SUSI - Student Grants
The student grant is the main source of financial help available to eligible students in full-time Post Leaving Certificate Courses (PLCs) and full-time higher education undergraduate courses.
Who can apply for a grant?
Students attending higher education undergraduate and postgraduate courses (Level 6-9)
Students attending Further Education (PLC) courses (Level 5-6) can get financial support through SUSI.
It is made up of 2 components:
- A Maintenance Grant
- A Fee Grant
The Maintenance Grant is a contribution towards the student’s living costs, while the Fee Grant can cover any of the following 3 elements:
- Tuition fees
- Student contribution and
- Cost of essential field trips
In general, if you qualify for a maintenance grant you will also qualify for whatever elements of a fee grant applies to your situation.
The grant scheme is means-tested. This means that grant rates for qualifying students vary according to a number of factors including:
- Household income
- Family size and
- Whether the student's college is close to their permanent residence
The Means Test
The means test for a student grant is based on your family's gross income for the previous complete tax year unless you, or your family, have had a change of circumstances since the end of the last tax year (which is likely to be permanent). In this case, your changed circumstances may be taken into account.See SUSI's Eligibility Reckoner HERE.
Reckonable income for a student grant is considered to be the gross (before tax) family income from all sources. Some social welfare payments are excluded from 'reckonable income' for the purposes of student grants - more details on susi.ie
Dependents
If you were ordinarily living at home with your parents from October 1 of the year before the year of entry to the course, you are considered dependent on your parents. In this case, your income (if any) is assessed together with your parents' income(s).
An allowance is made for your earnings outside of term-time. Outside term time is counted as 2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks at Easter and 12 weeks during the summer months of June, July and August. (Holiday pay earned outside these periods may also be allowed by the grant awarding authority on receipt of a letter from the school/college confirming the exact dates of term).
Can you get a grant for any course?
SUSI will provide funding in some way for most courses in the CAO system, for PLC courses as well as for many British and European courses. Generally, private college courses are not eligible for SUSI. Fee assistance may also be available for some postgraduate courses.
How would I know if I am eligible?SUSI grants are means tested. On the SUSI website there is a very easy to use Eligibility Reckoner which will quickly tell you whether or not you are eligible.
The key elements are-
- Are you an Irish, EU, EAA, British or Swiss citizen who has been resident for 3 of the last 5 years?
- Do you intend studying an approved course (Level 5 or above) for the first time?
- Is your Household Income (Parent(s)/Guardian(s) + your own) lower than the relevant SUSI limit for your family
Apply Early!
The Student Grant Scheme is quite a detailed application process.It is crucial that you apply as early as possible if you plan to take-up a course of study.
Grant applications are processed in the order in which they are received - the earlier you apply and submit any supporting documents required to SUSI, the earlier you will have a response on the outcome of your application.
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To view the online SUSI application form click here. |
RATES OF PAYMENT
Maintenance Grants rates are subject to change. Be sure to check susi.ie regularly for any changes.
Adjacent and non-adjacent rates
The adjacent rate of maintenance grant is payable for those students who live 45 kilometres or less from the college being attended. This rate applies to all students living within the
The non-adjacent rate applies to everyone else.
Grant Payments
Grant Award Payments are made as follows:
Maintenance
Fee Grants: Directly to the college/institution you will attend, on your behalf, once the college has confirmed your registration as a student.
Grant payment dates are available from SUSI here.
NB: Before making an application, students are encouraged to refer to the General
If you are doing a Further Education (FE) course and getting the BTEA or a VTOS allowance, you are exempt from the new student participant charge (€200). You may have to pay a course charge for books, exam fees and other costs.
When will SUSI be open for applications? The SUSI online Student Grant Application System for the next academic year Students can continue to apply for grant right up to the first term of the college year. |
Other useful information about applying for a grant:
There is a lot of paperwork involved in applying for a grant so start gathering this information as soon as possible! You will ultimately need an offer from the college in question, however, you do not need to wait until after the Leaving Cert results to begin the process of getting all necessary paperwork together. These will include:
- Birth Certificate
- PPS Number
- Documentary evidence of reckonable income: P60, P21, P45
- Documentary evidence for social welfare payments
- Documentary evidence for self-employment, rental income, savings, deposit accounts, income from maintenance agreements, inheritance.
- Course Acceptance Form
Note: SUSI assesses income from the previous year as part of its assessment criteria.
Where there is self-employed, farming or rental income, SUSI requires a full set of trading accounts for the previous year. SUSI also requires an acknowledgement of self-assessment (received from the Revenue Commissioners on submission of tax returns). SUSI cannot fully process applications without this information, therefore such tax returns should be made early in teh year. Full details are available here.
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Final Course Acceptance (FCA) Form
As a new grant applicant, you do not need to have accepted a place on a college course in order to apply for a grant.
Online SUSI Grant Application
You can confirm that you have accepted a place on a course when you first submit your online grant application and provide details of your chosen course in section C3 of the online grant application form.
CAO Applicants
If you have allowed CAO (Central Applications Office) to share your information with SUSI, CAO will inform SUSI of this and will confirm details of your chosen course to SUSI when you have accepted a CAO place offer
Online SUSI Final Course Acceptance (FCA) Form
You can inform SUSI that you have accepted a place on a course after you have submitted your grant application by submitting an online FCA form through the homepage of your SUSI account.
If you subsequently accept a place on a different course, or on a course not offered to you through the CAO, you can submit a new online FCA form at any time through the homepage of your SUSI account. Your application will be decided on the basis of the most recent course details provided to SUSI by any of the above methods. Please note that grants can only be awarded in respect of approved course.