Q I hadn’t planned on going to college this year, but I may get a place. Is it too late to apply for a grant?

A No. The latest closing date for grant application this year is August 31. There is an excellent website, www.studentfinance.ie, which guides applicants through the process.

Q Who is entitled to a grant?

A Grants are awarded depending on a number of factors; nationality (you must have Irish or other EU nationality or official refugee status, or have been granted Humanitarian Leave to remain in the State), your ordinary residence, family income, the number of dependent children in a family, and distance of the family home from the college the student will be attending.

Q How much is a maintenance grant worth?

A There are two separate rates of maintenance: €1,370 which is full maintenance at the ‘adjacent’ rate (for a grant-holder whose normal residence is 15 miles or less from the college which he or she is attending), or €3,430 which is full maintenance at the "non-adjacent" rate (if your family home is further away than that).

A grant recipient may be entitled to the full maintenance grant (100pc), or one of three rates of part maintenance (75pc, 50pc, or 25pc), depending on family income and the number of dependent children in the family. The rates of maintenance were applicable in 2008/2009 and will apply up to the end of 2009. Any changes will be considered in the budget.

While the maintenance grants have not been increased, the income limits have been extended at the top and the bottom ends of the scale; so more families are likely to be eligible for the award of some portion of a grant. At the top end of the scale, a student from a family with eight or more dependent children, whose family income is not more than €49,045, would be entitled to full (100pc) maintenance and full fees. If their family income is not more than €61,295 they would be entitled to part fees (50pc) only.

A student from a family of less than four dependent children, whose family income does not exceed €41,110, would be entitled to 100pc maintenance and full fees. If their family income was no more than €51,380, they would be entitled to part (50pc) fees only.

"Fees" in this instance refers to registration fees, since tuition fees are still being paid for all first time full-time undergraduate students. Tuition fees may be reintroduced next year.

Special additional rates of maintenance are available to students whose family income is not more than €22,308 and who receive a qualifying social welfare payment listed in the schemes.