College Choice/Brian Mooney: Now that the decisions are being made as to whether to accept a place in college next year, a central question arises. Can we afford to send our child to further or higher education?
Fortunately for many families the answer is yes. For others the existence of the grant system is crucial.
Third-level Students Grants System
The closing date for grant applications this year is August 31st; however, the awarding bodies have discretion to accept late applications. It is crucial that applicants submit properly completed application forms as well as all the necessary documentation stipulated on the application form, otherwise the application form will be returned and will not be considered until the properly completed form is returned.
Depending on the course a student is pursuing they may be eligible for a grant under one of the following schemes:
The higher education grants scheme, which generally applies to university degree courses.
Third-level maintenance grants scheme for trainees, which applies to most certificate and diploma courses in the institutes of technology.
The vocational education committees' scholarship scheme, which generally applies to add-on degrees where students have already pursued certificate/diploma level courses.
The maintenance grants scheme for students attending Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses.
The local authorities (local councils) administer the higher education grants scheme. The other three schemes are administered by the vocational education committees. Grant applications should be made to these bodies as appropriate.
An application must meet the essential condition relating to means. There are of course other conditions, including those relating to age, residence and nationality.
How does the means test work?
When you apply for a grant, the income that is assessed must be at or below a certain amount (the "reckonable income"). For the 2005/2006 academic year, the reckonable income limit (based on gross income for the tax-year 2004) is as follows: if your family has fewer than four dependent children and parental income is less than €35,485 a year, you will be able to qualify for a full maintenance grant.
There are different thresholds for larger families, ranging from €38,990 for those with four to seven children, to €42,335 for those with eight or more dependent children.
Higher income limits apply in respect of lower rates of maintenance grants.
The full student service charge is paid where families have (a) less than four dependent children and incomes of under €44,350; (b) between four and seven dependent children and incomes of under €48,740; or (c) eight or more dependent children and incomes under €52,910.
In the 2005/2006 academic year, where two or more children (or the candidate's parent) are pursuing a course of study listed below, the reckonable income limits may be increased by €4,295 where there are two such children, €8,590 where there are three such children and so on, by increments of €4,295.
(i) Attending full-time third-level education;
(ii) Attending a recognised PLC course, student nurse training or student Garda training;
(iii) Participating in a Fáilte Ireland (formerly Cert) course of at least one year's duration;
(iv) Attending a full-time Teagasc course in an agricultural college;
(v) Attending a recognised full-time further education course of at least one year, in Northern Ireland.
What is the rate of grant?
Grants are paid at either of two rates: the non-adjacent rate, where the grant holder's residence is more than 15 miles from the college and the adjacent rate, where the grant holder's residence is 15 miles or less from the college.
For 2005/06, the highest non- adjacent rate of grant is €3,020. The highest adjacent rate of grant is €1,210. Lower rates of grant are payable, depending on the reckonable income.
Grant holders who satisfy certain conditions may be eligible for what is known as a top-up grant, an amount additional to the ordinary rate of grant. For 2005/2006, the non-adjacent ordinary grant plus the top-up has been increased to €5,355 and the adjacent rate to €2,145, i.e. a top-up of €2,335 and €935 respectively.
The reckonable income limit for the top-up grant for the 2005/2006 academic year is €15,626, all or part of which must be a social welfare or analogous payment. You can get details of the grant schemes outlined above from the local authorities and vocational education committees.
Details on the grants schemes are also available on the Department of Education and Science's website, www.education.ie
The national office for equity of access to higher education administers the millennium partnership fund, the student assistance fund and the fund for students with disabilities on behalf of the Department of Education and Science.
The Government, under the National Development Plan 2000-2006, funds these schemes with assistance from the European Social Fund (ESF).
The millennium partnership fund
This ESF-aided fund supports students from disadvantaged areas attending further or higher education courses. Partnership companies and community groups manage the fund locally. Information on partnership/ community groups can be obtained at Area Development Management Ltd, 01-240 0700 (website: www.adm.ie).
The student assistance fund (for approved third-level institutions)
This ESF-aided fund assists students who, having commenced a third-level course, experience financial hardship and therefore may be unable to continue their third-level studies. Applications for funding should be made by the individual student to the access officer in their institution.
Students with disabilities - what supports are out there?
Among the thousands of Leaving Certificate students who will secure a place in college this autumn there will be a number of students with disabilities, so where can they turn to for advice and support? The first person a student with a disability should contact is the disability or access officer in their college, or in the case of PLC students, the principal of the PLC centre.
Each university and institute of technology now has a disability or access officer whose role is to support students as they move through college.
Further general information on accessing third-level education is available to students with disabilities from Ahead, PO Box 30, East Hall, UCD, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin. Phone: 01-716 4396 (website: www.ahead.ie).
The main source of funding for the supports that students with disabilities need while they are in college is the ESF-aided fund for students with disabilities.
Through this fund, the students can be provided with assistance such as learning support.
This service can include support with study skills, reading techniques, memory techniques, essay writing, time management and examination preparation.
Students wishing to apply to the ESF fund for students with disabilities should contact the disability or access officer in their college or the principal of the PLC centre in the case of PLC students.
Brian Mooney's column on CAO options will appear each weekday in the run-up to the deadline at the end of this month.
- You can email Brian Mooney on bmooney@irish-times.ie
- Are you confident you will secure your CAO option? Join the discussion forum on Skoool.ie, the award-winning education website developed by The Irish Times, AIB and Intel.