Mature Students: Student Grants

Many full-time Mature Students are eligible to apply to their Local Authority (City or County Council) or VEC for a Student Grant to aid them in their studies. Click on the links below to get more information on:

1. What kinds of grants are available and which one you should apply for
2. What costs the grant covers
3. What category of mature candidate you come under
4. How to apply - online application or postal application? (including links to application forms)
5. Where to send your application to
6. Important notes
7. Recent changes to the grants system
8. FAQs (links to a new page)

There's a lot of information on these pages, which should help answer any queries that you may have. If you're still uncertain, please contact our Mature Student Support Officer, Bob O Mhurcu, at (01) 402 7658 or email ms.info@dit.ie

What kind of grants are there, and which one should I apply for?

For the 2011/12 Academic Year, the old grants system which was split into the Higher Education Grant, Third Level Training & Maintenance Grant and the VEC Scholarship Grant, has been replaced by a single grant which covers all programmes.

Local Authorities (City/County Councils) or VECs administer the grant and process applications, depending on where you wish to study.

You should apply to your Local Authority if you intend to study at a university

You should apply to your VEC if you intend to study at an Institute of Technology, such as DIT.

Important: As of 2011/12, all new applicants intending to study at DIT should apply to their VEC for a grant. This is regardless of what level of qualification you intend to study.

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What costs does the Student Grant cover?

If you are deemed eligible, the Student Grant will pay some or all of the costs indicated below. There's more detail on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page.

1. Tuition Fees: these are the Lecture Fees for your programme of study, which (if you are eligible) are usually covered by the Free Fees Initiative - see our Fees Policy for details. In certain cases, if you are not eligible for free fees due to nationality or residency reasons, your tuition fees may be paid by the grant.
2. Student Contribution Charge: formerly known as Registration Fees, Capitation Fees or the Student Services Charge, these are not covered by the Free Fees Initiative.
3. Maintenance: depending the results of your means-testing, you may be eligible for Maintenance Payments also.

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What category of Mature Student do I come under?

 There are two distinct categories under which a mature candidate falls: Independent Mature Candidate and Dependent Mature Candidate.

Independent Mature Candidate: for the 2011/12 academic year, this applies to students over the age of 23 on January 1st 2011, and have been independently resident outside of the family home since October 1st 2010 (and can prove it with utility bills etc). Independent Mature Students are means-tested based on their own (and spouse's if applicable) income for the tax year January-December 2010.

Dependent Mature Candidate: for the 2011/12 academic year, this applies to students over the age of 23 on January 1st 2011 who are resident in the family home. Also, the default position of many grant authorities is that if you cannot prove your independence, you will be considered dependent. Dependent Mature Students are means-tested based on their own (and spouse's if applicable) income and their parents' income for the tax year January-December 2010.

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Can I apply online, or do I have to post my application?

For the 2011/12 year, many VECs and Local Authorities are offering an online application system. Check the tables below to see if your Local Authority or VEC accepts online applications. If they do, you'll need to register first before you can start your online application. Click here to register and get started. The closing date for receipt of applications is the 31st August.

If your Local Authority or VEC does not offer an online application system, you will have to download the application form(s), fill them out and post them. A full list of contact details and addresses is available here. There's further instructions on how to fill out the application form on the FAQ page and in the 2011 Grant Information Booklet.

Application Forms for 2011/12 are now available to download:

2011 Grant Application Form
2011 Grant Information Booklet
2011 FA-1 Final Course Acceptance Form
Student Grant Scheme 2011  

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Where do I send my postal application?

If you cannot apply online, you should send your completed application and supporting documents to the VEC or City/County Council in whose jurisdiction you were resident on the 1st of October 2010. You can find a complete list of Local Authorities and VECs and their contact details by clicking here. The closing date for receipt of applications is the 31st August.

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Important Notes: 

Note: You are not eligible to apply for a Student Grant to study for a qualification at the same level (or lesser) as one you already hold; e.g. if you hold a Level 7 (Ordinary Degree), you are not eligible for a grant to study another Level 7 (or a Level 6), but you may be eligible for a grant to study for a Level 8 (Honours Degree).

This applies regardless of whether or not you were in receipt of a grant for your previous study.

The closing date for the submission of grant applications to your local County/City Council or VEC is the 31st of August each year.

Note: You can apply for a grant before you have been accepted into a programme at DIT, so it's best to apply as soon as possible.

Important: Once you have made your final acceptance of a place in DIT, fill out the 2011 FA-1 Final Course Acceptance Form with your details and the details of your programme and return it to your Local Authority / VEC. Without this form, your grant application will not be processed.

Note: Part-time programmes are not eligible for a grant, nor do they qualify for the Free Fees Initiative.

Note: The DIT Mature Students Access Course is not eligible for a grant.

Note: Foundation Certificate programmes are not eligible for a grant, nor do they qualify for the Free Fees Initiative. DIT has two such programmes:

1. DT527: Music Foundation and
2. DT020: Preliminary Engineering

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Recent Changes to Student Grants & Charges:

Several changes were made to the student grants system in the December 2009 and December 2010 budgets. A brief summary of these changes is below.

Changes made in the December 2009 Budget:

1):   From the start of the 2010/11 academic year, students in receipt of the BTEA (Back To Education Allowance) are no longer be eligible for the maintenance portion of the Student Grant. Such students should still apply for a grant to pay their Student Contribution Charge (registration fees) (and in some cases, their tuition fees). Any student who, as of the 2009/10 academic year, is currently in receipt of both the BTEA and a Student Grant will be entitled to retain both payments.

2):   Some social welfare allowances, including the Back to Education Allowance which had been previously been excluded in the means-testing process, are now included as reckonable income in assessing eligibility for student grants.

3):   The residency requirement in the State for grant eligibility has been increased from one year to three out of the past five years for new applicants.

4):   The duration of the break in studies required for re-entry as an independently assessed mature student has been increased from one year to three years.

Changes made in the December 2010 Budget:

1): Mature Students no longer automatically entitled to "non-adjacent" rate of maintenance, effective from 2011/12

What this means: Previously, all mature students were entitled to the "non-adjacent" rate of maintenance (see http://www.dit.ie/study/mature/support/finance/grants/faqs/#A12 for more details on rates) regardless of how close their residence was to the college. This will change from the start of the 2011/12 academic year. All grant applicants will be assessed based on the distance their residence is from the college. This affects both new applicants and current grant holders.

2): The qualifying distance from the student's home to the college has been increased to 45km (from 24km) in order to qualify for the non-adjacent rate of maintenance, effective from 2011/12

What this means: Previously, if your place of residence was more than 24km from the college, you were entitled to the non-adjacent rate of maintenance. Otherwise you only the got the adjacent rate, which is considerably less. This distance has now been increased to 45km, with effect from the start of the 2011/12 academic year.

3): The Student Services Charge/Capitation Fee/Registration Fee will increase to €2,000 from €1,500. Effective from 2011/12

What this means: Where previously, the fee was €1,500, it will increase to €2,000 for the 2011/12 academic year and become known as the "Student Contribution Charge." If more than one person in a family is in college, it is possible to claim tax relief on the Student Contribution Charge(s) for 2nd and subsequent family members at a rate of 20%.

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If you are unsure or haven't found the answer you're looking for, contact our Mature Student Support Officer, Bob O Mhurcu, at (01) 402 7658 or email ms.info@dit.ie

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