For anyone with a reasonably good Leaving Cert and no suitable college place here at home, the UCAS clearing system in Britain is good news. Even if you've never considered going to college across the water or in Northern Ireland, it's not too late to apply for a place there. Every year, during August and September, once the A-Level results are published, UCAS, the British central admissions service, offers a clearing system for vacant third-level places in colleges and universities in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. Initially, there are thousands of places available, but good courses tend to be snapped up quickly, so anyone contemplating a British application at this stage needs to act quickly.
Last year, over 47,000 applicants accepted places through clearing. However, over 90,000 either received no offers, could not meet their conditions, or applied very late - proof that speed is of the essence. All this week, and on September 5th and 14th, the London Independent will publish lists of college vacancies.
UCAS, meanwhile, is publishing an interactive course vacancy service on the Worldwide Web until September 15th.
The service, which will be updated daily throughout the clearing period, can be accessed via the UCAS website on www.ucas.ac.uk. In addition, BBC TWO CEEFAX has teamed up with UCAS to provide lists of course vacancies on pages 700/799. Clearing entry forms and detailed instructions on how to enter the system are available from UCAS.
If you are interested in examining possibilities within the British system, go through the list of vacancies. Shortlist about half a dozen courses, telephone the relevant colleges, and speak to the admissions tutor for the particular course. Find out as much as you can about the course which interests you. Have your Leaving Certificate results to hand - the tutor will be able to tell you whether you merit a place, based on a discussion of your exam results. Do be sure to make your telephone calls before you fill in the application form. Experts advise that you get your offer, accept it and then deal with the paperwork.
If you have made no application to UCAS by mid-August, "it is more important at this stage to check the listings and contact suitable colleges. If they are interested in accepting you, the paperwork can be dealt with afterwards", the British Council advises. However, the Council warns that students are unlikely to be offered places in high-demand courses - veterinary or medicine for example.
Nonetheless, "if a student is flexible, and has reasonable qualifications, then there is a very good chance of obtaining a suitable place". There is, in fact, some chance of getting a place on some high demand courses. There were 484 such places last year. Even if you have already made applications through UCAS, but have narrowly missed being offered a place, it's worth contacting the colleges which made you conditional offers. You may well find that you are offered a place on the original course, despite your marks, or on a different course. If it is suggested that you do a HND (Higher National Diploma) course, consider it carefully. You may well be able to transfer to a degree course later, as well as buying yourself an extra year of studentdom.
When it comes to accepting a place, there are mixed views on whether students should visit a college before making the final decision.
The advice from the experts is that if you are offered the chance of an interview, jump at it. It gives you the opportunity to look around the campus. Students from the country can find it particularly difficult to settle into big cities like Liverpool, Manchester or Birmingham.
Some students could be easily put off college if they dislike the city in which they find themselves. "I didn't come to Teeside to have a look. I went by the prospectus. I thought it would be an average town on the northeast coast. In fact it's very, very industrialised. It was a big shock," says one University of Teeside student. "Up here, part-time work isn't well paid: you would be doing really well if you got £4 per hour. Having said that, my student accommodation is very good and it is only £50 per week, you could easily get cheaper, and that is much less than Dublin or Galway," says Belfast-based Noel Griffin.
One of the main advantages of going to college in the UK is the relative abundance of campus accommodation. For Irish students going to Britain for the first time opting for accommodation on campus, rather than in the private sector, can be a very bright move. As well as being a great way to make friends with other students, and availing of college social life, it often includes some meals which makes the transition to living away from home easier.
In some cases, as with Aberdeen University, accommodation is largely within walking distance of the main teaching sites. The UK offers other advantages also. Sarah McConnell, from Cabinteely in Dublin, says "the social aspect of life at Aberdeen is so different to what it would be here. I was in halls in first year and to stay in for more than one night a week was rare, there was always someone going out to something. "The union in the university has two clubs and six bars and pound a pint nights are common. There were free buses from my halls to all the big clubs and back again. Even if you do get marooned in town you can take a taxi and the union will pay for it. You just pay them back when you have the money - if that was Dublin, even if you could get a taxi you would have to pay £10 for it." Societies are often better funded than their Irish counterparts and other "luxury" items such as swimming pools are more than likely to be either on campus or open to students at greatly reduced rates.
The downside of going to college in Britain at the moment is of course, finance. With sterling rampant and the euro running out of steam fast (economics lecturers may debate the finer points of this but that's what they are paid for) the cost of living in the UK has significantly increased. On top of this of course comes the fact that in England, Wales and the North, students have to pay tuition fees. Although higher education maintenance grants are available, Irish students taking up third-level places, may be required to pay a means-tested tuition fee of up to £1,025 per annum.
If the parental income is less than £17,804 sterling, students will be exempt from fees. However, if the income is more than £28,590, you'll have to pay the full whack. Rates in between are assessed on a sliding scale.
One possible benefit of the revolution in UK student funding is the advent of student loans. Irish students are not eligible for the national student loans scheme, but they will find that banking institutions in the UK are more generous with loans and overdrafts. Student debt can be a terrible thing, as this reporter knows only too well, but it can help in the short term For many students living in the border counties, going to college in Northern Ireland is only a relatively short bus ride away. If you live in some parts of Donegal, for example, it's often easier to go to college in Derry or Belfast than it is to get to Letterkenny or Dublin. Traditionally, students from the Republic have accounted for 10 per cent of the annual intake into both Queen's University, Belfast and the University of Ulster.
However, the introduction of fees has meant a decrease in the numbers applying. According to Stirling Wisener, QUB's admission's officer, intake from the Republic has dropped significantly over the last two years and was down a further 10 per cent this year. Wisener says that students who applied to British colleges in the past viewed them as insurance policies.
Now it is mostly those who have thought through the costs and are seriously considering going that apply. The application procedures are complicated and you would be wise to ask 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. 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 Northern Ireland, applications should be made to the appropriate Education and Library Board.
Students from the Republic attending third-level colleges in Britain and 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.
