Survey reveals more students need parental dig out to stay in college

Students are relying on their parents for more than €100 a week to keep them in college, with most families depending on their savings or turning to credit cards and loans to meet the bills.

As more than 65,000 college applicants wait in hope of an offer from the Central Applications Office next week, the figures in the Irish League of Credit Unions survey demonstrate the financial pressures on parents to put children through college.

Almost 44,000 of the 55,300 students getting their Leaving Certificate results tomorrow have applied to the CAO for a college place. However, the ILCU survey reveals the costs they and their families face during their third-level education, with 43% of parents having saved for at least a decade to support the cost.