Incoming third level students across the Shannonside Region will be under pressure to secure college accommodation according to a local student representative.
The Minister for Education today announced that Leaving Cert students will now receive their results on the 25th of August.
That's more than a week earlier than last year, which left many students scrambling for accommodation just days before their college course began.
Sam Brooks is a regional officer for the Irish Second Level Students' Union and is currently preparing to take the Leaving cert at Athlone Community College.
He's warned that many student accommodation facilities have already closed applications.
Speaking to Let's Talk, Sam says many students may be forced to commute to third level institutions.
''It's a real worry because accommodation is getting increasingly difficult to find. To put it into context for a student in Roscommon if they don't manage to get accommodation and they're forced to commute to Dublin, lets say taking the train, then the last train home to Roscommon is at 6:15pm and the one before that is 2:45pm so if you're going to Dublin you have to have accommodation, commuting isn't a realistic option.''
