After the Leaving Cert…2014
Applying to college
CAO
PLC
HEAR (Access Programme)
Changes in Grants due to Budget
Choosing Courses
Check the websites e.g.., qualifax.ie,
careersportal.ie, careerdirections.ie, cao.ie,
accesscollege.ie, studentfinance.ie,
postgradireland etc..
 Check prospectuses for details
 Go to open days
 Discuss your options with
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Family and friends
Guidance counsellor
Subject teachers
Overview
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Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI),
established in 2012 is now responsible for the
following:
NQAI – establishes and maintains National
Framework of Qualifications
HETAC - HEIs (Higher Education Institutions)
comprise of the Institutes of Technology and the
Universities/Colleges
FETAC - PLCs (Post Leaving Certificate
Courses/Colleges) include all the Colleges of
Further Education and similar types of
institutions
IUQB – responsible for quality assurance in the
university sector
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HEIs unite under the CAO system covering levels
6 to 8
PLCs have individual application systems and
consist of levels 5/6
There is a bridge between the 2 systems,
commonly known as the FETAC Links
There are many differences between the two
types of institutions involved and therefore
careful consideration must be taken when
applying
Financially, there is no difference in grant
amount issued
QQI Levels
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Level 6 – Advanced/Higher Certificate (HC)
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Level 7 – Ordinary Bachelor Degree (DG)
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2 years in duration
Mainly in the IT’s
3 years in duration
IT’s and some universities
Level 8 – Honours/Higher Bachelor Degree (HD)
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3-4 years in duration
IT’s and Universities
Must be doing 2 higher level subjects in the Leaving
Cert
Requirements for College
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Residence
Basic entry requirements or matriculation
Course/Faculty requirements
Final selection system
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Interview
Suitability test
Audition
Portfolio
Points – 6 best grades. The points level
published for any course in any year will
be the points level achieved by the last
entrant onto that course for that year
Minimum Entry Requirements
Institution
Minimum grades
NUI Colleges: UCD, NUIM, 2HC3 + 4OD3
NUIG, UCC. (RCSI, Shannon,
Miltown)
Required subjects
OD3 in English, Irish &
Modern Language*.
Trinity College Dublin
3HC3 + 3OD3
OD3 in Maths, English
& another Language
Dublin City University
2HC3 + 4OD3
OD3 in Maths, English
or Irish
University of Limerick
2HC3 + 4OD3
OD3 in Maths, English
& Irish or another Lang.
Dublin Institute of
Technology
2HC3 + 4OD3 (H.D.)
5OD3 (O.D. or H.C.)
OD3 in Maths, English
or Irish
Institutes of Technology
2HC3 + 4OD3 (H.D.)
5OD3 (O.D. or H.C.)
OD3 in Maths, English
or Irish
(DK*)
Points System
All subjects count equally for entry to
college or university
 Points are calculated from the student’s
six best results in one sitting of the
Leaving Certificate, maximum 600/625
points
 Entry given to those with the highest
points for competitive courses
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Points System
Grade Hons Ordinary
A1
100
60
A2
90
50
B1
B2
B3
C1
C2
C3
85
80
75
70
65
60
45
40
35
30
25
20
D1
D2
D3
55
50
45
15
10
5
Bonus points
HD3 or above in Maths
 Extra 25 points
LCVP points
Distinction
Merit
Pass
70
50
30
Sample Calculation
Paul
Subject
Level
Grade
Score
Irish
H
C2
65
English
O
A1
60
Maths
H
C3
60+25=85
Geography
H
B2
80
Biology
H
C1
70
Physics
O
A1
60
French
H
B3
75
LCVP
C
Merit
50
Add the 6 best scores shown in RED
Points = 435
Examples
Bachelor of Commerce UCD
Course Information
CAO Code: DN650
CAO Points Range 2012: 465 - 605
Length of Course: 3 Years
Places: 275
Leaving Certificate: Passes in six
subjects including English, Irish, a third
language, Mathematics (Min OB3/HD3) &
two other recognised subjects. Two of the
six subjects must be minimum HC3.
