We live in Donegal and our daughter is very interested in listing several courses in Galway and Dublin on her CAO list by the February 1st deadline. Given the shortage of accommodation and high costs, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. Will she be at a disadvantage if she stays closer to home?
There can be no worse prospect for an aspiring third-level student to discover their dream course, only to realise that accommodation and living costs are way beyond their family’s capacity to fund it.
Now is the time to figure out if living away from home is affordable. It is worth noting that the student contribution charge has been cut and increased grants are available to students. Between now and the initial CAO deadline, check out the level of financial support available through the State’s grants agency, Susi, for families whose income falls below certain thresholds.
The family income calculation is based on gross income from all sources for the previous calendar year, also known as the reference period. For example, for the academic year 2025-2026, applications are assessed on gross income from all sources for the January-December 2024 period.
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When calculating your eligibility for funding, Susi looks at your family’s “reckonable income”. This is a proportion of your gross income (pretax) and will determine if your daughter is eligible for a grant and, if so, what type of funding she could receive. Budget 2025, incidentally, will see income limits increase by an average of 15 per cent for college entry in 2025.
If she does qualify, she will not have to pay the €2,000 student contribution charge and – given that you live in Donegal – will be eligible for the nonadjacent rate maintenance grant, paid when a student’s college is 30km or more from their normal residence. The grant is a contribution towards day-to-day living costs, which is paid directly to eligible students through nine monthly instalments over the course of the academic year.
If she isn’t eligible, the student contribution has been reduced by €1,000 to €2,000 for full-time undergraduate students in academic year 2024-2025. While there is no guarantee the reduction will apply in 2025-2026, there is a strong expectation that it will.
And remember, she can always remove or change any courses in her CAO list during the May-June “change of mind” window.
Sadly, given the current costs of accommodation in Dublin and Galway, there is no guarantee that even if she qualifies for a grant that your family’s finances will be able to facilitate her current course choices. If staying closer to home, be sure to check out her local options in Atlantic Technological University as well as tertiary degrees (nto.ie) and further education courses (fetchcourses.ie).
