin, Cork and other cities where students are competing in an expanding private rental market.
For those whose grant applications have been unsuccessful, it may also assist them in making earlier decisions and to begin considering other financing or educational options.
Anybody who has not yet done so may still apply to SUSI for a grant or assistance with their student fees, €3,000 in the case of third-level places or €200 for PLC places. However, those not already receiving a grant last year and who had applied up to early July will have priority in the process to finalise applications.
“We are still accepting applications and I would encourage students who want to apply to do so as soon as possible,” said SUSI communications and customer service manager Graham Doyle. Of over 95,000 applications received to date, nearly two-thirds are already completed, when 34,000 successful renewals and nearly 7,000 applications that have been withdrawn or refused are counted.
This article first appeared in today’s Irish Examiner.
