LORETO SECONDARY SCHOOL
LETTERKENNY
Parents Information Evening
Outline of Presentation
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Points System
CAO
Aptitude Tests
HEAR/DARE
UCAS
General Information
Points System
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Honours
Maths Bonus Points
A1
100 + 25
A2
90 + 25
B1
85 +25
B2
80 +25
B3
75 +25
C1
70 +25
C2
65 +25
C3
60 +25
D1
55 +25
D2
50 +25
D3
45 +25
LCVP Distinction 70 Merit 50
Pass
60
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
Pass 30
UCAS Tariff Points
• Grades in ILC
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A1
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A2
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B1
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B2
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B3
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C1
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C2
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C3
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D1
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D2
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D3
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UCAS Tariff Points Equivalence
90
77
71
64
58
52
Distinction
45
39
A1
33
26
A2 Merit
20
B1
14
B2
7
B3
Open Days
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NUIG Oct
LYIT Nov
DCU Nov
St Pat’s Nov
NUI Maynooth Nov
UCD Dec
TCD Dec
College of Surgeons Jan
Minimum Entry Requirements
(Matriculation Requirements)
• What does matriculation mean?
• Matriculation refers to the minimum
requirements for entry to a University.
Before you can be considered for admission
you must first meet the minimum standards.
Matriculation has nothing to do with points.
Matriculation
NUI Universities
• Six subjects, with a minimum Grade C3 at Higher
Level in two subjects
• And at least Grade D3 in four other subjects.
Trinity College Dublin
• Students must present six subjects, three of which
must be a grade C or above on Higher Level
subjects.
• The six subjects must include:
• A pass in English
• A pass in Maths and a pass in a language other than
English.
Institutes of Technology
• Level 6: Higher Certificate and Level 7:
Bachelor Degree
– Applicants must present at least 5 different subjects in
the Irish Leaving Certificate
– Maths must be included in the 5 subjects presented
– Either Irish or English must also be among the five
subjects presented
• Level 8: Honours Degree
– Applicants must present at least 6 subjects in the Irish
Leaving Certificate.
– Maths and either Irish or English must be among the 6
subjects presented.
– At least two of the 6 subjects must be at grade HC3 or
better
CAO Applications
Choosing Courses
• Consult your Guidance Counsellor
• Discuss your options with family and friends
• Consult the HEI prospectuses and websites.
Making an application
• Applicants are encouraged to apply online.
• The website address is www.cao.ie
• Applying online is cheaper and it prevents
many of the errors commonly associated
with completing a paper application form.
Application Form: Part A
• Part A of the Application Form is mostly self
explanatory.
• Carefully enter details such as your name,
address, date of birth, schools attended etc.
Application Form: Part A
• Your examination details must be entered
with great care.
• Make sure you inform CAO about all
relevant qualifications
Two Applications on One Form
• There are two course choice lists and
applicants may make up to ten course choices
on each list.
• 10 choices may be made on the Level 8 list
• 10 choices may be made on the Level 7/6 list
Two Applications on One Form
• Your choices on one list do not in any way
affect your choices on the other list.
• They may be considered two separate
applications on one form.
Two Applications on One Form
• It is possible to receive an offer on both lists
• You may then decide to accept either
your Level 7/6 or your Level 8 offer.
• Alternatively, you might not wish to accept
either offer.
Order of Preference
• Place your course choices in genuine order
of preference!
• To do otherwise is a grave mistake.
The Offer Process
• In the week following the release of the Leaving
Certificate results CAO will post a communication
to all applicants.
• If you have not yet become entitled to an offer you
will be sent a Statement of Application Record
which you should check carefully as important
information may be incorrect or missing.
The Offer Process
• If you are entitled to an offer, you will be sent an
offer notice. You should check that all of the
details on the offer notice are correct and that there
are no omissions.
• Offers will also be available on the CAO website.
• You may check for and accept offers on the
website. In fact, most applicants now record
acceptances online.
The Offer Process
• Your offer notice may contain an offer
– for a Level 8 course
– or a Level 7/6 course
– or both
• If you receive two offers at the same time you may
only accept one of them.
• If you wish to accept an offer of a place you must
carry out the instructions on the offer notice before
5.15pm on the closing date for acceptance printed
on the offer notice.
