2. Deals with all applications to the Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) 48 participating HEI’s. All Universities and IT’s covered under the CAO umbrella. Post Leaving Certificate Colleges/FÁS involves direct application to each provider. The Application for these courses is not through the CAO.

3.  NORMAL APPLICATION (ONLINE/PAPER)  DEADLINE 1ST FEB €40  ONLINE APPLICATION DISCOUNTED RATE  DEADLINE 20TH JANUARY (5.15 p.m.) €25  LATE APPLICATION  DEADLINE 1ST MAY (ONLINE €50) (PAPER €80)  CHANGE OF MIND  DEADLINE 1ST JULY (5.15 p.m.) NO EXTRA FEE

4.  NFQ  Major Types of Award  Level 8  Honours Degree (3 Years+)  Level 7  Ordinary Degree (3 Years)  Level 6  Higher Certificate (2 Years)

5.  Page 1:  Personal Details.  e-mail Address.  Disability/Learner Difficulty.  Page 2:  Secondary School(s) attended.  Qualifications: Leaving Certificate 2013.

6.   Provides a range of supports at 3rd Level  May also offer places on reduced points.  13 participating HEI’s  A – Supplementary Form (Student)  B – Academic Reference  C – Medical/Psych. Ed. Report  www.accesscollege.ie/dare/

7. Offers places on reduced points and extra college support to school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Indicators include specific income levels. Students complete the online form and submit supporting documents to CAO. www.accesscollege.ie/hear/index.php

8. Page 3: Special Applicant Categories, e.g. mature, other exams/qualifications completed. Page 4: Course Choices to be completed in two separate Grids. Level 8 (Hons Degree Programmes) max. Of 10 Level 7/6 (Ord. Degree and Higher Cert.) max. Of 10 PreferenceLevel 8 1DN650 (Comm) 2DC111 (B.Studies) 3DN500 (Arts) 4DT365 (Bus & Mngt) 5MH101 (Arts) 6 7 8 9 10

9. Identify the courses that you would like to include in both your Level 8 and Level 7/6 lists. Ensure you have researched these courses. Attempt to put the courses in Order of Preference Factors to Consider:  (1) Course Content. (2) Location. Points should not determine the Order of Preference. At the Offer Stage you can only move up your list of Preferences, you can never move down.

10. A number of courses within CAO are designated as Restricted. This means that they have early assessment procedures, e.g. portfolio, interview, audition, suitability test. Application for these courses must be made by 1stFebruary deadline. Each college listed in the CAO handbook has indicated the courses that have restricted entry.

11. 5th February –1st March Applicants can use the Online Change Courses Facility – an additional €10 will be charged. 3rdMay –1stJuly (5.15pm)  Change of Mind Facility allows students to change their initial course choices if they wish. No additional fee involved

12. The CAO calculates each applicant’s points. Using the points total it moves down through each list (Level 8 & Level7/6) starting at the first preference. The computer will stop at the highest preference where the applicant satisfies the entry and points requirement. Each applicant may receive 2 Offers, one from each list; however they can only accept one. The Offers will appear online on Monday 19th August.

13. An applicant can accept their offer either online or by returning the formal postal offer. Applicants must reply to their offer before the specified deadline – usually 8 days after receiving the offer. (26thAugust) Remember once offered a place in one of your course preferences, you are excluded from further consideration for any course which is lower in your order of Preference than the one in which you have been offered a place.  PreferenceLevel 8  1DN015 (Comm)  2DC111 (B.Studies)  3DN012 (Arts)  4DT365 (Bus & Mngt)  5MH101 (Arts)  6DK816 (B.Studies)  7  8  9  10

14.  Unhappy with Offer(s )  You should always consider accepting one of your Round 1 offers. If you do not you risk receiving no offer in subsequent rounds.  Alternatively check the Vacant Places section of the CAO website. There may be a course that you are interested in advertised and even if you accept your Round 1 Offer, you can still apply for a course that has vacant places  Deferred Entry On receipt of an offer an applicant may wish to defer entry until the following Academic Year. What to do? On receipt of the offer write immediately to the Admissions officer of the HEI concerned. State your reasons for wishing to defer, your CAO Application Number and The Course Code. Mark the Envelope Deferred Entry. Dún Laoghaire IT and University College Cork (Health Science Programmes will only grant deferrals in exceptional circumstances.  CAO – Statistics Most Popular Course Areas  Area2012-1st Pref2001-1st Pref% Difference  Arts/Social Science15,69816,244-3.36%  Science8,1466,87618.47%  Agriculture/ Hort.6135648.69%  Education  (incl Primary Teach)4,9635,294-6.25%  Adm./Business8,8318,7051.45%  Engineering5,4335,4180.28%  Architecture534656-18.60%  Art & Design 2,4852,753-9.73%  Law2,0892,0641.21%

15.  CAO – Statistics Most Popular Course Areas  Area 2012  1st Pref2011  1st Pref% Difference  Medicine3,7193,5913.56%  Veterinary64055515.32%  Dentistry295298-1.01%  Pharmacy3813654.38%  Physiotherapy733768-4.56%  Nursing5,7755,5983.16  Other Health Care1,3621,556-12.47%  Built Environment148185-20.00% 