As you prepare for the second round of offers tomorrow, the schools are reopening their doors and another group of students are entering the Leaving Cert cycle.
The second-round offers, available at www.cao.ie from 6 a.m. tomorrow, will end most students' involvement in this year's CAO process. Within weeks a new group will be taking their place. - studying their options and getting advice on the CAO process.
At this stage there is little advice left to give this year's group. About 8,000 students normally get offers in the second round. So with more than 63,000 applicants this year a lot of people will be disappointed. However, seasoned observers believe the second round could put a smile on a few faces.
For example, nursing courses are likely to fall in the second round, because the points were very high in the first round and many students may have turned down a nursing place, so more offers will have to be made. Those disappointed at missing an engineering place may get some good news, but the degree courses are unlikely to drop much, if at all.
Areas such as science and computers could fall further because demand seems to be dipping. Also because there are more places available than before, colleges are having to drop their requirements to fill them. Healthcare courses such as medicine, dentistry and pharmacy do not traditionally drop, but they showed a softening in the first round that may continue in the second.
The key point to remember about round two is: you should carefully consider any offer at that stage because the likelihood is there will be no further offers. Whether you accept it or not, you will remain in the system for any further offers you are entitled to.
This year, because so many diploma/certificate courses required low points or accepted all qualified applicants (AQA) on the first round, there is likely to be limited points movement on that list, with more activity on the degree course list.
The precise outcome of round two tends to come down to individual colleges. Those which made too few offers in the first round will have to drop their points in the second round to gain further recruits, whereas colleges who got it right the first time have little need to tinker with points in the second round because they are close to capacity already.
Rechecks
if you viewed your script over the past few days, contact your school today if you want your papers rechecked. Schools must have all requests for rechecks posted to the Department of Education in Athlone by Wednesday, September 5th.
You must go to your school first, then go to the bank and get a bank giro (£25 per subject) and then return this to the school. So there is no time to lose if you have left it until today.
The results of rechecks are not available normally until the first week in October. This causes all sorts of difficulties because many colleges begin lectures now in mid-September, and if you get a late place because your results have been upgraded you will miss up to three weeks of lectures and your orientation day. This is not an ideal way to start third-level education.
You also miss the chance to make friends in those early weeks when nobody seems to know anybody else. The delay also causes problems in relation to accommodation. For example, say a student with a place in UCC has to change to UCD in October? It will be almost impossible to find suitable accommodation at that stage.
Maybe the Department could look again at the system. If the result of appeals were made even a fortnight earlier it would vastly improve the present situation. But, overall, the rechecking system continues to provide a valuable element of accountability in the exam process.
Many students are worried about the prospect of being downgraded during the re checks and that they may lose a place they now hold. Although this is possible, fewer than five students have been downgraded in the last two years' exams.
Places
Our helpline has had many calls from students who have accepted places in round one but who have no intention of taking them up. These students should bear in mind there are others still waiting for an offer. By pretending they are going to take a place, while really planning to reject it, they are depriving fellow students of places and this is most unfair.
In response to other queries, it is possible to defer a second-round offer in the same way as a first-round offer. Check page four of your CAO handbook for details. But do not forget the request for a deferral must arrive in the admissions office of the relevant college two days before the reply date on the offer notice.
Also remember that next year you must apply for this course (and only this course) to the CAO before February 1st if you wish to hold onto it.
Vacant places will continue to be advertised this week. To apply for one, you must place the vacant course ahead of any offer you have received to date. Before doing this, check that you have fulfilled the college matriculation and subject requirements for the course. Although there is no official third round, colleges will continue to make offers until all places have been allocated.
The final College 2001 column will appear tomorrow.