College applicants must wait until September 8th for CAO offers

Thousands of Leaving Cert students will have to wait until Thursday, September 8th, until they receive a college offer.

It follows confirmation earlier this week that Leaving Cert results will be delayed until Friday, September 2nd, almost three weeks later than the traditional mid-August release date.

The late release of Leaving Cert results and college offers means universities will have to defer enrolment for first years by between two and three weeks, triggering a last-minute scramble for college accommodation.

In addition, the late release date for college offers means many students who have applied for university courses abroad will have to decide to accept or reject places without knowing if they have a place in an Irish university.

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For example, UCAS, which oversees applications to UK colleges, has extended the deadline date for academic offers to September 7th, the day before CAO offers are made.

[ Examwatch 2022: Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert exam reaction ]

The CAO’s head of communications Eileen Keleghan said the processing schedule for round one offers cannot start until colleges receive the Leaving Cert exam results data from the State Examinations Commission.

As a result, round one offers for school leaving applicants will issue on Thursday, September 8th at 2pm. Round two offers will follow on September 19th at 10am.

Many universities, meanwhile, have been forced to change the start of the academic year for first year students.

Many had been planning to start teaching or orientation weeks on either September 5th or September 12th. These dates are now being shifted forward.

UCD has, for example, pushed the start of classes for first years back from September 12th to September 26th.

Many others, including Trinity College Dublin, NUI Galway, UCC, UL and DCU, are also likely to delay the start of the academic year.

Given that first years will begin college about two or three week later than other students, there are concerns they will feel the brunt of accommodate shortages.

The CAO, meanwhile, has reminded applicants that the facility to change course choices closes on July 1st at 5pm.

“Applicants who have yet to add any courses, or those [who] wish to make changes, should take note of this deadline and ensure to make any changes in a timely manner.”

Last month, the CAO said it emailed all applicants asking them to check and confirm their account information. It has warned that incorrect information may result in applicants failing to receive an offer.

The “statement of application” email contains important instructions for applicants to check their account information and modify any missing or incorrect information, for example, a missing or incorrect examination number, before it is too late.

The 2022 offers season will begin on July 7th at 10am with the issuing of “round A” offers for mature applicants, mature nursing/midwifery applicants, and deferred applicants.

Offers are also issued to some applicants who have completed an access course, or those who may be required to make visa arrangements.

Round 0 offers will follow on August 5th at 10am to graduate entry medicine applicants, additional mature applicants, deferred and access applicants, and applicants presenting further education qualifications for consideration for entry to courses with a quota for these applicants.