USEFUL RESOURCES

÷ SUSI.IE This is the website of Student Universal Support Ireland, which runs the student grant scheme. It has comprehensive information about student grants, including a guide to filling out the grant application form, the documents you may need to provide when applying for a grant and an eligibility reckoner — which allows you to check if you’re eligible for the grant. You can also apply for a student grant on this website. ÷ GRADIRELAND.COM A website which offers advice on a range of issues, including how to choose — and apply for— a postgraduate course, how to choose a college for postgraduate studies and how to go about studying a postgraduate course abroad. It also has a handy check list to consult and information on the entry requirements and deadlines for postgraduate courses. It has plenty of careers advice for graduate job hunters, an employer’s hub — where graduates can find out who is recruiting, and a job-search tool, where graduates can search for job opportunities. ÷ HEA.IE This is the website of the Higher Education Authority, which is responsible for developing and regulating Ireland’s higher education institutions and system. The news section is worth checking for information on the latest developments in or studies about third-level education. The site also has some interesting publications and statistics about students, including a breakdown of the number of male and female students attending the various colleges, universities and institutes of technology. ÷ EURIRELAND.IE This is a particularly good website to check if you’re interested in European or international education activities and programmes, such as ErasmusPlus. This is a link to the student loans section of the Bank of Ireland website. The bank offers an interest-free preferred faculty loan to certain students (including medical, dentistry and veterinary) who are in their final three years of study. The bank also offers a more general student loan of up to €1,000 which charges 1pc interest and a postgraduate loan of up to €14,000 which charges 5.6pc interest. You can find details on all these loans here. For self-employed parents who want to file their tax return before their children apply for a student grant, this document is an absolute must-read. It’s the Revenue Commissioner’s ‘Guide to Completing Pay and File Self-Assessment Returns’. With three days to go until the deadline for first-time student grant applicants, you don’t have much time to get your tax return done ahead of the grant deadline. ÷ USI.IE This is the website of the Union of Students in Ireland. It includes details of the latest student news, issues and campaigns.