University entrance scholarships explained

If you are applying this year through CAO to honours degree courses in engineering or computing, you may be interested to learn that Dublin City University (DCU) has launched an academic scholarship programme from which students may benefit if they register as an engineering or computing student in DCU next September.

The new scholarship programme will reward students enrolling on these courses who attain 500 or more CAO points in this year's Leaving Certificate or equivalent examination with a cash prize of €1,000.

Students who have not applied to DCU so far, but are now interested in doing so because of the scholarships, could use the change of mind facility.

All universities offer entrance scholarships of one sort or another. Most college websites dedicate space to their own scholarships or award schemes, and there is also some more general info on some scholarships schemes available on www.student finance.ie, the HEA (Higher Education Authority) website which deals with all issues regarding student finance.

This column recently referred to NUI Maynooth's new four-year LLB Law degree, which appears on the CAO Handbook Important Changes list. NUI Maynooth has recently announced that the Honourable Society of King's Inns has added this Law (LLB) degree programme (MH119) to its list of approved degrees for graduates who wish to sit their entrance examinations for the course of barrister-at-law (BL).

This degree joins NUI's other two Law programmes (BCL) Law and Arts (MH115), and BBL Law and Business (MH406) on the approved qualifications list.

Kings Inns, as the Society is more frequently referred to, requires all applicants to sit an entrance exam for the barrister training course, but applicants who are graduates of approved non-law degrees (or mature applicants) must take a two-year part-time diploma course in Legal Studies before they may sit the entrance exam to the BL programme.

Meanwhile, a quick revision for the Leaving Certificate higher level maths course is being held next Saturday, May 28, in the premises of Engineers Ireland in Clyde Road, Ballsbridge Dublin 4.

The course is offered by Cillian Fahy, the 2010 Leaving Cert student who shot to fame last year when he achieved straight As, and then sold his notes on eBay.

The course will offer students a quick revision of the entire Higher Level Maths course. It is highly exam-focused, described as fast paced and designed for students who already have a grasp of key areas.

Admission is free, and students should register online at www.steps.ie.

The third-level, Griffith College, Dublin, is offering free notes, solutions and videos covering all aspects of Leaving Cert ordinary level maths course for PC, Mac and Smartphone users. Click on www.maths.gcd.ie for a free account.

According to Griffith's Director of Academic Programmes, Tomas MacEochagain, hundreds of students are already using the site daily for hours at a time and user numbers are doubling every four days.

Irish Independent