Susi grants: Everything you need to know before heading to college
More than 60,000 students have already been awarded a Susi grant to support them in their studies over the coming year.
That includes school-leavers who took the wise step to apply early to give themselves certainty about what financial support they could expect.
Susi stands for Student Universal Support Ireland and it is the main source of state financial assistance for students enrolled in a post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) course or in higher education. As well as in Ireland, Susi grants may also be paid to Irish students studying in the UK or the EU.
As the “early bird” school-leavers realised, a student does not need to have accepted a place on a course in order to apply for a grant. And even if a student has applied for course, but ends up on a different one after the offers are released, Susi can track them.
Leaving Cert students who have applied to Susi but who plan to attend a different course to the one noted on their application form can update their course details online through their Susi student portal.
Alternatively, if they applied for their course through the CAO and gave the CAO permission to share their information with Susi, the CAO will update Susi directly once the course has been accepted by the student.
PLC students and undergraduate students studying outside the State may be eligible for a maintenance grant only.
Now that the class of 2024 have their results, and with many having a level of expectation about a transition to college, those who think they are eligible for a grant but have not applied should not delay. The earlier Susi receives an application, the earlier it will be processed.
Applications can be made online at www.susi.ie until late autumn/early winter and there will be an option to submit a late application after this time.
The Susi website also has a handy reckoner that will give students an indication of whether they are eligible.
There are two types of funding available, maintenance grants and fee grants. Maintenance grants help students with their living costs and are paid directly to the student.
Fee grants can pay the student contribution charge of up to €3,000, or tuition fees for students who do not qualify for the Free Fees Scheme. Fees are paid directly to the college on behalf of the student.
PLC students and undergraduate students studying outside the State may be eligible for a maintenance grant only.
Eligibility for a grant is largely determined by family income, based on earnings for the previous calendar year, as well as the number of children in a family. Grants are paid on a scale that also takes account of whether a student lives within 30km from college.
There have been some rate increases this year and the maximum to be paid in 2024/25 is €7,586, to the most economically disadvantaged students who also live more than 30km away from their college.
Other changes introduced include an increase in the amount a student can earn outside term time, up from €6,552 to €7,925. This is known as “holiday earnings”.
