Third level students in Co Clare who haven’t submitted their student grant funding applications for the 2016/2017 academic year are reminded to do so immediately, as the deadline for applications is this Friday, the 8th July.
SUSI, the national student grant awarding body, opened its online application system on the 5th April and has received 70,000 applications to date for the 2016/2017 academic year. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) said students who need this vital funding should apply well ahead of the deadline to ensure their applications receive priority.
An expected 110,000 students will apply for grants. Annie Hoey, USI President, said. “Students this year are in a better position to those in previous years as they can find out if they are awarded grants before they receive their results and CAO offers, unlike previous years, where leaving cert students had to wait until late CAO offers and results came in before they were given their grants, in August.”
USI believes this earlier grant application process will reduce the stress levels in college applications and decrease college drop-out rates because with a faster grant application and awarding system, students will be able to forward plan their finances and budget sooner.
Hoey also emphasised that checking grant eligibility is a very fast and easy process with the Grant Eligibility Reckoner on the SUSI website. USI is also encouraging students to use their online application trackers where they can track the progress of their applications and see what documentation has been uploaded successfully without having to call up SUSI directly.