Check Grant Levels
| Levels of Grant | Non-adjacent Rate 2010 financial year
| Adjacent Rate 2010 financial year | Student Services Charge Paid | Tuition Fees* Paid (where applicable) |
Level 1 - No maintenance | 0 | 0 | √ | Yes - 50% |
| Level 2 - 25% Maintenance | 810 | 330 | √ | Yes - 100% |
| Level 3 - 50% Maintenance | 1,625 | 650 | √ | Yes - 100% |
| Level 4 - 75% Maintenance | 2,435 | 980
| √ | Yes - 100% |
| Level 5 - 100% Maintenance | 3,250 | 1,300 | √ | Yes - 100% |
| Level 6 - 100% Maintenance + Special Rate | 6,355 | 2,545 | √ | Yes - 100% |
(All figures are in Euros)
If your normal residence is within 24 kms of your college (“adjacent”) you could qualify for one of five maintenance grant levels currently ranging from €330 to €2,545. If your normal residence is more than 24kms from your college (“non-adjacent”) you could qualify for one of five grant levels currently ranging from €810 to €6,355. The current top grant level, at €6,355 (non-adjacent) and €2,545 (adjacent) includes a special rate of maintenance grant on top of the highest level of the regular grant. In order to be eligible for this level of grant, your reckonable income must not only be at or below a certain limit, it must also include, as at 31 December 2008, at least one of a range of certain social welfare payments.
Did you know that mature students who qualify for the maintenance grant receive the non-adjacent (higher) rate of grant?
If you qualify for any of the grants in Levels 2 to 6 above and you are a mature candidate, you will automatically be entitled to the non-adjacent rate. The entitlement to the non-adjacent rate applies regardless of how far your college is from your normal residence and whether or not you are dependent on or independent of parent(s) or guardian(s).
Student Services Charge
All students enrolling in full-time undergraduate courses in higher education are charged a Student Services Charge annually by the college. For 2009/10, this charge is €1,500. If you qualify for a maintenance grant at any of the five levels, you also have your student services charge paid each year on your behalf by the grant-awarding body (or refunded to you). So its important to remember that qualifying for a maintenance grant saves you a considerable sum on the Student Services Charge. There is a further category of support in addition to the five outlined above. If your reckonable income is above the threshold for a grant, it may still be within a higher threshold for your student service charge to be paid to the college on your behalf by the grant-awarding body (or refunded to you). Please note that the maintenance grant schemes provide a grant for the Student Services Charge to qualifying students only in relation to courses that are part of the Free Fees Initiative.
*Tuition Fees
A number of full-time undergraduate courses are not part of the Free Fees Scheme. All postgraduate courses fall outside the scope of the Free Fees Scheme. However, if you are enrolling in one of these courses and if you qualify for any of maintenance grant levels 2 -6 above, your grant administering body may also pay the full cost of tuition (subject to a specified maximum) to the college on your behalf. If you qualify for Level 1 above, you could get 50% of the cost of tuition (subject to a specified maximum) paid to the college on your behalf. The maximum amount which can be granted under the maintenance grant schemes for tuition fees is currently €6,270. You can go to the Course Fees section of this website to find out more about state support for tuition fees.
