Further Education Presentation to Leaving Certificate 2015/2016 Students & Parents Breege Smith Guidance Counsellor

Career Guidance & Counselling for Leaving Certificate Students  1 Career Class per week  Access to Online Guidance Resources  CAO applications  Hear/Dare Applications  PLC / FETAC courses  Open Days  Career Talks  Interest Tests

National Framework of Qualifications  Level 8 Honours Bachelor Degree – 3/4 years  Level 5 Certificate – 1 year  Level 6 Higher Certificate - 2years  Level 7 Ordinary Bachelor Degree – 3 years

Leaving Certificate QQI (FETAC) Fás/Solas, Teagasc, Post-Leaving Cert Course Institutes of Technology Universities The Ladder System

CAO Dates & Fees ONLINE APPLICATIONFEECLOSING DATE Discounted Rate €2520th Jan 2016 Normal Application€401st Feb 2016 Late Application€601st May 2016 HEAR/DARE 1st March – closing date for online application 1st April – all paperwork must be with CAO by this date. CHANGE OF MIND1st July 2016

Courses in the System Universities/Institutes of Technology/Colleges of Education/Private Colleges  courses listed in the CAO Handbook  PLC (FETAC Level 5) not applied for through CAO

Stages of CAO Application  Stage 1 – Before You Apply –  Research online /Open Days/ Study/ Goal Setting/  Stage 2 – Completing the Application –  Online Recommended –  Stage 3 - Record of Application from CAO  Stage 4 - Change of Mind – May until 1st July  Stage 5 - Leaving Certificate Results  Stage 6 - Offers and Acceptance of Places  Stage 7 – Clearing Process

Stage 1 How to make a good Decision!  Research and Shortlist CAO Courses  Gather Information on courses  Pay attention to Specific Course Requirements        DISCUSS options Guidance Counsellor, Parents, Teachers, College Admissions Personnel, significant others.

GradeHigherOrdinary A A29050 B18545 B28040 B37535 C17030 C26525 C36020 D15515 D25010 D3455 Leaving Certificate Points Higher Level Maths Extra 25 points!!!!!

Points System  Only applies to CAO Courses  6 LC subjects counted for points  Bonus points for HL Maths  LCVP – can be used as 1 of the 6 subjects: Distinction 70 points Merit 50 points Pass 30 points

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 6/7 list  Your choices on one list do not affect your choices on the other list

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  If you learn nothing else from this presentation let it be this...  Place your course choices in genuine order of preference!  To do otherwise is a grave mistake.

Your Application Number  If you apply online your application number will appear on your Receipt of Online Application.  This number is private and it will be used in every correspondence between you and the CAO for the rest of the year.  If you apply online you may change your course choices free of charge until February 1 st 2016 (5:15pm)

Statement of Course Choices The Statement is important for two reasons: 1. The Statement of Course Choices includes notification of your CAO application number. 2.The Statement of Course Choices lists the courses that you have applied for. If you have made any mistake or omission in your course choices then now is the time to rectify your error. Pay particular attention to restricted courses.

Communicating With CAO  The easiest and most efficient way to communicate with CAO is by using the 'Contact Us' facility on the CAO website.  Always quote your CAO application number in any communication with CAO.  If you post something to CAO, always obtain a certificate of posting at the post office. This is a free service and it offers you peace of mind. (Back of Handbook)

Statement of Application Record  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.  It is safer to use the Change of Mind Facility on the website than to use a paper Change of Mind form.

The Offer Process  In the week following the release of the Leaving Certificate results CAO will either:  Send notice of a Level 6/7 AND/OR Level 8 Offer  If you have not yet become entitled to an offer you will be sent a Statement of Application Record which you should check carefully to make sure all information on it is correct  Offers will also be available on the CAO website. You may check for and accept offers on the website, most students use this option.

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  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 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 Try not 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

Filling up your course choices on the CAO Form  LEVEL 8 ( Honours Degree Courses)  LEVEL 6 & 7 (Higher Certificate & Ordinary Degree Course) ORDER OF PREFERENCE IS THE RULE!!!! ORDER OF PREFERENCE IS THE RULE!!!!

ACCESS HEARDARE Applicable Institutions: NUI TCD UL DCU RCSI DIT GMIT NCAD Mater Dei NCI CIT

DARE Disability Access Route to Education  Student with a Specific Learning Difficulty/Disability is encouraged to indicate this on CAO form. i.e. Diabetic/Physical Disabilities/Significant On-going illness  SIF –Supplementary Information Form  Section A Completed by student  Section B Completed by school  Section C Completed by consultant  NUI  TCD  UL  DCU  RCSI  AIT  DIT  GMIT  NCAD  Mater Dei  NCI  CIT

HEAR Higher Education Access Route Who is eligible to apply? Financial Indicators  1.Income  2.Medical Card  3.Social Welfare Payment Social & Cultural Indicators  4.Socio-economic Group  5.School  6.Area Applicants must meet the Low Income plus 2 other indicators in order to be eligible

Important Points to Remember!!  Read the CAO handbook and keep safe- may need to refer to it throughout year  Read the relevant college prospectus  Choose courses in Order of Preference and based on genuine career aspirations  Do not base choice on projected exam results or last year’s CAO points  Do not guess, assume or listen to rumours  Always check with CAO if in doubt

CAO JARGON  Restricted Entry Courses  Points Requirements  Course Requirements  Change of Mind  Offers  Random Selection  Vacant Places  Deferrals Read the CAO Handbook!

PLC Post Leaving Certificate Courses - QQI  Apply directly to college  1 or 2 years  Wide variety of courses  Pathway to Higher Education  Gap Year – Defer CAO Course  Lead to employment

UCAS ( University & College Application System England,Scotland,Wales &N.Ireland)  General Closing Date -15 th January 2016  Apply Online Only - £12 = 1 Choice £23 = Multiple choices  Choose 5 Courses,  Write Personal Statement,  Reference from school.

Why Consider UCAS??  Insurance option for course areas where points are very high  e.g. Medical, Paramedical as many are NHS- funded

UCAS  Possible Interview  Possible BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT)  Conditional Offer/Unconditional Offer  Firm Acceptance/Insurance Acceptance  No Obligation to Accept  Does not effect CAO Application  During Summer –UCAS Extra and Clearing  REMEMBER it can be very expensive depending on area of choice 

Financial Support for Student Financial Support for Student From 2012 a new universal Grant Application System was introduced- SUSI All details of how and where to apply are available on or Apply early- check website for exact opening date- around May If in doubt, check it out

Income Thresholds for Undergraduate Students Level 6/7/8

Costs  Registration Fee  On-campus Accommodation  Books/Equipment  Weekly Costs