Studying in Ireland

[sundaylunchforfour]

Hi all

I am appealing for some help!

I am Irish but live in the UK. My kids have Irish passports and one of my children is really keen to go to Uni in the Republic of Ireland.

I am really confused with what the rules are around this? Does anybody know the price of the fees in Ireland and whether having a passport makes any difference to the price?

Thank you!!

As far as I'm aware you need to be 'normally resident' in Ireland for 5 years prior to starting uni. Otherwise you're considered an international student and pay the fees accordingly

OP this is on the UCD website:

In terms of higher education, notwithstanding Brexit, UK students will still be eligible for the same fee structures as EU students in Ireland. For the free fees initiative, once students meet all other criteria as set out in the Free Fees Initiative:

Students with UK nationality will continue to be eligible under the nationality criteria of the free fees scheme;
UK residency will continue to contribute towards fulfilling the ordinarily resident criteria of the scheme.

It would be worth phoning fees offices for your preferred university but it sounds like she would still qualify for free fees under this special exemption?

Thanks both so much, I think you're right I'll call the University!

Fingers crossed

Just bear in mind that there is no student loan system in Ireland & you can’t get a UK student loan to study there. So although fees are lower, (technically there are no tuition fees but there is a hefty registration fee) you need to be able to find it & your rent etc yourself.

Thanks @Decorhate I'll look into this also!

Following as one of mine is thinking similar!

University fees are nominally free in Ireland. However, registration fees and other costs will add up to approx. £3,000 per annum.

I looked into DS studying in Ireland a few years ago, and the main obstacle is the points system they have. Our kids don’t do enough subjects to get the points needed for competitive courses in Ireland. I spoke to an admissions tutor at UCC and she was very friendly and helpful. Good luck.

I’ve just had a quick look and it appears for UK applicants they require a language other than english, at least to GCSE level.

That would be a decider for us as Dc went down the sciences route and couldn’t fit a language in...

Do they need four A levels as well?

From memory it was minimum 6 subjects, 2 at a level. One has to be maths, one a language.

That would be minimum, of course.

It’s fairly clear on the website, there’s a section for English undergrad entry requirements.

Many students from NI do A levels and go to uni in the Republic so it's absolutely not a problem doing A levels.

Applicants are scored on the basis of their best four A levels or three A levels and an AS level in a different subject. Bonus points are awarded if one of these is A level Maths (or Further Maths).

We don't have the official student loans here but we do have a grant system (means tested) and not paid back. That I think EU Students can apply for (although I could be wrong) it's called the SUSI grant. Just google it and it will come up.

I agree with Mindgone, DS looked into studying there a few years ago but the points system on which they allocate places doesn't translate well to A levels (unless perhaps you are looking at all As or A*). Because they study 6/7 subjects, it's easier for them to improve their points by increasing a grade in just one subject which they study in less depth than an A level but a bigger leap for an A level student to go up a grade if that makes sense? I know DS needed three Bs for his chosen course in the UK but would have needed at least an A and 2 Bs in Ireland.

Thanks Unfortunateevents. To give an example: A few years ago, DS was applying for Pharmacy. He needed ABB to get into Manchester Uni for MPharm. He ended up with AAA with a C in 4th AS. This would have given him 544 Irish points. In 2020, 589 points needed min to study MPharm in Cork.