Parents are worried about entry fees to universities at registration time. Up to five calls a day were received by the Irish Times helpline over the past three weeks. These "service charges" can come to approximately £300 to £350.

The fees must be paid when a student registers at university. This dilemma occurs every year, says Vivian Cassells, a guidance counsellor who has manned the helpline for the past 15 years.

For those who expect to qualify for a maintenance grant, the registration date for college is usually before the date on which a grant application is approved, but parents must still have the money on the day of registration.

"Parents must budget for this expenditure whether they are eligible for a grant or not. Everybody has to come up with it. It's an expense that most parents do not take into account because they believe that third-level education is free. If the costs continue to spiral, it's really fees by another name," Cassells says.

John McGinnity, admissions officer at NUI Maynooth and chairman of the Admissions Officers Association, says NUI Maynooth charges £312 for service charges on registration day. This comprises registration and examinations charges. The decision of the CAO not to include the payment of this registration fee in the offer system has been welcomed by parents.

Part of the problem, says Cassells, is that the various grant authorities do not get round to authorising grants until late October. The problem is exacerbated, he says, by the fact that universities are beginning term much earlier than previously, and long before grants are out. For example, UCD started lectures on Sept 17th.