Inevitably, after such an intense effort over such a long period, those of you who did not receive an offer this morning will feel deflated, disenchanted and frustrated.

But when the initial disappointment has faded, you and your parents will have to make some hard decisions.

Life does not stop because the CAO did not offer you a place.

This is a time for cool heads, because the decisions you face now are probably more important in the long term than those being made by people who received offers.

Your predicament is not unique. Last year, more than 10,000 students received no offer. It does not mean you have failed.

For one thing, you may yet get an offer. This is only the first round. Some places are offered over several subsequent rounds.

Also, some places are eventually advertised in the press.

You may just be five points away from getting an offer. If you look at last year's charts, you will notice that points do drop by five (and often more) between rounds. Of course, there are more places offered in later rounds on certificate and diploma courses than on degree courses.

Many courses last year had the acronym AQA beside them, which stands for "all qualified applicants". This meant all applicants with the minimum requirements of that college were admitted.

In the case of the ITs this can mean just five passes at ordinary level. This could translate into as little as 50 points if you presented five D2s, for instance.

Because there is such uncertainty about offers in later rounds, you should not depend on them. Make alternative plans and then if you get an offer treat it as a pleasant surprise.

Among those plans could be repeating the exam. Department of Education figures show that this option is losing its popularity, however.

Repeat courses come with a warning - a significant proportion of those who repeat do not do any better. Ask yourself a searching question - can you actually improve on this year's result?

At the start of the 1990s, about 6,600 students repeated; last year, this fell to 2,786.

Of these, a large number are students repeating to get places on high-points courses such as medicine, dentistry, law and pharmacy. Weaker students are rarer on these courses and some repeat colleges are having difficulty keeping up their intake.

Another option is to go to a private college. There are several in the CAO and points-requirements for their courses are usually considerably lower than ITs or universities.

But remember, you will have to pay fees - and they can be more than £3,000 in some cases.

Another option is to attend a Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) course. You need to apply directly to the colleges offering them. The variety of their courses grows every year. In Dublin, the selection is huge, with Colβiste Dhulaigh in Coolock alone offering 24 courses.

PLC courses tend to be based on a very specific need in the economy and thus the job prospects afterwards are normally bright.

Another option which not enough students take up is to have your Leaving Cert grades re-checked. If you feel genuinely suspicious that some of the grades are inaccurate, ignore the begrudgers and go to your school early next month to view your scripts.

Almost 7,000 higher-level grades were appealed last year and 2,144 were overturned. At ordinary level, 632 were appealed and 161 upgraded.

If you get even one of three grades changed, it could be enough to get you a place. The CAO is automatically contacted if the Department of Education regrades one of your results and you could be entitled to a place - rechecks cost £25 per subject.

If none of these options grabs you, others include doing an apprenticeship through FAS, applying to a college in Britain or Northern Ireland (there are still some vacancies) or joining the workforce.