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The Cost of College Nothing is cheap in Ireland, and education is no exception. No-one doubts a degree, diploma or certificate all add value to a persons CV, however obtaining these pieces of paper takes a lot more than just intelligence alone. The cost of college can be broken into a few key areas in which we have estimated the annual cost for a typical student.
1) Accommodation 1) Accommodation - €3,200 to €5,000+ This is typically the most expensive element of all. With the Celtic Tiger, rents rose by an incredible amount over the past decade in all areas of Ireland - especially in large towns and cities. For students the options for renting are typically - a traditional bed-sit or digs, a room in a house with other students, or the increasingly popular purpose built student accommodation. The cost naturally varies depending on room size and spec, even for a small box room in a large town, the lowest rent would be €50 a week. Much more typically on-campus student accommodation in Dublin, Galway or Cork usually works out around €120 a week or more. Similar accommodation in large towns like Sligo, Athlone and Dundalk works out at €70-€80 per week, again depending on room spec and location. It is important to note the hidden extras. In the case of most non-student accommodation such as private houses, bills will be paid separately to the rent. These can typically add €10-€15 per week. For many students living on-campus, regular room inspections can result in fines. Such a system operates in DCU where regular fines in the range of €10-€50 are in place for "offences" such as having posters on ones walls or un-hovered carpets. Other hidden charges include internet connection and washing machine charges. In the virtually all cases, a large deposit most be paid up front; and in the case of student accommodation, many landlords demand an entire semesters rent up front. A typical room in a student apartment block in North Dublin, Cork City, or Galway City will cost €120 per week including bills. Assuming it is rented from Mid-Sept to Late May (36 weeks), this equals €4,320. For UCD, the figure may be closer to €5,000, whilst for the regional IT's a figure of €3,200 would be closer to the mark 2) Transport Forget the cars, most students have little option other than to get the bus. Unlike in some countries like The Netherlands where student travel is free, students are poorly taken care of in Ireland with relatively minor discounts available. In order to even claim these, one must get a student travel card - available by post or in some colleges from the students union office. A student return from a town like Mullingar to Dublin by bus costs €16.50, add in €3 for the return fare to DCU or a little more to UCD. Thats 20 quid. Or a return train ticket from say Sligo to Dublin will set you back €29 each time. So each visit home can easily cost €25 for the typically student. Visit every second week and your looking at a €450 transport bill.... 3) Food Students are notorious for eating quick microwaveable food products, takeaways and deli food... but this is an incredibly expensive way of eating - not to mention bad for your body! Stick to cooking traditional Irish meals - meat, veg and potatoes and a student can easily get by on a €20 trip to Tesco or Dunnes once a week. However throw in convenience food and a take away or two and that can quickly grow to €50 a week. For example, a panini (or a sandwich with a fancy name, which ever way you see it!) can cost €6 in a University restaurant. Throw in a coffee and that's an €8 bill for lunch alone. Most students fall somewhere down the middle at about €1,100 for the year. 4) Fees/Academic Costs For those not getting the grant, free-fees in Ireland typically means an €800 or so fee for most of the Universities. Exam repeats can cost €100+ and a whole host of other fees exist ranging from ID cards to bar membership. In the case of private colleges like DBS and Portobello fees of €4,000 - €5,000 per year typically apply. Meanwhile books usually cost over €50 each (sometimes over €100). And lets not forget most colleges charge exorbitant amounts for trivial things like printing and photocopying. A typical student going to TCD, DCU, UCD, NUI or UCC can expect to spend the best part of €1,000 a year for academic purposes. 5) Socialising Truth be told, some students do indeed live the endless party of going out every night of the week. However two nights out are much more common - one at home with school/sports friends and one in college going out on the town. €40 would be a cheap night out between taxi, bus and drink. Sure special student nights at €3 a drink occur on Tuesdays and Wednesdays... but even at that money seems to just disappear on a night out. Add in a few gigs and events and money looks tight. An outgoing student can easily go through €2,000 during the Sept-May year on going out... however some spend far less... and some far more. 6) Other Other expenses range from gym membership (€200 please), to after exam holidays with friends. Lets not forget that most students seem intent on getting a laptop these days also. Fair is Fair So aside from the accommodation and academic fees, which are almost always covered by either a grant or by parents, a typical student will burn through somewhere in the region of €60 - €100 a week. Sure some can get by on less, and indeed some spend far more. Of this, much of it relates to socialising rather than food and transport. A quick survey of friends and parents indicates that most parents give a weekly allowance to cover living expenses. This amount varies considerably, but going by the norm and realism; €70-€80 a week seems more than fair in this day and age. This amount covers all basic costs and will afford a student at least one night out a week. If they want any more or any big ticket items like a holiday... then they may work for it! And the final figure is... So as a parent the costs for a typical student in Ireland today are...
Accommodation: €3,500 - €5,000 Total: €6,800 - €13,000 per annum... Conclusion Eek! That's a lot of money. At a minimum you should budget €7,000 for each year of college to afford your son/daughter a fair chance to get the most from it. You could of course budget more... but to be honest spoiling them will rob them of one of the greatest lessons of college - how to live on a fair budget. Notes
All figures are based on the
authors own experience as a student and the experiences of people he has
interviewed about the cost of college. This article was first published in
early 2008 and reflects the authors best effort to articulate a fair
impression of the cost of attending a college in Ireland on a full time
basis by an EU citizen. Naturally costs vary enormously depending on
location and the character of the student. Search |
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