Paying for it · The grant
Covers fees for a lot of students and pays maintenance to some. The commonest mistake is deciding you won't qualify and never finding out.
SUSI is the national student grant. Depending on household income and circumstances it can cover the student contribution, and separately pay you a maintenance grant to live on.
The thresholds are higher than people guess. The application is free. Assuming you are above the line, without checking where the line is, is how students end up paying for something they would have got.
One part covers your fees. The other pays you money for living on. They are assessed apart, so you might get one and not the other, and the maintenance grant pays more if college is far from home.
You do not need an offer in hand. Waiting until August means waiting for money you will need in September, at the exact moment everybody else is waiting too.
Most colleges run a Student Assistance Fund for students hit by costs they did not see coming. Discretionary, confidential, and far quieter than it ought to be. Ask the access office in your first week, before you need it.
“My parents earn too much.”
Possibly. The thresholds still surprise people and they move every year. Check rather than concluding.
“It only covers fees.”
There is a maintenance grant. It is paid to you.
These pages tell you how it works. A person can tell you what it was actually like. Mentor profiles are open to registered schools.
How schools registerInformation checked September 2026. Requirements, fees and deadlines change — always confirm with the official sources linked above before making a decision.