The financial cost of going to college is a cause of worry for lots of students and parents. However, Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), which is Ireland’s national awarding authority for further and higher education grants, provides financial assistance to thousands of students each year.

In 2020/2021 approximately 80,000 students received some level of financial support. Grants are allocated to students who meet certain eligibility criteria and may cover the partial or full cost of college fees and living expenses which is referred to as the maintenance part of the grant. The amount awarded to each individual depends on the financial circumstances of the household as well as the number of dependent family members. Applications are open to anyone applying to Post Leaving Cert (PLC), undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and in some cases students who are applying for college outside of Ireland.

Are you eligible?

Residency and Nationality: You must have been resident in Ireland or the EU (European Union), EEA (European Economic Area), UK or Swiss Federation for three out of the last five years. You must be a national of one of these countries. You may also be eligible for funding under Student Grant Legislation depending on your immigration status or leave to remain, under the Department of Justice and Equality.

Income: For the 2021/2022 academic year, your application will be assessed on gross income from all sources from January 1 to December 31, 2020. The persons whose income is taken into account depends on your applicant class which can be either ‘Dependent/Mature Dependent Student’ or ‘Independent Student’. There's a list of allowances and financial supports that are not counted as reckonable income for the purposes of grant assessment and they can be checked on www.susi.ie/income.

Course type, duration and progression: You must be attending an approved course in a college of Further Education, an Institute of Technology or university. There are some private colleges on the CAO for example that offer courses which are not eligible for the SUSI grant. There is a maximum period of grant assistance available as follows; PLC (3 years), undergraduate (4 years) and postgraduate (4 years). You must be progressing to a higher level of qualification or from one year to the next and not repeating a year, except in exceptional circumstances. It has been announced recently by Minister Harris that 2020 Leaving Cert students who received a new CAO offer as a result of improved results in written exams taken in November and intend taking up that new place in 2021-2022 will not lose their grant eligibility.

You will find excellent video guides to help you through the application process on www.susi.ie where you can also input your details to the eligibility reckoner to check whether you are eligible or not. Students who are already in receipt of the SUSI grant in 2020/2021 can apply to renew their application for the next academic year now with the priority closing date on June 10. For new applicants the priority closing date is on July 8. Applications will remain open up to autumn but by getting your application in by the priority deadline you will receive payments early in the college term when all financial support is needed to get set up and settled for the new academic year. So the advice is apply early!

Niamh Dwyer is a Guidance Counsellor in Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra, Rathmore, and Chairperson of the Kerry Branch of Guidance Counsellors. She is also a Career Consultant. For details see www.mycareerplan.ie or follow @mycareerplan on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.