Advice on student finance abroad please!

[casma]

If you were a Brit studying in Ireland, would you be eligible for british student financing (e.g. maintenance loans)?

No. Unless you mean Northern Ireland.

Thanks for the reply. We didn't mean N. Ireland, but finance was not an issue discussed when DD's teacher suggested studying abroad so we just needed to clear that up. Looks like abroad is not an option!

If you are in England Scotland Wales wanting to go to Queens in Belfast then you would be able to get normal finance from student finance England/Wales/Scotland.

If you are applying for a uni in Eire its different. There are separate rules for students crossing the border from Northern Ireland but basically for those coming from England Wales or Scotland you can;t get any maintenance help initially. ds1 has applied to UCD so we investigated what he might be able to get and it looks like he can get a maintenance loan after 2 years of residence. He is applying for a passport and hopes to get finance for his third year.

Essentially, if you study outside the UK, then the UK government will not give you any funding. However, there may be funding from the university / foreign government itself.

My son is currently in this situation. He has applied to Dublin and from reading the Irish finance site we think he may be able to apply for a student loan. DCU have a link with the bank of Ireland who will offer a loan.

Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Veterinary, Civil and Non-Civil Engineering, IT, Telecoms, Accountancy and all Science students can get a maintenance loan of up to up to 6500 euros according to BoI website if I've read it right. Its called a student faculty loan

If your child is good enough to get into UCD, DCU or Trinity have you considered a US university? Many offer financial aid to foreign students.

Thanks for all of this information. I'll suggest the US to DD.

It depends on the country where you want to study. Few countries provides scholarship programs for students studying abroad.

How does finding work with the EU agreements though? EU students into the UK get student finance I thought...

A lot of information on how study in the EU works is here europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/education/university/financial/index_en.htm

On that page you can choose another EU country and click on its name and a new window opens with info.

Generally speaking, country authorities have to treat students from other EU countries in the same way they treat their own students. So for instance, students from other EU / EEA / Switzerland can get tuition fee loans - but they are loans and have to be repaid.