The Student Assistance Fund provides financial assistance for full-time higher education students who are experiencing financial difficulties whilst attending college. Students can apply for Student Assistance to help them with either temporary or ongoing financial difficulties. The Student Assistance Fund provides a further source of funding for higher education students in addition to the Student Grant or the Back to Education Allowance.
Each year, the State allocates a certain amount of Student Assistance funding to all publicly funded higher education colleges based on the size of the college’s full-time student population. Students in need of financial support can then make an application in the college for assistance under the Fund.
The Student Assistance Fund is not available in further education/PLC colleges.
The Student Assistance Fund typically provides financial assistance to students who are having difficulty covering the following but is not limited to the following kinds of expenses:
- Books
- Class materials
- Rent
- Heating/lighting bills
- Food
- Travel of an urgent or essential nature
- Medical expenses, i.e. doctor or dental visits
- Expenses associated with family breakdown
- Expenses associated with bereavement
- Expenses associated with accidents
- Childcare
- Compulsory study abroad
All colleges have an application form which must be completed by students wishing to apply for Student Assistance. You can only apply for this fund while you are an actual student of the college and not in advance of becoming a student.
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