Increase in students seeking financial information ahead of third level

Financial information about education is a hot topic being researched by CAO applicants ahead of attending third level institutes.

There has been an increase in the number of students seeking financial information about their education ahead of attending third level institutes.

That is according to data from Spun Out, an Irish non-governmental organisation focused on providing online youth information.

In 2020, 37 percent of conversations on Spun Out’s youth information chat were about Education and Finance for Education.

In January to June 2021, 44 percent of conversations in the chat centred around these topics.

Spun Out also revealed that, in the first six months of this year, there has been a 19 percent increase in demand for information, advice and guidance about further education and how to pay fees.

Ross Flanagan, digital services coordinator who works with Spun Out’s youth information chat service, said:

“Many youth information chat queries highlight their concern about paying for college, changes in their household incomes during Covid-19, and requesting information about grants, scholarships, bursaries and loans to pay for fees.” 

Students have also been navigating to Spun Out for information on leaving college, HEAR and DARE schemes, Post-Leaving Cert courses and mental health supports at third level.

Amy Lewis, senior content producer for education and employment at Spun Out, said:

"As expected, we saw a sharp spike in the number of people visiting articles in our college section at the beginning of September.

“The Leaving Cert and CAO sections also received a sharp spike in traffic at the start of September.

“Most of these visitors were reading our articles on CAO offers.

“Since then, the number of readers visiting these articles has remained pretty steady and consistent. In recent weeks, we have seen a gradual increase in the amount of people looking for information on choosing a college course,” she added.

“In our college finance section, our article on student grants also continues to be very popular.”