The Offer Process
• There can be no delays at the
offer/acceptance stage.
• Any offer not accepted by the closing date
for receipt of acceptance of offers in CAO
will be offered to another applicant in the
next round of offers.
How Places are Allocated
• We will look just at Level 8 courses, but
exactly the same process will take place
with Level 7/6 courses, and at the same
time.
• The importance of you, the applicant,
placing courses in genuine order of
preference will become apparent in the
following slides.
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 academic merit, for each
course that they applied for.
How Places are Allocated
• The admissions officers of the Higher Education
Institutions 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.
How Places are Allocated
• Should some applicants decline to accept their
offers these places become available in the next
round of offers. They will be offered to the next
applicants on the order of merit list.
• This process continues until all the places on the
course are filled or until all the eligible applicants
on the order of merit list have been offered places.
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 his position in the queue for
each course he applied to.
The applicants marked in green have enough points to be offered places.
The applicant marked in red has enough points for his second preference.
The applicant in red is offered his second preference, the highest
preference course that he has enough points for, and he will now
dissappear from the queue in all his lower choices. Placing DN201 as his
second preference meant that he would prefer to receive an offer on
DN201 than on any other course except CK101 - which is his first
preference.
Having been offered his second preference he must now decide to accept
it or to do nothing. If he does not accept the offer the place will be
offered to another applicant in the next round of offers.
Regardless of whether he accepts or not he will still be considered for an
offer on his first preference if a place becomes available. In the second
round, one more offer was made on CK101 and our applicant is now at
the top of the queue.
In the third round of offers two more offers are made on CK101 and
our applicant, who was at the top of the queue, now receives an offer.
He may do nothing and remain in DN201 or he 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.
• Remember to carefully read all of the documents
and instructions from CAO.
• Most applicants follow the simple instructions
from CAO and get along just fine.
Important Dates
• CAO deadline is 1st Feb 2012
• Reduced application fee for applications
submitted by 20th Jan 2012
• CAO operates a Change of Mind facility
from 1st May-1st July for all courses except
those with Restricted Entry
Aptitudes Tests
• HPAT
• HPAT Ulster
• UKCAT
HPAT Ireland
(Health Professions Admission Test Ireland)
• HPAT Ireland is the admissions test
selected by the Irish Medical Schools.
Applying for HPAT
• Applicants must either be in their final year of
school or have completed their Leaving
Certificate.
• Registration for HPAT-Ireland 2012will open
online early November 2011. The 2012 sitting
of HPAT-Ireland will be on Saturday 25th
February in 2012.
• To find out more information about the test
please visit www.hpat-ireland.acer.edu.au or
contact hpat-ireland@acer.edu.au
UKCAT
• The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) is used
in the selection process by a number of UK
University Medical and Dental Schools.
• The UKCAT does not contain any curriculum or
science content.
• Registration has now closed.
• Last testing date for the UKCAT is the 7th of
October.
HPAT Ulster
• The Health Professions Admissions Test (HPATUlster) is a professionally designed and marked
selection test developed to assess aptitude for
study in the Allied Health Professions
• The next sitting of the Health Professions
Admission Test (HPAT-Ulster) will be held on
Saturday, 28 January 2012. There is only one
sitting each year.
HPAT Ulster
• The test is used in the selection process by
the University of Ulster for entry into the
following courses:
• BSc Hons Dietetics
• Bsc Hons Occupational Therapy
• BSc Hons Physiotherapy
• Bsc Hons Podiatry
• BSc Hons Radiography
• Bsc Hons Speech and Language Therapy
• HPAT- Ulster consists of 3 hours of test time
HEAR
• Higher Education Access Route
• An admissions scheme for school leavers
facing social and economic challenges in
accessing college
Who is it for?
• School leavers who have the ability to
benefit from and succeed in higher
education and who come from socioeconomic groups in Irish society that
are under-represented in third level
education.
Places Available Through the
HEAR Scheme
• Each participating college has allocated a quota
of places on a reduced points basis for students
entering through HEAR.
• All HEAR applicants must provide evidence
relating to their socio-economic circumstances
and meet the minimum entry requirements of
the colleges to which they apply.
• Applicants will then compete for a quota of
places based on their Leaving Certificate
results.
Post-entry Support
• Students who secure a place through HEAR
are offered a variety of academic, personal
and social supports while at college.
