BACK in 1984 Paulette Farrell dropped out of college and spent the ensuing decade regretting that she had never finished her degree. She is now in her final year of an arts degree programme at St Patrick's College, Maynooth. As a mature student money is her biggest problem she says. "Even if you qualify for a grant it's a huge financial commitment. I was used to earning a wage and I found it hard to juggle my resources. The costs of travel, books, photocopying and meals really do add up. Having a partner who is working is a great help." In first year, Farrell, who has two young children, found herself in financial difficulties and was forced to seek help. "The students' union and the academic staff were all very good and went out of their way to help me."

Moving home is another problem that many mature students have to face. "If you're from Kilkenny, say, and you go to Maynooth, you have to uproot yourself and if you have children you have to uproot them too and send them to new schools. I travelled up and down from Dublin in my first and second years but in my third year I moved to Maynooth. My daughter now attends the local school and my son goes to the college's creche." Thirty year old Farrell says that mature students mix well with their younger colleagues. "Although I've had a much broader experience, I don't really feel any older than they are. Quite a lot of my friends are now younger than I am. I've never had any problems relating to the younger students."