Relevant Links - Mature Students

A mature student is classes as a candidate who is at least 23 years of age on 1 January of the year of entry or re-entry to an approved course. Not all providers adhere to this stipulation so it is advised that you contact directly the course providers Admissions Office and/or a Mature Students Officer to provide specific support for mature students.

How do I apply to go to College?

The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have delegated to CAO the task of processing centrally applications for admission to their first year undergraduate courses. The purpose of the CAO is to process applications centrally and to deal with them in an efficient and fair manner. The HEIs retain the function of making decisions on admissions.

Some institutions require application to be made directly to the institution; others require application to be made through the CAO while a certain number of colleges require application to be made through both the college and CAO. Details of the restrictions and the list of HEIs which require direct application are shown in the CAO Handbook. Mature applicants should pay particular attention to pages 3, 4, 6 and 10 of the CAO handbook.

In all cases, Mature Applicants must contact the Admissions Office or Mature Student Officer of the appropriate HEIs, preferably by 15th December, and certainly well in advance of the CAO closing date of 1st February.

Income Support as a Third Level Student
Qualifying conditions for Department of Social and Family Affairs income support schemes change from time to time. Always check with your local social welfare office to see if qualifying conditions have changed or contact the Information Services at  LoCall 1890. 20 23 25  or 071 9672698

Back to Education Programme
The Department of Social and Family Affairs runs a range of second chance education programmes to help unemployed people, lone parents and people with disabilities improve their skills and qualifications. The programmes range from basic foundation courses through to third-level postgraduate courses.
If you wish to take an approved full-time third-level course, you may qualify for a Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) You may also continue to get your current  Jobseekers Benefit /Allowance if you qualify for the  education, training or development courses option  or part-time education courses option of the Back to Education programme.

a. What is the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA)?

The Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is a scheme for unemployed people, lone parents and people with disabilities who are getting certain payments from the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
The allowance can be paid to people who wish to do or take approved third level courses of education. BTEA is not an unemployment payment. Participants get a standard rate of payment which is not means tested. If you are getting  "credit only", you may apply to take part in the scheme and if you qualify for BTEA you will receive the Cost of Education Allowance which is €500 for the 2009 /10 academic year.

b. Third Level Option

You can take a third-level course at any university, third-level college or institution as long as it:
" is a full-time day course, and
" is approved by the Department of Education and Science for the
-Higher Education Grant Scheme,
-Vocational Education Committee's Scholarship Scheme, or
-Third Level Maintenance Grant Scheme for Trainees, or
-is recognised by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC).

Note: If you already hold a third-level undergraduate qualification, you can only apply for a BTEA to take an equivalent undergraduate course in very exceptional cases.
Since January 2003, the postgraduate option of the BTEA scheme is only for people who wish to take: a Postgraduate Diploma in Education for both Primary and Secondary teaching purposes or a Higher Diploma (H.Dip) qualification. Other postgraduate qualifications including a Masters qualification are not recognised for BTEA purposes. You will not get the BTEA if you already hold a postgraduate qualification.

Financial Support

The range of financial supports available from the Department of Education and Science (DES) to mature students proposing to attend further and higher education include:

• Free Fees Initiative
• Maintenance Grants Scheme
• Special Rates of Maintenance Grant
• The Students Assistance Fund
• The Fund for Students with Disabilities
• The Millennium Partnership Fund for Disadvantage