October 2011 NUI Galway Honour Leaving Certificate Excellence with Special Ceremony

NUI Galway recently celebrated the success of a select group of first-year students who received a total €102,000 in recognition of the high points they achieved in the recent Leaving Certificate Examination. As part of the University's annual Entrance Scholarships, 60 students received €1,700 each, along with a specially designed NUI Galway scroll. The presentations were made at a special ceremony which included teachers and parents on Thursday, 20 October, 2011.

Entrance Scholarships are given annually to new entrants at NUI Galway who reached a minimum of 560 points in their Leaving Certificate examination, except in Medicine. In Medicine 10 Scholarships were awarded, based on the combined results in the Leaving Certificate and the new Admissions Test (H-PAT Ireland). Designed to attract the best students to NUI Galway and reward their academic excellence, the awards may be held with any other scholarships or grants, including the University's extensive Sports Scholarship Scheme.

Speaking at the award ceremony, NUI Galway President Dr James J. Browne, who presented the cheques to each individual winner, said: “I am delighted to present the scholarships to these outstanding 60 individuals in recognition of their academic talent. NUI Galway strives constantly to support and promote academic excellence across all disciplines. The purpose of these awards is to encourage each student to develop his/her academic potential to the fullest, by setting a realistic threshold of excellence and rewarding every student who attains that level. It is also a chance to give due credit to their parents and teachers for their contribution to such success.”

This year Entrance Scholarships were awarded to students from 38 individual schools throughout Ireland. The winners represented 16 counties including Carlow, Clare, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Longford, Mayo, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary and Westmeath.

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