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Yes, it’s that time of year again, where the CAO countdown begins – with those all-important dates that are easy to forget or to miss. Apart from the Central Applications Office countdown timetable, there are equally important deadlines and dates to keep in mind – in terms of Further education/PLCs, Postgraduate application closing dates, and College open days. There are also deadlines within deadlines – in terms of Higher Education Access Route & Disability Access Route to Education applications within the CAO application (please refer to information regarding these applications from the www.cao.ie).
Starting with the CAO, if you are a Leaving Certificate Student, a FETAC student, Deferred Entry Student or a Mature Student; the CAO timetable of events should be somewhere very noticeable to you, from now until the date of offers. In fact, it should now be a poster on your bedroom wall! You can access this from www.cao.ie. If you make your application by the 20th of January 5:15pm (on-line), you can avail of the discounted application fee of €30. The 1st of February 5:15pm is the normal closing date for applications. Most tests and interviews for restricted courses are held in March and April. This means they cannot be applied for after February 1st by either a Late Application or a Change of Mind. This is because they have early assessment procedures, such as interviews, portfolio assessment etc., usually around Easter. Remember you can change your courses (apart from restricted courses) up until 1 July 5:15pm. Change of mind facilities does close at various times in the year but does open up, at various dates, to allow for change of mind, to take place. Keep an eye on the CAO timetable for these important dates.
If you do decide that Higher Education is not for you, well you are probably the perfect candidate for Further Education Courses (PLCs). Perhaps you want to go straight into employment after a year or two with the specific vocational skills you need. There are hundreds of PLC courses to choose from and the areas range from Business to Sports to Beauty, amongst others. Remember, these courses do allow you to progress to higher education, if that’s what you want. With a FETAC qualification – you can access courses in Higher Education Institutes via the Higher Education Links scheme or the Pilot Scheme. The former means your FETAC course is directly linked to courses in Higher Education Institutes and the latter means that you can convert your FETAC grades into points, in order to compete with other candidates presenting with points as a result of exams taken. Remember that some colleges and courses reserve a quota of places for FETAC applicants.
Before applying for any course (Further or Higher Education), it is advisable to research your course, by reading the college prospectus and visiting the college website – along with visiting on the designated open days. The drop out level from some courses is as high as 33% in first year – Why? Poor personal research and realistic reflection!
Unlike CAO courses, in order to apply for a place on a PLC course, you apply directly to the individual colleges, you are considering attending. Some colleges offer on-line application, whilst others have a paper application to fill out. Once you have applied, you might have to attend for an interview. The main advice to take heed of – is to apply as early as possible (from January on, if possible) as popular courses, like those in Sports, Childcare or Beauty Therapy, tend to fill up very fast.
Attending College Open Days is highly recommended for any College/Institute/PLC you are considering attending. Some open-days have already taken place in higher education colleges – whilst a minority of Higher Education providers have their open days in January. PLC colleges start their open days in the New Year – some as early as January and others in March. Refer to individual college websites for dates and times. Remember it is always possible to request a visit to a college department you are interested in, or liaising with a course director via email, if you have any queries that are not answered in the college/course prospectus.
Keep in mind, that many colleges offer evening programmes which lead to the award of degrees, certificates etc. Correspondence courses, such as those offered by Open University and DCU’s Distance Education Programme, afford opportunities, to those who cannot attend full-time education. Colleges like Portobello Institute offer an impressive range of distance learning courses in the area of childcare and early childhood education. The College of Management and IT offer courses in everything from Psychology & Counselling to Web Design and IT. Most of the distance learning courses can take from four months to one year to complete, and you can start at any time of the year. You can find information on these from www.findacourse.ie.
Most VEC schools have an adult education department, which offer an extensive number of courses for minimal fees. You can access information on these courses from your local VEC or any one of their secondary schools. Community colleges also offer a similar service. For example, Malahide Community College, have an enrolment evening in January for their courses that run as part of their Adult Education programme. The Adult Education Department in the Old Bawn Community School are now taking enrolments for their courses on offer. Most of these courses involve attending a class one evening a week. The commitment is worthwhile on completion of the course as you have a certificate and a new skill in hand. You can access information on www.findacourse.ie or from your local education provider. Keep an eye out on local papers that often dedicate features to courses in your locality.
Application for most postgraduate courses in Ireland is via the college’s standard official application form. A few specialised courses use their own individual forms. All forms are available from either the Postgraduate Admissions Office or the particular faculty office. You might also be able to download a ‘PDF format’ application form from the college website. It is standard procedure to send the completed form along with all other necessary material by post to the college’s postgraduate admissions office. Six institutions require applicants to use the PAC (Postgraduate Applications Centre) system, which can be accessed at www.pac.ie. They are: University College Cork, Dublin City University, NUI Maynooth, NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin, and Waterford Institute of Technology. Some courses in these institutions are not applied for through the PAC system; so make sure to check the application status of your course with the Postgraduate Admissions Office. Applicants can apply for a number of courses (three to five typically). You receive your own PAC application number and can then follow your application online. Candidates receive emails from the PAC as their application progresses, including, hopefully, one offering you a place on the course that you want. You can apply to each institution separately, unlike in the CAO, so you can get offers from all six, and then decide on your choice. Closing dates for applications vary for different courses, even within the same institution. Some courses have a rolling system where they accept some applicants during the year and then hold a number of places over until final results are announced during the summer. Research postgraduate programmes tend to be more flexible, with students applying and starting some programmes throughout the year. Contact the college in question for details regarding your course. However, it is recommended to apply as soon as possible for some courses.
Deadlines and closing dates tend to put us under pressure. As one student said to me: Pressure is only for tyres! There is no need for pressure, if we simply adhere to the appropriate application procedures and be mindful of dates in question. Yes, up-skilling and staying in education as long as you can is one way to avoid this recession. However, whatever course you decide to take-up – ensure that you have the ability and aptitude for it, along with a genuine interest. One final important point – research future jobs in the sector you are interested in that relate to your course of choice. Failure to plan is a plan to fail. Make a good plan! |
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