The CAO online application facility for 2016 will open on 5 November at noon. Judith Caffrey – admissions Information Officer at Maynooth University – has more insight than most into the mistakes commonly made by students, thanks to being on the receiving end of calls into the college’s admissions office during this year’s offers.

“What emerged was a clear lack of understanding among many as to how the CAO works,” says Judith. “The result is that many of the calls we received in late August were from applicants who found themselves caught out, either from a lack of information or misinformation.”

In that vein, Judith has the following advice:

Course order of preference

This is the most important part of the CAO process. Many of the calls we received were from those who had been offered one of their top choices but would rather a course lower down on their list. Since the CAO operates on the basis that the applicant wants their top choice, there is no way to get a place on a lower-placed course if a higher one has been offered.

Most sixth-year students have now received their CAO Handbook 2016 and will be aware of the hundreds of courses they can choose from.

There are two lists on the CAO application; the Level 8 list (honours Bachelor’s degree) and Level 7/6 list (Ordinary degree/Higher Certificate respectively). Each applicant may express up to 10 course choices on each of the lists (20 courses in total).

The courses listed should be placed in order of preference. This means that the course placed at number one is the course the applicant wants most, and 10th the least (but the applicant should still be happy to receive an offer for their 10th choice). The applicant is offered a place on the highest-placed course for which they are eligible.

Listing preferences is difficult. In order to be as certain as possible about their order of preference for courses, students should visit colleges, speak to current students and look into the detail of what each year of study on the course will involve. Qualifax.ie is also an excellent resource, as are the college prospectuses.

Applicants can change the order of their courses up to 1 July.

Offers and accepting

Many that called the office were applicants who forgot to accept their offer. Others didn’t know they had to accept the offer they had received and wished to take.

The Leaving Cert results come out in mid-August and the first round of CAO offers are issued the following Monday.

If the applicant is happy to accept one or other offer (from their Level 8 list or Level 7/6 list – only one may be accepted), they must accept it via the CAO. Good practice is to accept an offer received. If a place on a higher-placed course becomes available in subsequent offer rounds, then this may be accepted.

Despite the common misbelief, accepting an offer does not have a negative bearing on the possibility of receiving a future round offer of a higher-preference course. By not accepting an offer, the applicant may find themselves with no place in college whatsoever. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Restricted courses

The closing date for restricted courses is the most imminent of all potential issues – these are the courses that require the applicant to submit a portfolio or take an audition instead of presenting Leaving Cert points. The closing date for restricted courses is 1 February. Once that date passes, restricted courses cannot be applied for.

Deferring

It’s possible to put off starting college for a year as long as the correct process is followed. This involves the applicant notifying the college directly of their wish to defer and then reapplying to the CAO the following year, providing they still wish to take up the college place. The deferred course is the only one that should be listed at that stage. However, if no CAO application exists then no offer can be made. A surprising number can get caught out by missing this important step.

The CAO is on the side of the applicant. They do their best to make the application process to college as clear and easily navigable as possible. By reading the CAO Handbook closely, and asking questions of guidance counsellors and admissions offices now, commonly made and costly mistakes can be avoided.

Judith Caffrey is a school guidance counsellor in Castleknock Community College and admissions information officer at Maynooth University. Check out her blog here: www.judithcaffrey.wordpress.com