As CAO offers loom... here's what you need to know

CAO Round 1 offers will be available to applicants on Thursday, September 8 from 2pm. Applicants will be able to check their offer(s) by logging into the ‘My Applications’ section of www.cao.ie using their CAO number, date of birth and . Offers will also be issued by email and SMS text.

Applicants who are not receiving an offer will receive a ‘Statement of Application’ email. The cut-off points for 2022 will also be published by CAO on their website once the offers are issued.

Many students will receive two offers, one from their level 8 list (Honours Bachelor Degrees) and one from level 7/6 (Ordinary Bachelor Degrees and Higher Certificates) and have the option to accept one offer only. Students have the option to accept, decline or apply to defer the offer they receive before the acceptance deadline for Round 1 which is on September 14 at 3pm. Further rounds of offers continue until all CAO places are filled.

Careful consideration of CAO offers

Students should carefully consider the offer(s) they receive in the first round as they may not get another offer in subsequent rounds. Some applicants may receive an offer from higher up on their preference list in round 2 and subsequent rounds, if for example the points for their chosen courses drop but there is no guarantee of this so, it is very important to think carefully about accepting the round 1 offer, provided they are genuinely interested in the course. Applicants will never receive an offer of a course that is lower down on their preference list.

Round 2 offers will be available online from 10am on September 14. Students are entitled to be offered any place that becomes available higher up their order of preference on either of the two lists (level 8 and level 7/6).

Whether students have accepted a place on another course in Round 1 is irrelevant, they will be offered the new place anyway. Applicants then have to choice to accept their round 2 offer or to stick with the Round 1 offer. The closing date for acceptance of Round 2 offers is September 21 at 3pm and the CAO will continue to offer places in the same way up to mid-October when the offer season for 2022 ends.

Apply to defer a college place

Students who wish to defer an offer must not accept the offer via the CAO. They need to email the issions Office of the appropriate Higher Education Institution (HEI) immediately, giving their name as it appears on the CAO application, quoting their CAO number and the course code of the offer they wish to defer and give the reason(s) for the request. ‘Deferred Entry’ must be marked clearly in the subject line of the email, which must arrive in the HEI issions Office at least two days before the reply day shown on the offer notice and the HEI will communicate directly with the student. All communications about deferrals must be sent to the relevant issions Office, not to CAO.

What to do if no CAO offer is received

Firstly, students need to check the detail of the Statement of Application email and follow the instructions. It may be the case that corrections need to be made to the examination, exemption or information so the advice is to the CAO immediately via the Correspondence section of their CAO . Students will also need to check that they have met the minimum entry requirements and the points required for the course in questions. Details on minimum entry requirements can be found on the individual HEI websites and the cut-off points will be available on the CAO website.

Second-chance Maths exam

Some HEIs offer students who have not received the required minimum grade in Maths for their chosen course, the opportunity to sit an alternative Maths exam. These exams usually take place in the week after the Leaving Cert results are issued. Details of the HEIs which run these exams can be found in the ‘Important Dates’ section of the CAO website and information on specific dates, exam structure and links to apply are available on the individual HEI websites.

Available Places on CAO

Students who don’t get any CAO offer or don’t get an offer that they are happy with, do have alternatives. The ‘Available Places’ facility opens on CAO on September 9 at 12pm. These places become available where the HEI still have places available on courses after the Round 1 CAO offers have been issued. It can often be the case for new courses which opened after the Change of Mind deadline on July 1. Applications for ‘Available Places’ are open to applicants who are already in the CAO system and to candidates who have not already submitted a CAO application this year but who now wish to apply. Applicants must meet the minimum entry requirements for the courses for which they wish to apply. Further details can be found on www.cao.ie

Options outside of CAO

While much attention focuses on CAO around the Offer stages it is very important for students to realise that CAO is not the only show in town! There are several options outside of CAO which are still available for application. Tomorrow’s feature will focus on these options including Further Education, apprenticeships, traineeships, study abroad options, repeating the Leaving Cert, taking a gap year. There are lots of different education and training options available which enable students and adults to realise their potential and career ambitions. It makes sense to explore them all.

Helpline

The National Parents Council Post Primary (NPP) will also be running their annual helpline which is ed by qualified guidance counsellors from September 2nd to 14th from 2pm-8pm.

Students, parent and guardians can the Freephone number on 1800 265 165 with queries on results, CAO offers and other education and training opportunities, study abroad and SUSI grants.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Niamh Dwyer is a Guidance Counsellor in Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra, Rathmore, and Chairperson of the Kerry Branch of Guidance Counsellors. She is also a Careers Adviso. See www.mycareerplan.ie or follow @mycareerplan on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter