Fantastic, is how Neasa O'Shea from Castlegregory, Co Kerry, describes the three years she has spent at the University of Teeside. "Coming to Teeside to study psychology and criminology is the best thing I have ever done," she enthuses. Her degree programme completed, Neasa is taking a year out to work as education and welfare officer at Teeside's student union.
Neasa is one of up to 15,000 students from the Republic who are currently studying in the British educational system - at undergraduate, degree and postgraduate levels. Applications to British colleges were running at 11,000 per annum in 1997. Last year, though, applications fell by 30 per cent. This year, so far, they are down on 1997 by a further 18 per cent to 6,536, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. In 1998, almost 3,000 students from the Republic accepted degree and HND courses in the British system.
The reasons for the fall in applications is believed to be twofold: first, the number of third-level places in the Republic has increased in recent years; second, the British government increased a £1,000 means-tested tuition fee last year. The latest figures from UCAS show a 1 per cent decrease in British applications - the main downturn involves applications from over 21-year-olds. Applications from higher-income groups are also down, while an increased number of students from low income families have applied for college, UCAS says. These figures indicate that the introduction of fees has resulted in some sections of the community eschewing third level.
According to Neasa O'Shea, life at university has become much more difficult since the introduction of fees. "The number of appeals has gone up. Students are now customers. If they have any problem with lecturers, they are standing up and saying `This isn't right'," she observes. For many students from the Republic, going to college in Britain has been an attractive option. For students living in the Border counties, attending college in Northern Ireland is certainly easier in terms of proximity.
With 257 universities and colleges to chose from in the UCAS system, students are guaranteed a wide choice of courses - some of which may not be available in the Republic. Some British courses, too, offer easier access than do their Irish counterparts.
UCAS highlights a boom in applications for computer-based courses. At degree level, computer science and software engineering applications are up by 19 per cent, while nursing is up by 8 per cent. Teaching gets the thumbs down - applications for primary teaching have fallen by almost 11 per cent, while for secondary teaching the drop is closer to 22 per cent.
If you are planning to go to college in Britain, you will need to deal with the fees issue. Depending on your income, you may be entitled to assistance to cover your fees either fully or partially. The full contribution of £1,025 is means-tested. If the parental income is less than £17,370 sterling, students will be exempt from fees. However, if the income is more than £27,570 you'll have to pay the full whack. Rates in between are assessed on a sliding scale.
The application procedures are complicated and you would be wise to contact the British Council (01 6764088/ 6766943) for their information sheet.
Students intending to enrol in colleges in England and Wales should acquire an EU2 form (it should be sent out by the institution from which you have received an offer). If you haven't received it contact your institution or the Department of Education and Employment (0044 1325 391199). A copy of the form should be completed and returned to the Department. Even if you believe you're ineligible for support, you must complete the form, otherwise you may be charged tuition fees at the overseas rate, the British Council warns.
Students applying to university or college in Scotland apply to the Student Award Agency for Scotland, once they have received an unconditional offer. In the case of students going to the Northern Ireland, applications should be made to the appropriate Education and Library Board.
Students from the Republic attending third-level colleges in Britain and the Northern Ireland are eligible to apply for maintenance grants. These grants are similar to those awarded to students attending universities here and are means-tested and awarded by the local authorities in the usual way. However, it's worth noting that if you're planning to study a course in Britain for which there is a set quota of places in Ireland (medicine, teacher training or physiotherapy for example), you will be ineligible for a maintenance grant.
By now, most students have their college places fixed up. However, if you have no interesting offer here, the good news is that it's not too late to apply for a place in Britain. Every year during August and September, UCAS offers a clearing system to fill vacancies in British colleges and universities.
Clearing has already started in Scotland, but for England, Wales and the Northern Ireland, vacancies will be published regularly from August 19th until September 16th in the London Independent or you can access the UCAS website www.ucas.ac.uk. BBC2 Ceefax will also be listing vacancies on a daily basis on pages 700-799.
Students eligible to enter clearing are those who have receive no offers or have declined offers, those who have been made conditional offers but have to achieve the required result and late applicants to the system.
Places in the clearing system tend to be snapped up quickly, so you are advised to act without delay. Check the list of vacancies, decide which courses you're interested in and then ring the relevant college and speak to the admissions tutor for the particular course. This year, unfortunately, there's a glitch in the system. The Association of University Teachers has planned four days of industrial action - two of them in Scotland have already taken place. Come August 19th and 20th, members of this association - college academics in the pre-1999 institutions - in England and Wales will carry our their threatened industrial action. No such action is taking place in the former polytechnics.
According to a UCAS spokesperson, the action will only affect borderline cases - people who have missed an offer in an older university by just a grade will have to wait an extra two days to discover whether they have been accepted. The spokesperson advises students who are entering clearing to spend the time short-listing half a dozen courses and thoroughly researching them. "Administrative staff will be on hand to answer queries," he says. "They just won't be able to make admission decisions. We don't think anybody will have their long-term prospects of gaining a place damaged."
If you have already made a UCAS application, you may by now have received a CEF (clearing entry form), which gives you detailed instructions about how to enter. If you don't have one, apply to UCAS immediately. This form will contain an individual pre-printed number and is non-transferable. The number is important and must be quoted to any institution that is considering your application.
