Think Again

I have always wanted to get into university to learn and to get my degree in nursing, so it was important for me to succeed in making my dream become real. I absolutely love my nursing course. Make sure you choose the right degree for you as you will love it more knowing that it was always what you wanted.”

Leona Rogers, mother of seven, decided to start her journey at UCD in 2023. She successfully applied for Nursing (Children’s & General Nursing) via the Mature Student pathway.

Think Again is a scholarship for women over the age of 23 from households on a low income. The Think Again scholarship is available to women studying any course in UCD, full-time or part-time, including women studying on an Access Programme.

How much is the Think Again scholarship worth?

• Undergraduate full-time students may be awarded up to €7,000 per student per year of study.
• The one-year part-time University Access Course students may be awarded up to €1,000 per student.
• Other part-time students may be awarded up to €1,000 per student per year of study.

You may spend the scholarship as you wish. 

You can find the (opens in a new window)Think Again Terms and Conditions here. All scholars need to follow all of these to keep getting their scholarship and the other supports from Think Again.

What about fees?

Firstly, if you are eligible for Think Again and are studying full-time, you should be eligible for the HEA “Free fees” initiative, so you won’t pay all of the cost of your course. (opens in a new window)Find out if this applies to you here.

Secondly, if you are eligible for Think Again and are studying full-time, you should be eligible for SUSI to pay the rest of your fees. (opens in a new window)Make your SUSI application here.

So between both of these you shouldn’t need to pay fees. 

If you will be studying part-time, this might not be covered by SUSI or the free fees initiative. In this case, fee waivers or reductions may be possible on a case-by-case basis. You can ask about these when you apply for University Access or Open Learning.

I get social welfare payments and/ or the SUSI grant, will the scholarship affect these?

The Think Again Scholarship is not included as “reckonable income” for SUSI or the Department of Social Protection income calculation. This means it will not have any effect on your SUSI payment or payments from the Department of Social Protection.

However, it is the responsibility of all applicants to make sure that getting a scholarship will not have an effect on any other payments/ supports you receive, like a Medical Card, or your status with Revenue.

The UCD Think Again scholarship is for women, aged 23 or over, living in households where the income is less than €50,840 a year, and who are studying in university for the first time. 

Before you apply, please ask yourself if all these statements are true for you:

• I applied for a full-time undergraduate course in UCD on my CAO application.
  OR
  I applied for a part-time undergraduate course in UCD.
  OR
  I am a student in UCD now and I will be progressing to the next stage of my programme in September (more information about this below).

• I identify as female. 
• I am aged 23 or over.
• I have been resident in the Irish State, EU, EEA, UK, or Swiss Federation for three of the last five years.
• My household income is €50,840 or less (more information about this below).
• I do not already have a university degree (more information about this below).

There is a lot of interest in the Think Again scholarships, and the number of applications we get is rising year on year. This means that there may be more applications than there are scholarships to award. For this reason, it is not guaranteed that you will get the scholarship even if you answered yes to all of the questions above. 

My household income is €50,840 or less

To be eligible for a Think Again scholarship, you have to be able to show that the entire income of your household is €50,840 or less, not including most social welfare payments. 

This means your income, plus the income of all the adults who live in your household and contribute to the income.

The limit changes depending on the number of dependent children you have:

1. Fewer than 4 dependent children - €50,840
2. Between 4 and 8 dependent children - €55,768
3. More than 8 dependent children - €60,445
4. Income thresholds increase per additional person in college - €4,785

Please download the (opens in a new window)Think Again- Guide to Supporting Documents. You need to fill this in as part of your application. It will also tell you which documents you need to send us. 

I do not already have a university degree

Think Again is a scholarship for Mature Students. You are a mature student if you are at least 23 years of age on 1 January the year you start your course, and you are starting college for the first time.

If you are not starting college for the first time, you may still be eligible for Think Again if one of these statements is true for you:

• I am aged 23+ and I started an undergraduate degree course but didn’t finish it and have had a break of 3+ years in my studies. 
• I am aged 23+ and I am on a progression pathway, such as from Open Learning, an Access Course, or a certificate or diploma.
• I am aged 23+ and the course I did already was at NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications) Level 5 or below.

“The support I received on the Access programme was life-changing. Yes, you need ambition, but you need something behind you too, to feed that ambition, and that’s exactly what the Think Again scholarship is doing. This scholarship helps me feel like I belong at UCD. I feel wanted and accepted, and it helps me to strive towards my dream, knowing somebody is there to support me, which means a lot to me.”

Eliza Bujor, mother of two, was one of the very first Think Again scholars in 2022. She successfully moved on to Biological, Biomedical and Biomolecular sciences after finishing SEAM+ - UCD Access to Science, Engineering, Agricultural Science, Computer Science, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

I am a student in UCD now and I will be progressing to the next stage of my programme in September

Current UCD students progressing from one stage to the next are very welcome to apply for a Think Again scholarship.

You still must be a Mature Student to be eligible for Think Again.

• “You are a mature student if you are at least 23 years of age on 1 January the year you start your course, and you are starting college for the first time.”

You must be progressing from one stage to another.

