My son is growing more anxious about the fact that he only has a few weeks to select his CAO courses choices in time for the February 1st deadline. He has, as yet, no idea what job or sector he wants to work in after college. How real is this cut-off point?
Firstly, the February 1st initial deadline for CAO course choices is, in many ways, an administrative carryover from a bygone era when students posted off their CAO course choices. It gave the CAO office several months to input by hand tens of thousands of data into their computer system.
Today, students input their own data and the February 1st date is retained mostly for the convenience of guidance counsellors in schools who use it as a trigger to get students to submit their initial list of courses before turning their attention to their mocks in February.
Apart from a small number of restricted application courses involving portfolios and interviews/presentations that are typically timed for March, any applicant can change their course choices up to 5pm on July 1st next.
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My son is stressed about the February 1st CAO deadline. Is this really the cut-off point?
More than 90 per cent of applicants make changes to their course choices in May/June each year. So, your son has nothing to fear in terms of the February 1st course choice “deadline”.
As to his concern relating to the area he work in after college, this is in many ways a false perception of the modern economy. AI, among other forces, is transforming the nature of work. Any occupation involving the processing or analysis of data will be unrecognisable by the time your son completes third-level studies.
As I know from my own work with young people as an educator and guidance counsellor, they – like the rest of us – change their perspective on life’s issues.
Like many guidance counsellors, I administer the interest profiler resource freely available on the careersportal.ie website. Chances are he tried it or another version in transition year in a careers class. Ask your son to take it again; it is fascinating how a student’s interests and course preferences can change over a two-year period.
Once he has a better sense of where his interests and passions lie, he can begin to narrow down his choices.
He should also reflect on whether he is suited to learning in a classroom or is more a hands-on learner. There are lots of options to suit every types of student.
Check out what is of interest through the CAO application process (all listed on Qualifax.ie) as well as new tertiary degree programmes (nto.ie), post-Leaving Cert courses in his local further education college and the multiplicity of opportunities on offer through the 70-plus apprenticeships (apprenticeship.ie).
And, remember, there is no need to fret: he has months to go before he has to make a decision.
