1 Try not to leave it to THE last minute. With mock exams fast approaching, stress levels are already high. Applying a week in advance to the CAO will relieve pressure on students.

2 Put down all options. Better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your CAO application. Ensure that you fill up all the options for Level 7 and Level 8 courses with courses you are interested in. If you do not get your first, second or even third choice, having backup options on your CAO application will mean you will get offered something that interests you.

3 Preference not points. This is a key piece of advice for students. Ensure when you are putting down your CAO choice, you do so in order of what you want, not in order of points. This may state the obvious, but you would be surprised at the number of students who do so. Students do surprise themselves, and if you get more points than you expect and have your CAO

application filled out in points order, you run the risk of getting offered something you may not want.

4 Don’t base your CAO decision on your friends. Going to college is a major step. To keep some sort of familiarity, some may want to follow their school friends to college and adapt their CAO application accordingly. Unless the course/courses you want are where your friends happen to be going, this option is not advised. Base your college choice on the course you want. College offers the chance to meet new friends.

5 Take time to look at courses. College course books and websites such as Qualifax are great ways to look at what courses are out there. However, if you have any queries about what subjects are taught in your desired course, it can be no harm to call the college and speak with someone in that course who can assist you. It would also be no harm to get advice from someone who has already done the course, as they can give you an honest evaluation of it.

6 Keep an eye on the website. Once you gave submitted your application, ensure you keep an eye on the CAO website and pay attention to the upcoming dates you need to know about.

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