My son isn’t the most organised, and I’ve heard horror stories of CAO applicants left without any college offers after it emerged that the student left key details out. What are the essential factors that an applicant needs to be aware of to ensure they fill it out correctly?
Firstly, and most importantly, do you have a CAO application number for the application process? If you do not, you have four days to go online at (cao.ie). It costs €45. Simply click on the “apply” section.
The 5pm deadline on February 1st is only really significant in respect of 56 courses across eight higher education institutions, which have a pre-entry requirement marked as “restricted” in the CAO handbook, available online. Many courses are in IADT and NCAD, where portfolios are required for many courses. The remaining restricted courses are in music, animation, art, theatre, drama, interior design and architecture, among other areas. Just look for “restricted” courses in the search field on the CAO website.
If you miss the deadline, you can still select them during February up to March 1st at 5pm for an additional fee of €10. Most tests and interviews for restricted courses are held in March and April.
There is no restriction on applicants removing any of these restricted courses from their final list of courses ahead of the July 1st deadline.
For the 10,000-plus applicants who will apply to be considered for a points reduction requirement based on Dare (having a diagnosed disability), or 8,000-plus who will do so through Hear (being classified as socially disadvantaged), it is important to tick the relevant Dare or Hear box on the CAO application and download the online file. You have one month to complete this by the closing date for final completion of online forms on March 1st.
If you are an applicant aged over 23 (since January 1st last), the application deadlines are from February 1st onwards. They can depend on individual courses and whether you are applying on the basis of CAO points scores alone or on the basis of relevant life or work experience.
In the case of mature, Hear and Dare scheme applicants, make sure any supporting documentation you need arrives in the CAO offices in Galway before 15 March at 5pm.
It is also vital to remind your son to deal promptly with any correspondence from the CAO. This includes the “statement of application record”, which is sent by email to all applicants before the end of May.
This is aimed at ensuring applicants’ information has been recorded correctly. I can’t emphasise enough how important this is. Every year some students miss out on round-one offers due to errors or omissions or fail to spot an important message that arrived during the summer.
- Follow The Irish Times education section on Facebook and X (Twitter) and stay up to date
