Student Finance

If you need information on financial support for higher education. You will find the following wesite
useful.
www.studentfinance.ie or click on student finance on the right of this page.

You will see as you browse through studentfinance.ie that there are several financial assistance schemes available in Ireland to help you to progress through further and higher education.

The Maintenance Grant is the main source of financial assistance and anyone who is thinking of embarking on further study should investigate whether they are eligible, and, if so, submit an application. The Maintenance Grant section of studentfinance.ie is the most comprehensive source of information on the available schemes that you will find anywhere in Ireland. It provides a handy step-by-step guide to eligibility in clear, plain English.

You will also find information on course fees and details on eligibility requirements for free fees. In addition, you will find out all you need to know about other sources of assistance for students, such as the Fund for Students with Disabilities, the Back to Education Allowance, the Student Assistance Fund and the Millennium Partnership Fund. You can find answers to possible questions you may have by accessing our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section. Lastly, we provide details and links to a range of other organisations and websites that may be of interest and/or assistance.

CAO

Congratulations to all those who have completed their CAO applications.

Late Applications for the CAO. Those who apply after the 1st of February 2010 will be accepted up to 5:15pm on the 1st May 2010, subject to exceptions and restrictions. For more information go to www.cao.ie

Will CAO points rise?

Central Application Office (CAO) points for many popular university courses are likely to increase this year due to a greater number of mature students seeking college places. Secondly there is a greater number of students sitting LC examination and thirdly people who lost their jobs due to the recession are returning to college.

In particular, it is thought that point requirements for the most popular arts, business and science courses will rise. Points for courses linked to the building industry are likely to fall due to lack of demand, while those for law and architecture courses could see a drop due to limited employment opportunities in these areas.

The HPAT test

HPAT-Ireland
HPAT-Ireland (Health Professions Admission Test) is the new admissions test selected by the Irish Medical Schools for prospective medical students. Since 2009, regardless of how well you score in their Leaving Certificate, you must reach a required standard in this test to study medicine in Ireland. For more information go to www.hpat.ie

Those wishing to secure

a place in one of the five undergraduate medical schools have until Monday, January 18th, to register with HPAT-Ireland to sit the HPAT assessment test. The test takes place on Saturday, February 27th, in a number of centres throughout the country.
To complete your HPAT application, which will cost you €95, you must have a CAO application number, which can only be secured by completing an online CAO application by that date.
HPAT exam results can now be appealed

Students sitting the HPAT aptitude test for entry to medicine will be able to appeal their results this year.

Changing jobs?

If you are someone:
- who is changing jobs
- just wanting to explore other options
- about to join or return to the world of work

This Career Skills and Interests Assessment test will be of value.

http://www.skillsandinterests.com/

Teenhelp

Everyone needs help from time to time and there is nothing wrong with asking for it. It may help to talk to a friend, family member or someone else you trust. They can also support you in finding professional advice and help if you need it.

If you don’t want to talk to someone you know, try one of many support organisations that will be more than willing to help. These include free helplines, text support services, websites, drop-in centres, support groups, counselling and also services that offer immediate help in a crisis, some 24 hours a day. For more information, go to the following barnardos website……..excellent service.

http://www.barnardos.ie/teenhelp.html

Higher education access route – HEAR

HEAR provides a ‘level playing pitch’ for students from socio-economic disadvantaged backgrounds accessing higher education. It provides academic, personal and social support in the participating institutions – for more information on HEAR go to the dedicated website www.accesscollege.ie

Careers Ireland

Students embarking on their career journey

CAO – Decide on interest not on points

High points courses certainly require high levels of academic ability, but the student who chooses a course based on interest is likely to out-perform those who rank their preference based on entry points. It would be a mistake to rank the quality of dgrees by their entry points. Entry points are, by and large, a consequence of supply and demand. They reflect the number of places available on each course and represent the score achieved by the last student to be offered a place. Large programmes often have lower points, but the standard is much higher.

Arts most popular

Arts courses are the most popular third-level options, with more that a quarter of all applications listing humanities and human science courses as their first-preference. Arts subjects don’t tend to have a clear career path, but HR managers look to employ well-educated graduates who are self-motivators and who demonstrate creative and analytical skills – which are develop while doing an arts degree. Nearly 50 % of art students go on to do post grad studies in areas such as business, law, journalism and creative writing.