Athlone Institute of Technology will be opening its doors to new and return students from Monday September 5, and the Students Union are urging all students to get their grants and accommodation sorted out as early as possible.
Deputy president of AIT Students Union, John Madden, says that he and his fellow officers are happy to offer advice to any first-time students in need of help.
“This of course can be a daunting experience for the newcomers but no doubt they will all find their feet very quickly here in Athlone.
“Before it all commences we in the Students Union in AIT urge all newcomers to have all grant application forms completed and sent to whichever VEC or grant awarding body they are dealing with. The sooner the application is processed, the sooner you will be in receipt of your payments. We are happy to help people with any queries they may have,” says Mr Madden.
However, he expressed frustration at the recent Government decision to increase registration fees and reduce the grant amount.
“We are facing problems this year with the grants in that the Government has done another U-turn and made it difficult for anybody to sustain themselves in college financially by upping registration fees and cutting grants but as always we will have to do the best we can with what we have.”
He also urged students to visit the Students Union website to check out the accommodation list.
“Many students have their accommodation sorted already for the year but we still have plenty on the books. If any prospective students would like to avail of this list we have all available accommodation listed on www.aitsu.ie From what we can gather most students are opting for the budget accommodation this year. We would like to thank the various landlords in the area for bringing their prices in line with the current economic climate; every little helps.
“The Students Union this year hopes to be the stalwart facility it has been in previous years. We are here to help students on issues ranging from academic to personal and our door will always be open.”
