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Am I entitled to a college grant due to changes in eligibility rules?

Grants are now available for undergraduate students where household income is under €100,000

Before making an application for a grant, it is worth visiting Susi’s website (susi.ie) to complete their eligibility reckoner which allows students to self-assess whether they may be eligible. Photograph: iStock

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Brian Mooney
Sun May 12 2024 - 09:00

My son is applying to Susi for funding in the academic year 2024/25. His application was rejected last year, but I understand that eligibility rules for grants have been widened in areas such as household income. How does this work?

Susi (Student Universal Support Ireland) provides funding grants for students at PLC, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

To be eligible for funding from Susi, a student must meet a number of criteria. What is of most relevance to you are rules over total household income, which must fall under specified thresholds.

The income calculated for grant assessment depends on whether a student is classed as a dependent, mature dependent or independent student.

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If a student is under 23 on January 1st of the year of their first point of entry to further or higher education, they are a dependent student.

If a student is over 23 on January 1st of the year of their first point of entry/re-entry to further or higher education, and resides with their parents or legal guardians, they are a mature dependent student.

The income of the student plus the income of their parents/legal guardians is included in the income calculation for dependent and mature dependent students.

If a student is over 23 on January 1st and resides independently from October of the year before, they are an independent student and their income – along with the income of their spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, if any – is included in the income calculation.

For the 2024/25 academic year, applications will be assessed on the gross income from all sources for the period from January 1st, 2023, to December 31st, 2023. This comprises all income before any deductions, such as income tax or PRSI, including earnings from employment, social welfare payments or self-employment. You will be required to declare these on the application form.

Some payments such as child benefit and carer’s allowance are not included in the income calculation. Susi can also deduct up to €7,925 earned from employment outside term time within the previous calendar year by an applicant who was in education. This is known as holiday earnings and should be noted on the application form as it may help secure a better rate of grant.

For undergraduate students, grants are available for total household incomes under €100,000. The income limits increase to take account of the number of dependent children in the household and can be adjusted to take account of other people within the household who are attending a full-time course in further or higher education.

Susi is now open for applications for the academic year 2024/25. Applications can be made online. Before making an application, check out the eligibility indicator on Susi’s website to get an indication of your eligibility for funding.

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