Common DARE mistakes
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You must complete your DARE application by the dates specified
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You must apply to the CAO by the 1st February and tick the Disability/Specific
Learning Difficulty box to let us know that you have a disability or a specific
learning difficulty by 1st March.
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You must complete questions 1-4 of this Supplementary Information Form by
1st March.
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You must apply to DARE by ticking ‘Yes’ to question 5 on the Supplementary
Information Form before the 1st March.
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You must return your Second Level Academic Reference and Evidence of
Disability Form to the CAO before the 1st April.
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Your Evidence of Disability must be from the accepted Medical
Consultant/Specialist.
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Your Evidence of Disability Form must be stamped or accompanied by the
accepted Medical Consultant/Specialist’s business card/headed paper.
Top tips
If the form is not stamped and signed your evidence of disability will not be accepted
and you will be ineligible for DARE.
Check that the report was completed by the accepted Medical Consultant or
Specialist, is within the timeframe, and contains the same information and detail as
the Evidence of Disability Form.
Students with Mental Health Conditions, Significant Ongoing Illnesses and Specific
Learning Difficulties must provide evidence of disability that is less than 3 years old.
Late applications are not accepted and are ineligible for DARE.
You cannot submit new evidence or documents after the closing dates.
Four Top Tips for psycho-educational assessments (dyslexia, dyscalculia):
1.
DARE need a full psycho-educational assessment report and not a summary
or one pager. See guidelines at .
2.
Check that the correct tests were used during your assessment. See
guidelines at If you are not sure you should print off the guidelines and give them
to your Psychologist.
3.
Check that all the test scores are listed in the assessment. If you are not sure
print off a Psycho-educational Summary Sheet and ask your Psychologist to fill this
out. The sheet should have any information that may be missing from the original
report and should be returned to the CAO with the original assessment.
4.
Your report must be less than 3 years old.
Sending documents to the CAO
Check that you have photocopied all the pages of your report / evidence and
included them.
You should post all of the documentation yourself.
Keep photocopies, put you name and CAO number on all documentation, and keep
proof of postage.
There are four certificates of postage slips pre-printed with the CAO’s address on the
inside cover of the CAO Handbook.
Checking your online DARE application
Go to www.cao.ie click on My Application, enter your log in details and check the
information you have entered.
Eligible for DARE
If you are eligible for DARE this means that you can compete for one of the reduced
points places that are reserved for eligible DARE applicants.
You must still meet the minimum entry and course requirements to be considered for
one of the reduced points places.
Not Eligible for DARE
If you are not eligible for DARE, you can still get into college through the CAO if you
meet the entry requirements for the course of your choice.
You can still register with the Disability Service in college for academic, personal and
social supports while studying at third level.