There are still far too many courses on offer at third level, despite promises to reduce the number on offer. It’s enough to overwhelm even the most focused student. So what should students be looking out for?

Choosing a broad course, such as arts, law, commerce or science, is a good place to start. And students should also pay a lot more attention to their lower CAO preferences: it could mean that, even if they miss out on their first choice, they still have a good shot at a course they will enjoy.

Dr Niamh Moore-Cherry, a lecturer at the school of geography in UCD, is one of three researchers who worked on a recent study about why people drop out of college.

“We expected it would primarily be due to financial problems. But in universities, private colleges and institutes of technology, the main reason, by quite some distance, was because students had made the wrong course choice when they filled out the CAO form.”

About half of students will be offered their first choice, while half will not. “Many of the students who dropped out of college had been offered one of their lower-preference courses; one student got their ninth choice,” says Cherry. “Many students, when filling out the CAO form, don’t pay much attention to their lower choices.”

Some students are optimistic about getting their first, second or third choice, but it doesn’t always work out that way.

Other students are, very understandably, overwhelmed by having to choose 20 courses at the same time as studying for the Leaving Cert.

Increasingly, students see the February 1st CAO deadline as holding a college application option, but it’s not until before the July 1st deadline that they really make their final decisions.

More than 40,000 students used the CAO change of mind facility between May and June in 2015.

Transparent

Professor Philip Nolan, president of Maynooth University, chaired a recent task force on admissions reform, and has called for colleges to be transparent about how many places they are offering under each CAO course code.

“Over the past two decades, universities have come to use the CAO as a marketing tool as well as a tool for selecting college students. We need to separate them out. For 2017, the universities have agreed to significantly reduce the number of courses on offer, and go back to a system of having broader entry requirements.”

However, the colleges have so far only reduced the number of course choices on offer to students by a very small number.

Isn’t this just bureaucracy? What relevance does this have for students sitting down to fill out the CAO form over the next few months? Quite a lot, actually, as Nolan explains: “Most of us are of the view that early specialisation is, in general, a bad idea. It is hard to imagine how most 17-year-olds could be convinced that they should go straight into a course on electronic or civil engineering, or how they know that sociology is exactly the right fit for them. So, while it is very reasonable to ask a student to choose between, say, arts and computing, it makes no sense to ask them whether they want to study computing or cloud computing or computer engineering.”

General entry

With this in mind, the consistent advice to most students is to take general entry routes, such a broad law, science, business, engineering, agricultural science, or another course which will allow options for specialisation down the line.

“It must also be remembered what is needed right now in the labour market may not be needed in five years’ time,” says Nolan. “What matters most in a course choice is choosing something you will enjoy studying.”

And it’s good advice to list choices in both sections of the CAO form, giving yourself options in similar disciplines both at level 8 higher degree and level 6/7 diploma and ordinary degree. If you don’t get your first choice at level 8, you might be able to do a level 7 in a similar area and transfer later to an honours programme.

Of course, some students, particularly those who already have a strong interest in technology, may have a clear idea that a more specialised course – such as business information systems (UCC) or computational problem solving & software development (DCU) – is the one for them. They are likely to be in the minority.

Betty McLaughlin, president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, agrees there is a need to reduce the number of entry routes to third level, and says we always need to broaden course choice and discard the number of entry routes.

“Many students aren’t in a position to properly decide on their future direction during the Leaving Cert year. The stress is compounded by intense pressure to choose the ‘right’ CAO course before they even step onto a college campus.”

It’s a lot of pressure to think carefully about up to 20 CAO options, for both level 6/ 7 and level 8 courses. Good advice is not to get bogged down in very specialised course. Go with broader choices and explore how, down the line, you can choose more specialised modules within that course. And choose courses you think you would enjoy.

Keep options open: There’s more than one way to achieve your goal

Think flexibly Some students will, of course, have a very firm goal in mind. Medicine, law and teaching are among the degrees many students will have their mind set on from a young age.

These are also among the most competitive, so some people will be disappointed. But just because a student doesn’t get their first preference, it doesn’t mean all hope is lost.

Be sure to fill out the form all the way down: there is more than one of each course in the country. Here are some tips, most of them from Betty McLaughlin of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors:

Architecture Although points fell significantly in recent years, they are high at the moment and some students may still miss out.

Construction and quantity surveying or property courses, in many third-levels including DIT, Letterkenny IT, UL and elsewhere could vie for your lower-preference options.

Medicine Remember, anybody with a minimum 2.1 undergraduate degree, from any discipline, can apply for postgraduate medicine. If you're interested in medicine, it's also worth considering whether nursing may be worth a lower preference, bearing in mind doctors and nurses have very different roles and responsibilities. Or, perhaps, the likes of biomedical engineering (on offer in DCU, NUI Galway and elsewhere) may be of interest.

Primary teaching Primary teachers can train on a postgraduate course. In fact, it's no harm to get a broad degree and build up your skills before going on to teacher training. Check out all teacher training options. Do you, for instance, have an interest in early childcare? If so, would you consider applying for a PLC course in childcare?

Science disciplines The CAO points requirements for science have risen over the past decade, but it's still a very broad discipline with a huge range of courses on offer. If, for instance, you miss out on entry to human genetics in Trinity College Dublin, you may still enjoy a general science course, or perhaps Trinity's more specialised human health and disease.

Look abroad It's also worth looking to Europe, where there are many unfilled vacancies in some top universities, including in medicine. Fees are often low or, in some instances, non-existent, and courses are taught in English. See StudyAbroad.ie and Eunicas.ie for more details.

PLC Betty McLaughlin of the ICG says students should also look at whether a particular PLC (post Leaving Cert course) might be of interest to them and help with career goals. For some careers, a PLC is the way to go, irrespective of whether you anticipate 200 or 625 Leaving Cert points. Ballyfermot College of Further Education's animation course is a case in point.