Belvedere College SJ
CAO Information Evening
Wednesday 5th December
Cormac O'Brien MA, LLB, BA, HDE,HDSGC
National Framework of
Qualifications
Level 9 /10 Masters/ PhD
Level 8 Honours Degree
Level 7 Ordinary Degree
Level 6 Higher Certificate
Level 5 Leaving Certificate/PLC
Level 3 Junior Certificate
Qualifications
Pass L.C
PLC
2/3
Honours
4/5 Hons
Higher
Certificate
Honours Degree
(Level 6)
(Level 8)
Ordinary Degree
(Level 7)
Employment
Honors Degree
(Level 8)
Masters
PhD
Sources of Information
•CAO Handbook
•Guidance Counsellors/Teachers
•www.cao.ie
•www.qualifax.ie
•www.careersportal.ie
•www.accesscollege.ie
•www.ucas.com
•Open days - College visits
•Current students / graduates
CAO TIMETABLE 2013 ENTRY
 20th January, 2013 5.15pm
 Closing date for receipt of early
online application
 1st February, 2013 5.15pm
 Closing date for receipt of normal
application
 1st May, 2013
 Closing date for receipt of late
applications
 From May 5th, 2013
 Change of mind facility becomes
available .
 1st July, 2013
 Latest date for receipt of change of
mind form in CAO.
 Late August (19th), 2013
 First round of offers will commence.
Level 8
Level 6/7
Pr Course
ef
Code
1 CK101
Pr Course
ef
Code
1 BN003
2
DC201
2
TA102
3
AL033
3
TA101
4
DN021
4
NC101
5
TR084
5
TA108
6
DC115
6
DT315
7
DT366
7
DT521
8
BN101
8
9
DT413
9
10 PD101
10
So – what is the best way to fill in
the courses?
1
2
3
4
Dream Courses
(genuine order of preference)
5
6
7
8
9
10
Safety Net
Courses
How Places are
Allocated
 When examination results
are released in August they
are entered into the CAO
computer.
 The computer checks each
applicant’s results. For each
course the applicant has
applied for, the computer
first determines if the
applicant has the minimum
entry requirements for the
course.
How Places are
Allocated
 If the applicant meets the
minimum entry
requirements for the
course, the applicant’s
points are calculated for
this course choice.
 All eligible applicants are
then placed in a list, in
order of the points they
achieved,
for
each
course that they applied
for.
How Places are
Allocated
 The colleges then tell
CAO how many places
are to be offered on each
course
 CAO then makes offers to
the required number of
applicants on each
course starting with the
applicant with the highest
points and working down
until enough places have
been offered.
These are the applicants for CK101 (Arts
in UCC)
The examination results have not yet
been released, so these applicants are in
no particular order.
We are going to trace the progress of the
applicant marked in red.
Applicants are placed in a queue for each
course they applied for, their position in the
queue is determined by their points. The
applicant with the highest points is placed
at the top of the queue.
The points achieved by the applicant in
red determines her position in the queue
for each course she applied to.
The applicants marked in green have
enough points to be offered places.
The applicant marked in red has
enough points for her second
preference.
The applicant in red is offered her
second
preference,
the
highest
preference course that she has enough
points for, and she will now disappear
from
the
choices.
queue
in
all
her
lower
 Normally given 10 days to accept the
offer but very important to check the
deadline date given with the offer.
 If offered Level 8 and Level 6/7 offer,
accepting one automatically rejects
the other.
 You may never receive another offer
from the CAO so think very carefully
before rejecting the offer.
 Accepting or rejecting an offer will
have no effect on your higher course
choices.
In the Second round of offers three
more offers are made on CK101
and our applicant, who was second
in line, now receives an offer.
She may do nothing and remain in
DN201 or she may accept the offer
and begin in CK101.
Genuine Order of
Preference
• You do not need to guess what
the points are going to be for
the courses you are interested
in.
• Simply list your courses in
genuine order of preference
from the highest preference 1,
to the lowest preference 10.
• If you are entitled to an offer,
you will be offered the highest
preference that you are entitled
to.
1.
Common Errors made when selecting
courses
2.
Retention Rates in College
3.
Dos / ‘Donts’ of CAO Applications
4.
PLC/CFE Courses (Post Leaving
Certificate Courses)
Errors made when
selecting courses
 Not enough research into courses
examples of good research include:
cao.ie / college literature / open days /
qualifax.ie / guidance counsellor
 listing courses in order of points
instead of genuine preference
 underestimating / overestimating
Leaving Certificate results
Errors made when
selecting courses:
 targeting low point courses in hope of
getting College place
 not considering courses outside certain
geographic areas
 targeting Level 8 courses only and
ignoring Level 7 & 6 courses thereby
Ladder of Opportunity
Retention Rate in
College
Non Completion of
Courses
Statistics:
Universities
17%
Colleges of Technology
37%
Retention Rate in
College
Reasons for these figures
 Lack of preparation - insufficient research
into course choice
 Hurried choice – leaving CAO to last minute
 Poor choice of course
Retention Rate in
College
Challenge of Third Level
 Large classes - especially in
Universities
 No personal contact with lecturers
 Lots of ‘free time’ – independent
learning
 No model answers
Dos / ‘Donts’ of CAO
Applications
 Do choose ten options if at all possible
 Do list courses in order of genuine
preference
 Do make sure to have other options if
you do not get your preferences e.g. PLC
course
 Do check Alert Lists on CAO website –
195 courses cancelled and 95 new
courses introduced last year.
