As the number of school-leavers entering the third-level system levels off, colleges are on a charm offensive to get mature learners through their doors.
The Government supports this and hopes 15 per cent of all third-level entrants will be mature students within five years.
While the system for admitting school-leavers is relatively standardised, the colleges have idiosyncratic approaches to selecting mature learners.
Some use interviews, some use aptitude tests, some use work experience, while others rely on all three.
Colleges do not sing off the same hymn sheet when it comes to applications, either. Some require mature students to apply directly to them (including Dublin City University and the University of Limerick), while others ask you to go through the CAO (including the NUI colleges).
So, initially at least, the best way to approach adult learning is to contact the institutions directly. Most have adult education offices, and if they don't, the admissions office will be happy to deal with your query.
Who qualifies?
Most of the colleges agree on a definition for a mature student. It is somebody who is 23 years of age on or before January 1st of the year of entry to college. For people hoping to start a course this autumn, they need to be 23 (or older) now.
It is important to emphasise your previous education qualifications, but this is not the only method the colleges use to select students. Relevant work experience or an aptitude in a certain area can be enough.
Mature students come in all shapes and sizes. Among them are people who chose to work in the home rather than go to college after leaving school, people who left school early and people who went to college for a period but dropped out.
Your previous life is irrelevant. If you are the correct age you are classified as a mature student, simple as that.
The next step
Once you have identified the course or area which interests you, make inquiries at the college you want to attend about their mature-student admission policy.
You really should have done this by now because many colleges are part of the CAO and applications have to be submitted by February 1st.
Others give you more time and some do not impose any final closing date, especially private colleges such as Portobello College and Griffith College in Dublin.
UCC is allowing late applications this year between February 1st and March 1st, but students doing this will be charged £36.
While many colleges use the CAO to process mature applications, allocating places remains the prerogative of the colleges.
Also, many colleges require you to send them an application in addition to the one you send to CAO. This includes Trinity College, NUI Maynooth and the Dublin Institute of Technology. Page five of the CAO handbook has a list of the deadlines. If you are applying via the CAO there is a space on the form for mature students. This allows you to give a short curriculum vitae, including details on previous education and relevant work experience.
Selection methods
What tends to dominate the thinking of colleges when selecting mature students is will they be able to cope with the complexity of the course?
As anyone who has studied alongside a mature student knows, they are often the most motivated people in the class.
But colleges do worry that if mature students cannot cope they will drop out and this will give the institution a bad name. So what runs through all the selection methods is a preoccupation with not selecting students who will find themselves out of their depth.
Nevertheless, mechanisms such as aptitude tests can feel demeaning for mature learners who often have more life experience and work experience than any school-leaver.
In the university sector the selection methods vary. DCU and UCC require interviews for all faculties, and in some cases an aptitude test.
At UCD the approach varies depending on what faculty you want to enter. For example, in faculties such as agriculture, engineering, law and architecture an interview is normally conducted with most applicants. But on courses such as social science (DN07), interviews are not staged and relevant work experience is more important.
To do science in UCD as a mature student a 500-word statement outlining the areas of the university's science programme you are interested in is normally required.
NUI Galway has various selection methods. For its arts programme you have to sit a written assessment in April. To do medicine in most of the universities you need to have some kind of healthcare or science-based work experience. Trinity College requires an aptitude test for virtually every faculty.
In the institute of technology sector an interview is the favoured way of screening applicants. Aptitude tests are not generally used.
Number of places
Several colleges have introduced quotas for mature students. This means places are reserved for you and it makes entry a little easier.
The use of quotas is particularly widespread in the institute of technology sector. Some of these colleges are looking to recruit almost a third of their student body from the ranks of adult learners.
While it has no specific quota, the Blanchardstown Institute of Technology in west Dublin is hoping non-standard applicants (official name for mature and other applicants not coming through the traditional routes) will make up 30 per cent of its annual entrants in the next five years.
The university sector does not generally use quotas, although Trinity College says all faculties can take mature students - up to a limit of 10 per cent of their total intake.
If you are hoping to become a mature medical or dentistry student, don't hold your breath. For example, UCC only holds open one dentistry and one medical place each year for mature students. Although, in fairness to Cork, they give more details than any other institution about their quotas, breaking the numbers down in surprising detail.
Finally, for mature students who want to know what colleges require and when applications need to be completed, a copy of Guide For Mature Students 2001, by Ms Helen Keogh of the Department of Education, would be a good start.
This is available from the Department of Education, Further Education Section, Irish Life Centre, Dublin 2; the Curriculum Development Unit, Sundrive Road, Dublin 8; by calling 453 5487 or email: elaine.o'hara@cdu.cdvec.ie
Open Day
The Cork Institute of Technology holds an open day today with specific information for adult learners. It takes place from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Anyone looking for details should telephone 021-4326804, email eoc@cit.ie or check the website www.cit.ie.