How much does it really cost to go to college? Between contribution fees, rent hikes and a cost-of-living crisis, it has become increasingly expensive to pursue third-level education in Ireland.
In 2024, the price comparison service Switcher.ie published a report that put the average cost of going to college at €15,632 a year, a €536 increase on the previous year. With inflation bumping up day-to-day expenses such as groceries and utilities, it depicts third-level education as a complicated and costly reality for students and their families.
“It’s much more challenging than what it would have been a couple of years ago”, says Chris Clifford, President of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). “A major thing we’re seeing in comparison is a huge increase in the number of students now who are balancing a fulltime job with their education in order to actually afford it.”
The rising cost of living in recent years has put students under unprecedented pressure to make ends meet, forcing many to make difficult choices between work and education. Though the student contribution fee has been brought down to €2,000 thanks to the continuation of the “one-off” €1,000 subsidy in Budget 2025, it remains a steep fee in comparison to Ireland’s European counterparts, especially when considered in the context of the many different expenses college demands once classes begin. Study materials and field trips drive the costs up again and that’s before accommodation is taken into consideration.
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First year student Leah Hussey worked for two years to save up for her move from Mullingar to Dublin to study Clinical Speech and Language Studies at Trinity College. “I was able to cover my accommodation in a lump sum because of that and now I just go on a week-to-week budget”, the 18-year-old explains. “It’s going okay but I’m very conscious of it.” Planning ahead helped make things manageable, but she warns incoming students to not “go in thinking that you are going to be able to save”.
Clifford encourages people to get savvy with budgeting and financial plans as soon as possible – outside of larger expenses such as contribution fees and rent, day-to-day living adds up quickly and can catch green students off-guard. “Prices are rising but the minimum wage isn’t balancing with that, so money just isn’t going as far for students as it was a couple of years ago,” he explains.
“A lot of students are using the likes of Revolut so they can open separate wallets on it, set up new ways to save like turning on the “spare change” feature, and simple things like that really add up”, he says. “On the whole though it’s about just planning ahead with eyes wide open and having the conversation with parents or family or whoever to see what way they can budget it”.
Every student’s experience will be different of course, and expenses vary according to what college they attend and which town or city they study in. The 2024 Switcher.ie report identified Letterkenny as the cheapest place in Ireland for students to live in with an annual cost of €13,147, while Dublin was the most expensive at €19,527. Priorities, lifestyle, and expectations will determine what “affordable” looks like to each student and decisions about which college to attend, what course to apply to and whether moving out is feasible will impact how expensive their third-level education will be.
Those moving out will have rent and utilities top of mind, while those commuting will have to map out the most cost-effective route of travelling to and from classes every day. The numbers travelling long distances to college has climbed in recent years, with many forced to balance the cost of time against accommodation. President of Maynooth Students’ Union Kyla Henry explains that 70% of Maynooth University’s student population is made up of commuters: “Maybe they’re not spending a load on rent, but they’re spending a lot on trying to get onto campus.”
In a bid to ease the pressure on students, Maynooth Students’ Union has opened a pantry stocked up with free non-perishable foods for people to take. “We open it and most of the products could be gone in twenty minutes”, Henry says. “It’s something our students are relying on so we’re looking into using some of our budget now to buy hygiene products and things like that as well.”
Each college is different, and the levels of support vary. Henry emphasises that student unions are there to help however, and it is worth reaching out to them when deciding which college to attend. “We can point them in the right direction for advice on grants and information on the college so they can get a better feel for what they’re getting into financially.”
For many students, the availability of grants will be key to funding their third-level education. For those eligible, the SUSI grant can be a lifeline, while for others, the Student Assistance Fund and Student Emergency Fund can provide some further level of security.
With all of this pressure, it can be easy to cut down on what Dublin-based Computer Science student Colin Simon Fellowes admits are “discretionary things like drinks and events”. That being said, “if you want to meet friends, that’s where it all happens”, the New Yorker says. His friend Julia Omelchenko, an exchange student from Germany, cuts across to say that “It’s also kind of just part of the student experience. Everyone’s just budgeting and looking for the cheapest pub with the cheapest beer and looking for ways to bring the cans into the pub, since everybody’s on a budget, you’re in it together”.
Fellow Trinity student Hussey is wary of “romanticising it” but agrees that living on a tight budget is an inevitable part of student life. While it has grown increasingly expensive to attend college in recent years – inhibitively so for some – a certain amount of planning, budgeting and know-how can help make it more affordable.
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