Dear SUSI: One Student Speaks Out....

Dear SUSI,

How's all? Well, I hope.

A former private college graduate here, just checking in, you know yourself. Let me just get a few things straightened out from the offset, though, before you jump to any conclusions.

You say private college to some people and instantly, you get a flash of judgement dancing across their face as if the word 'private' changes everything when really, it doesn't, not at all. I assure you, I couldn't be further from a so-called 'privately educated' being if I tried. Five minutes spent with me would assure you of that.

So, by the time college rolled around for the second time (in my case, private college), I wasn't really sure what to expect. Chandeliers? Plush carpeting? HEATING? (God, the imagination really can run wild at times.) Maybe I should speak a little better, stand a little straighter, concoct some story about my aristocratic background to fit in? (In hindsight, that would never have worked...)

It was all for nothing, though, because my year at a private third level was honestly one of the best of my life. In fact, it was one of the few that really, truly inspired, motivated and instilled some confidence and happiness in me. A combination of a small course and amazing, motivational lecturers ensured that we got the best education possible and I'll never, ever regret accepting my offer to study here. One student can attest to this very feeling, Alisha is a current student at my old college and here's what she has to say about it all:

"I am a first year Journalism and Visual Media student from county Mayo. Why did I choose to study in a private college? Honestly, I really liked the sound of the course. Although it's a tough and challenging one, it has taught me the art of working together with people and to search for opportunities always. I'm based on a small campus and this, I feel, makes it easier to connect with others and to make new friends within different age groups and cultures. My current college has a wider spectrum of student nationalities and this, along with many other aspects, makes it that bit more interesting overall."

So why wouldn't everyone choose to study at a third level? The f-word, that's why. Finances. You see, SUSI, not all of us can afford to further ourselves without a little help, a little dig-out, so to speak. I applied for some help upon getting my offer to college and was strung along like a paper doll for what was essentially the entire duration of my time there. Another form here, a signature there, three photocopies more please and we should be sorted.  Except that we weren't sorted, were we? Because SUSI, you seem to feel that anyone and everyone who falls outside the traps of Universities or ITs isn't worthy or in need of a helping hand. Why is that?

The very idea of not giving someone who could so benefit and thrive in this environment a chance and an opportunity to do so because of no financial aid is just wrong on so very many levels. Alisha perfectly sums it up with the following:

"I strongly feel as though we're being discriminated against, after all, my degree is state approved, so why am I not eligible for an SUSI grant? Regardless of our choice of college, we should all be encouraged to study and to go to college."

Being a student is difficult enough, especially when money and how you're going to just hang on for one more week is constantly an issue in the back of your mind. The worry and the impending fear that just one more expense might tip you over the edge, well, it can genuinely affect your day to day life and therefore, your very quality of life. Do you know what it's like to live off of €7 for a week and go to bed hungry night after night? Well, I can tell you this, it's tough.

We are students too you know, we've worked hard to get here and we'll work even harder now that we're here. We are doing nothing but attempting to better ourselves in every way possible, purely in order to build a better, brighter future for ourselves. We want to learn more about the world around us and sadly, in some cases, money is holding us back from being the very best version of ourselves.

So SUSI, should you read this, I hope that you'll understand why I felt it so necessary to write to you and explain myself and this whole entire debacle and where I stand amidst it all,

Yours,

A (very grateful) private college graduate.

If you'd like to get involved and make a difference, click here to sign the petition and get SUSI to stand up and start creating a more equal status for all college students and remember, every voice makes a difference.