College Choice/Brian Mooney: The main theme of the calls to The Irish Times Helpline yesterday was confusion on the part of parents concerning the CAO offer process.
The number of distraught parents whose son or daughter has taken off on a continental holiday, without giving their parents any outline of the task left to them in dealing with the acceptance process, is shocking.
It may seem incredible, but it would appear from the calls received y guidance counsellors that, in era of mass communication when most people aged over six carry mobile phones, the skills of basic communications between young people and their parents concerning issues as important as the transition from school to college is sorely lacking.
This lack of communication skills unfortunately affected some colleges, which introduced new courses in recent weeks without notifying the Qualifax website, www. qualifax.ie, which was being used by the helpline staff to assist callers. As the site registered 57,000 hits on Monday alone, the absence of these new courses from the site may seriously diminish the possibility of students becoming aware of their availability.
What happens if, due to a failure on my part to spot an error in my CAO application, I did not receive an offer of a place for which I had the entry requirement and points?
This happens every year. Examples of such errors by students can be the listing of an incorrect Leaving Certificate number, making it impossible for the CAO to identify you results, or the failure to register an exemption in Irish with the NUI or college in question.
Whatever the error, it cannot be corrected for the offers made last Monday. You should immediately notify the CAO of the error which will then inform the college. It is then a matter for the college to decide whether to offer a place to the student in round two, if such a place is available.
If I appeal a Leaving Certificate paper and receive an upgrade which makes me eligible for a course higher up my list of CAO choices, will I be offered it?
Yes, you will, but not necessarily in 2005. If a place in your chosen course is no longer available in mid-October when the results of the appeals are issued, or if you feel incapable of coping having missed up to six weeks lectures, you may choose to accept your new place and defer it for the year. You will not be penalised by the CAO for dropping out of the course you originally accepted.
What do I do if I wish to defer my place until next year?
If you want to accept the place, but wish to defer taking it up for a year due to a whole range of factors, such as lack of maturity to cope with college life or a desire to take a year away from study before taking on a three- or four-year degree programme, you must act immediately.
You must write immediately to the admissions office of the college, setting out your reasons for seeking a deferral, enclosing part C of your offer notice and marking your envelope "deferred entry".
Your letter must arrive in the college at least two days before the reply date shown on the offer notice. Do not send anything to the CAO at this time, but reapply by February 1st, 2006, placing the deferred course as the only course on your application form.
Does accepting the offer I have in hand affect my chances of receiving an offer of a place higher up my list if one becomes available in a later round of offers?
Whether you accept a place or not, you will still be eligible for an offer of a higher place on all lists, in later rounds. If you do not accept a place by 5.15pm on August 30th, the offer lapses, but you will be offered a place from a course higher up any list, if one becomes available later.
In other words, accepting an offer or not has no effect on your eligibility for a higher placed offer later on. You will be offered it if the place becomes available. You can then decide to stay with the place originally accepted or take the new course. Any money paid to the first college will simply be transferred to the second.
Numerous callers were looking for details on courses that may not have been their preferred option and on which little research was carried out, prior to listing the course on the CAO application.
College websites normally carry all course details, as does the Qualifax website. You have until next Tuesday to make up your mind whether you wish to accept the place. If you are uncertain of a course's content or where it might lead to from a career perspective, use the next few days wisely to research the course, college, facilities, accommodation, etc.
Remember, if you accept a place and decide later in the year that the course is not for you, you will be liable to pay fees for the first year of any new course you may choose to apply for subsequently. So think carefully, if you are in any way uncertain regarding the place you were offered on Monday.
How do I accept my place if I do not have access to a PC?
Finally, if you for any reason were not able to access an online computer since Monday morning, you received your offer notice by post yesterday. You may use the postal service to accept your place, although most students now accept a place online. Be sure if you use this method of acceptance to get the post office to date-stamp your CAO handbook as evidence of postage.
Brian Mooney's column on CAO options will appear each weekday in the run-up to the deadline at the end of this month.
- You can e-mail Brian Mooney on bmooney@irish-times.ie
- Are you confident you will secure your CAO option? Join the discussion forum on Skoool.ie, the award-winning education website developed by The Irish Times, AIB and Intel.