• Orientation Programme
• Extra tuition if required
• Financial assistance
• Mentoring/Meetings with advisors
Making a HEAR Application
• Apply online at www.cao.ie as part of the CAO
application process by 1 February 2012
• Indicate you wish to be considered for HEAR
• Complete questions relating to family’s financial
situation, employment status of parents etc.
• Submit supporting documentation (e.g. P21, Notice
of Assessment etc) by 1 April 2012
Participating Colleges
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DCU
DIT
NUIG
NUIM
UCC
TCD
UCD
CoI College of Ed
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UL
Froebel
Marino
Mary Immaculate
Mater Dei
St. Angela’s
St. Pat’s
DARE
• Disability Access Route to Education.
• DARE is a college & university admissions
scheme which offers places on reduced
points basis to school leavers with
disabilities.
What disabilities are eligible?
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Asperger’s Syndrome/Autism
ADD/ADHD
Blind/Vision Impaired
Deaf/Hearing Impaired
DCD – Dyspraxia/Dysgraphia
Mental Health Conditions
Neurological Conditions
Significant Ongoing Illness
Physical Disability
Specific Learning Difficulty
Where can I find information?
• Full details on all aspects of the HEAR &
DARE schemes can be found on
www.accesscolleges.ie
• Application Advice Clinics Nationwide on Sat.
Jan. 14th, 10am-2pm. Venues to be announced.
UCAS
Apply system for
Northern Ireland, England,
Scotland and Wales.
Deadlines for receipt of applications :
• 15th Oct 2011 – Medicine / Dentistry /
Veterinary Medicine / Veterinary Science. All
courses in Oxford and Cambridge.
• 15th Jan 2012 – All other courses
Choosing Courses
UCAS offers thousands of courses in
hundreds of universities and colleges.
Students need to choose their courses
for the right reasons and do plenty of
research before deciding where to go.
Applying
• Students apply for courses using the online
application system.
• The application is divided into 5 sections:
– Personal Details
– Course Choices
– Education
– Employment
– Personal Statement
Reference
• Applications are then sent by the student to their
centre, which is the school.
• When we receive completed applications we
attach a reference and the students predicted
grades. Once this is complete we forward the
application to UCAS.
• Applications are then forwarded to the chosen
universities and colleges by UCAS.
To facilitate this we ask our students
to complete their application by
Oct 26th 2011 so as we can work
on the references and ensure all
applications are with UCAS before
the Christmas break.
Offers
• Universities and colleges will decide whether to
offer a student a place.
• Applicants can check if they’re accepted on the
UCAS online tracking system, Track. This
shows their choices and any decisions made by
the universities and colleges.
• If they are accepted students must reply to their
offers.
Conditional Offer
Offers made are conditional on
obtaining certain grades or points.
(UCAS Tariff Points)
Two of these maybe accepted. The
Firm acceptance should be the
students 1st Choice, the Insurance
acceptance is the students 2nd Choice.
Results
• Leaving Certificate results are
automatically sent to UCAS.
• Students who meet the requirements of the
conditional offer are accepted and will
receive a letter from UCAS that explains
what happens next.
Money Matters
• The cost of applying is £22
• Tuition Fees – Vary between courses and
colleges, £3,375 - £9,000
• EU Nationals are eligible to apply for Tuition
Fee Loan
• Must be repaid once the student is earning
£21,000
• Scholarships
• Students can apply for Maintenance Grant
Maintenance Grant
• Higher Education Grants cover all
institutions in CAO and UCAS with the
exception of private institutions.
• Means Test – Eligibility for grant is assessed
on the basis of parents income.
• Consists of maintenance and payment of
registration fee. (Reg Fee RoI only)
Other Applications
• St. Mary’s Belfast
• NWRC – Limavady/Derry
• Cavan College
• PLC’s – Errigal College
• Others
Preparing for Life at College
• Accommodation Hunt
• Costs & Budgeting
• Health/Personal Safety
Being Exam Wise
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LC Candidate Information Booklet
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Exam Paper - Marking Process
- Viewing Process
- Appeals Process
Finally
• Remember we are always available to assist
your daughter in this next stage of her life.
• If you ever need to talk to us you may make
an appointment through the main office.
• Thank you for your attention and interest.