CAO – 2013 Application Guide

1. CAO – 2013 Application Guide Running Order • Deadline and Application Fees Layout of the Form Course Choice & Order of Preference • After the Application has been Submitted The Offer Stage Questions & Answers

2. The Central Applications Office (CAO) • • 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. CAO. Deadline & Application Fees • 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. Structure of Awards • NFQ • Major Types of Award • Level 8 • Honours Degree (3 Years+) • Level 7 • Ordinary Degree (3 Years) • Level 6 • Higher Certificate (2 Years)

5. Layout of The CAO Form • Page 1: • Personal Details. • e-mail Address. • Disability/Learner Difficulty. • Page 2: • Secondary School(s) attended. • Qualifications: Leaving Certificate 2013.

6. DISABILITY ACCESS ROUTE • 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. HIGHER EDUCATION ACCESS • • 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. Layout of form 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 Preference Level 8 1 DN650 (Comm) 2 DC111 (B.Studies) 3 DN500 (Arts) 4 DT365 (Bus & Mngt) 5 MH101 (Arts) 6 7 8 9 10

9. Order of Preference • • 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. Restricted Courses • • 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. After the 1st February Deadline • • 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 Offer Stage Monday 19th August • • 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. Accepting an Offer • • 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. • Preference Level 8 • 1 DN015 (Comm) • 2 DC111 (B.Studies) • 3 DN012 (Arts) • 4 DT365 (Bus & Mngt) • 5 MH101 (Arts) • 6 DK816 (B.Studies) • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10

14. Options at The Offer Stage • • 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 • Area 2012-1st Pref 2001-1st Pref % Difference • Arts/Social Science 15,698 16,244 -3.36% • Science 8,146 6,876 18.47% • Agriculture/ Hort. 613 564 8.69% • Education • (incl Primary Teach) 4,963 5,294 -6.25% • Adm./Business 8,831 8,705 1.45% • Engineering 5,433 5,418 0.28% • Architecture 534 656 -18.60% • Art & Design 2,485 2,753 -9.73% • Law 2,089 2,064 1.21%

15. CAO – Statistics Most Popular Course Areas • CAO – Statistics Most Popular Course Areas • Area 2012 • 1st Pref 2011 • 1st Pref % Difference • Medicine 3,719 3,591 3.56% • Veterinary 640 555 15.32% • Dentistry 295 298 -1.01% • Pharmacy 381 365 4.38% • Physiotherapy 733 768 -4.56% • Nursing 5,775 5,598 3.16 • Other Health Care 1,362 1,556 -12.47% • Built Environment 148 185 -20.00%