• “Progression is when a student completes an attempt at a stage and moves to the next stage of their programme. Progression usually occurs at the end of an academic session but it may also occur after the Autumn Trimester (mid-year progression) in certain situations, such as where a student has carried repeat modules.”

Before you apply, ask yourself if either of these sentences describe you:

• I am a Mature student progressing from one year to the next of full-time undergrad (level 6 or above) and I meet the basic criteria above.
• I am a mature student progressing from 1st year into 2nd year of a Diploma/ Bachelor of Business Studies or BA Part-time Degree Programme part-time course and I meet the basic criteria above.

If you have a question or want to get updates from Think Again, please give us a few contact details (opens in a new window)here and we will get back to you.

We welcome your application to Think Again. 

Before you start

Please read the (opens in a new window)UCD Think Again 2025 - Privacy Statement before you send us any information.

Step 1: Fill in the application form

The application form takes about 30-40 minutes to answer all the questions. 

But please note - It might take you a few weeks to get the documents you need to submit with the application form.

You will get an email from Think Again when your application has gotten to us. Contact (opens in a new window)thinkagain@ucd.ie if you don’t get this email within 2 working days of making your application.

I hope to start a full-time programme in September

• Click on the link to do this online: (opens in a new window)Think Again 2025-2026 - Application Form for full-time undergraduate students
• Click on the link to download a Word document version of the application form: Think Again Scholarship 2025-2026 - Full-time undergraduate students

I hope to start a part-time programme in September

• Click on the link to do this online: (opens in a new window)Think Again 2025-2026 - Application Form for part-time undergraduate students
• Click on the link to download a Word document version of the application form: Think Again Scholarship 2025-2026 - Part-time undergraduate students

I am already a UCD student and will be progressing from one stage to another in September

• Click on the link to do this online: (opens in a new window)Think Again 2025-2026 - Application Form for progressing undergraduate students
• Click on the link to download a Word document version of the application form: Think Again Scholarship 2025-2026 - Progressing undergraduate students

Step 2: The supporting documents

You will need to send us more supporting documents, and you will find instructions about this in the (opens in a new window)Think Again - Guide to Supporting Documents.

Step 3: Why you are applying for Think Again 

The third and final step will be to tell us why you are applying for Think Again. Your answers will be read only by members of staff directly working on Think Again application assessments. We will use what you write in your Statement of Motivation to understand why you want to study in UCD and what it will mean to you. 

Get help with your application 

Come to a Think Again application support drop-in on Zoom or in-person. 

Zoom:

Monday 7 April, 12-1pm

Tuesday 22 April, 10-11am

Thursday 5 June, 1-2pm

Monday 16 June, 12-1pm

Tuesday 1 July, 3-4pm

Tuesday 15 July, 3-4pm

Use this link to drop in: (opens in a new window)Think Again 2025 - Help with applications - Drop-in (online)

Password: thinkagain

In-person in the UCD Access and Lifelong Learning Centre Learning Space:

Wednesday 9 April, 2-3pm

Wednesday 11 June, 11-1pm

Priority Deadline: 31 July 

If you apply before 31 July, including your successful SUSI Award Letter, your application will be assessed, and you will be told if you have an offer of a scholarship within 4 weeks. 

If you apply before 31 July, but you don’t have your SUSI letter yet, your application will be assessed, and you will be told if you have a conditional offer of a scholarship within 4 weeks. This offer will not be finalised, and your scholarship payments will not start, until you have submitted your successful SUSI Award Letter.

Last Deadline: 30 September

This date is the last chance to make an application to Think Again for study in 2025.

“The focus of Think Again is on women who are largely absent in UCD – mature women students from low-income households. Think Again contributes enormously to the university’s capacity to focus on this under-represented and under-served cohort of potential students. By recognising and addressing their needs, the university is in a much better position to recruit these talented women with a diversity of experience and skills, thereby adding to the cognitive diversity and talent of the UCD community and, later, alumni.” 

Dr Bairbre Fleming Think Again Project Lead and Deputy Director of UCD Access and Lifelong Learning

Find out about what life at UCD is like as a mature student on our Mature Student information hub. 

Participating in (opens in a new window)UCD Societies and Clubs is an important part of the university experience. The(opens in a new window) Campus life information webpage outlines all your options for you to participate in student life.

One society you should definitely consider joining is the (opens in a new window)Mature Student Society. It offers a readymade way to mix with other mature students.

Pathways to study at UCD

• Non CAO Pathways

Learn more about the UCD Access Programme by clicking this link: UCD Access Programme

Learn more about the Open Learning Progression Pathways by clicking this link: Open Learning Progression Pathways

Learn more about the Lifelong learning short courses by clicking this link: Lifelong learning short courses

• CAO Pathways

A Mature Student can apply to study at UCD through the CAO application process as a Mature Student or for specific courses as a candidate with a full QQI level 5 or level 6 major award.

Learn more about applying as a Mature Student by clicking this link: Applying as a Mature Student

How do I know if I am ready to be a student?
Many students ask themselves this question! You can use our (opens in a new window)Think Again Readiness Checker to help you answer this question.