Bachelor of Business WIT
Code - WD048
 Level 8
 Duration - 4 years
 Previous Points
 2011 - 300
 2012 – 300
 Leaving Certificate: Passes in six
subjects including Maths (Min
OC3/HD3), English or Irish, (Min
OD3/HD3) & two other recognised
subjects. Two of the six subjects must
be minimum HC3.
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Making an CAO 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.
 There are 2 parts to the form, A & B
 Part A (pages 1&2) of the Application Form is mostly self
explanatory.
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Information which identifies you is of the utmost importance.
Carefully enter details such as your name, address, date of birth,
schools attended etc..
Your examination details must be entered with great care.
Make sure you inform CAO about all relevant qualifications.
HEAR
DARE
Timely Action
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In order to be fair to all applicants, closing dates
are strict and therefore action should be taken in
good time.
Do not leave everything to the last minute.
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The closing date for paper applications is
5:15pm February 1st, 2014; although if the
application is admitted online on or before
January 20th, 2014 there is a 10 euro discount.
(25 Euro per application)
Two Applications on One Form
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There are two course choice lists and applicants may make up to
ten course choices on each list.
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10 choices may be made on the Level 8 list
10 choices may be made on the Level 7/6 list
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Your choices on one list do not in any way affect your choices on
the other list.
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They may be considered two separate applications on one form.
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It is possible to receive an offer on both lists
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You may then decide to accept either
your Level 7/6 or your Level 8 offer.
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Alternatively, you might not wish to accept either offer.
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Your offer notice may contain an offer
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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.
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.
Genuine Order of Preference
You can not 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.
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Your Application Number
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If you apply online your application number
will appear on your Receipt of Online Application
which you must save or print out
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This number is private and it will be used in every
correspondence between you and the CAO for the
rest of the year.
Always quote your CAO application number in any
communication with CAO.
If you apply online you may change your course
choices free of charge until January 31st.
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.
 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.
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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.
 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.
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The Offer Process
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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.
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.
Statement of Application Record.
Before the end of May, you will receive a Statement of
Application Record as a final acknowledgement and to
enable you to verify that all the information is correct
Check the following carefully, if there is any error or
omission, amend the Statement and return it to CAO.
 Are all the courses shown and in the correct order?
 Are all the codes correct?
 Are the exam numbers correct?
 Are all exams mentioned?
 If you do not receive a Statement by 1st June contact
CAO immediately
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Change of Mind Facility
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Included with the Statement of Application Record will be a Change
of Mind form.
You may use this to change the order of your course choices and/or
to introduce new courses, subject to the restrictions detailed in the
Handbook.
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It is safer to use the Change of Mind Facility on the website
than to use a paper Change of Mind form.
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You may use the online Change Courses facility from February
5th until March 1st. A fee of 10 euro must be paid for this
service.
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After 1st May, you may register a change of course choice online
free of charge. The closing date for this facility is 5:15pm July
1st, 2014.
Order of Preference
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If you learn nothing else from this
presentation let it be this...
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Place your course choices in genuine
order of preference!
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To do otherwise is a grave mistake.
Finally
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.
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PLC system
Post Leaving Certificate courses (Level
5/6)
 Why choose a PLC course?
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 Not
enough points
 Not sure about what course to do
 Want to find out more about a career
 Need to repeat a subject
 Personal/Financial reasons
 Course only available through PLC route
Where are they available?
RCS!
 Waterford College of Further Education
 Wexford Vocational College
 Enniscorthy Vocational College
 Dublin - Crumlin, Ballyfermot, Dun
Laoghaire, Colaiste dhulaigh, Colaiste Ide,
 And many many more
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Qualifications & Application
System
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Mostly Level 5
Some Level 6 in the bigger colleges
Technical qualifications such as City and Guilds
Beauty/Complementary Therapy – CIBTAC, CIDESCO
Sports Coaching/Therapy Qualifications
And again, many more
Each college has their own application form which is
usually filled out in late January / February
Points in the Leaving do not determine entrance onto
the course
Applicants are called for an interview in April/May
A place in the course may be offered before the
applicant sits the Leaving Cert pending results
After the PLC. . .
Full/Part time employment
 Further education through links with HEI’s
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 Applicants
re-apply through CAO
 Places are reserved in the HEI’s
 Points are allocated based on PLC results or in
some cases added to Leaving Cert results
Links with UK institutions
 Work experience
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