Dos / ‘Donts’ continued…
 Do not depend totally on getting the 1st, 2nd or
3rd choice
You may be offered your 4th /
5th / 6th / 7th / 8th / 9th / 10th
choice
Be prepared for this and
choose wisely!
 Do not ignore the Level 6/7 route
 Do not target only low point courses in hope
of getting to College
PLC/CFE Courses
Post Leaving Certificate
Courses
 Good, recognised qualification
 Also may allow students to go onto
Degree courses in colleges based on
their performance.
 Should apply from January 2013 directly
to the PLC
Post Leaving Certificate
Courses
Large variety of
courses
 Business
 Art/Design
 Multimedia
 Beauty Therapy
 Insurance/Banking
 Travel/Tourism
 Social Care
 Science
 Law
• Important Websites
www.careersportal.ie
www.qualifax.ie
www.cao.ie
www.studentfinance.ie
• Hear (Higher Education
Access Route)
• Dare (Disability Access
Route to Education)
Important Websites
1. www.careersportal.ie
• Careers Exploration
• Information on CAO process, new CAO
courses 2013, points calculator etc.
• Info for Parents and Guardians
Important Websites
2. www.qualifax.ie
•
•
•
•
Student information
Info for Parents/Guardians
Interest assessments
Search for a course
• Choosing a career
• Course finder
• Dare and Hear
Important Websites
3.
www.cao.ie
CAO handbook
NB. Online application fee is €25 if you apply before 20th January
After 17.15 on that date, the fee goes up to €40.
Course search on CAO.ie
Restricted courses
Tests and interviews
To Note:
•
•
•
•
My Application
Interactive demo facility
Alert Lists
Proceed with Application
4. www.studentfinance.ie
Covers all aspects of 3rd level finance
• Course fees
• Grants
• Disability funding
Equity of Access to the
HEIs:
 HEAR
 DARE
The Higher
The Disability
Education Access
Access Route to
Route is the third
Education is a
level admissions
supplementary
scheme for school
admissions
leavers from
scheme for school
socioleavers with
economically
disabilities which
disadvantaged
operates on a
backgrounds
reduced points
which also
basis.
operates on a
reduced points
basis.
DARE – Who is it for?
• School leavers’ who have the ability to benefit from
and succeed in higher education but who may not
be able to meet the points for their preferred
course due to the impact of the disability.
• Applicants who meet the subject and minimum
entry requirements of the institutions to which
they apply.
DARE – eligible
disabilities:
• Asperger’s
Syndrome/Autism
• ADD/ADHD
• Blind/Vision
impaired
• Deaf/Hearing
impaired
• Dyspraxia
• Specific Learning
Difficulty (incl.
Dyslexia)
• Mental Health
Condition
• Neurological
Conditions (incl.
Brain injury,
speech and
language)
• On-going Medical
Condition
• Physical Disability
• Other Disabilities
DARE – participating HEIs:
• See www.cao.ie
DARE – how to apply:
• Apply as part of the CAO application –
tick the appropriate box on the
application form – by 1 February 2012.
• Applicants will then be directed to a
separate online application from which
will ask them to provide additional
information about their disability or
SLD.
• Applicants must support their
application with evidence from an
appropriate medical consultant –
www.accesscollege.ie - must be
submitted by 1 April. A report from an
educational psychologist must be less
that three years old i.e. must be dated
after 1st February 2009.
Disability: non-DARE
Students with a disability and/or
Specific Learning Difficulty but who are
applying to HEIs other than those
participating in the DARE scheme are
still encouraged to tick the relevant box
on their application form for, although
they will not benefit from the reduced
points, the HEI they are applying to will
be forewarned to put in place any extra
supports needed by the student for
their disability.
HEAR – who is it for?
• School leavers who have the ability to benefit from
and succeed in higher education and who come
from socio-economic groups in Irish society that
are under-represented in third level.
• Students who also meet the minimum entry
requirements and subject requirements of the HEIs
their applying to.
HEAR – Post-Entry Support:
• An orientation programme to introduce students to
university/college.
• Extra tuition if required, study skills, exam
preparation.
• One-to-one meetings with student advisors, social
gatherings, mentoring.
• A bursary when available, advice regarding grants
and scholarships.
HEAR – participating HEIs
• See www.cao.ie
HEAR – application
procedure:
• Apply online at www.cao.ie as part of the
CAO application process by Feb 1st 2013.
• Indicate their wish to be considered for
HEAR in the appropriate section of the
application form by Feb 1.
• Applicant will then be directed to a separate
online HEAR application form.
• Complete a number of additional questions
relating to: his/her family’s financial
situation; employment status of parents;
school(s) attended.
• Submit supporting documentation (e.g. P21,
Notice of Assessment etc.) by 1 April 2013.
Applications for HEAR can only be made
online.
Thank you for your attention