Due to demand, the NUI Galway dedicated First Year Student Hotline will be open for calls from Tuesday, 16 August. The hotline will be open to students, their parents and their advisers and will run until 23 September, 2011.

The initiative, which was launched in summer 2010 and was the first of its kind across the sector, has been specially designed to help incoming first year students make the transition to third level education. In its first year, the NUI Galway First Year Student Hotline received in the region of 3,000 calls.

With NUI Galway anticipating an intake of over 3,200 new students in September, a team of specially-trained students will service the hotline Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and Saturday 20 and 27 August, 10am to 1pm. The availability of the hotline coincides with the period of frantic activity and decision making that immediately follows the release of the Leaving Certificate results.

The hotline will be active throughout first year orientation on 10 and 11 September and will remain in service for two weeks after lectures begin on September 12, providing students with a place to direct any conceivable query they encounter as they embark on their journey to NUI Galway.

The hotline team will provide an efficient, responsive service to callers and are expected to deal with numerous issues that are of concern to incoming first year students. Anticipated queries include: points requirements for courses; first round offers; registering as a student of the University; start dates; fees and accommodation options.

A designated website for first years will also update on a daily basis detailing the information sought and fed through the new hotline. It will be a portal of specific information aimed at demystifying the first few weeks of university life.

Dr Martina Ní Chúlain, Admissions Officer at NUI Galway, says: “A lot happens from the time the Leaving Certificate results are issued to when a student commences lectures - it is an exciting but yet daunting time.  Our hotline will act as a key resource to students, parents and their advisors, addressing a wide range of queries, which are entirely focused on the transition to third-level education.”

Students, parents and advisers can contact the First Year Student Hotline at 091-493999 or visit http://www.nuigalway.ie/new-students/.

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