The Higher Options Conference offers a unique opportunity to students to start researching their career options. It is unique because it is the only occasion when all Irish third level institutions and their British and Northern Irish counterparts come together at the same venue. One of the most important factors in making a wise career decision is having all the necessary information. It is essential to know which subjects, for instance, are studied in the first year of a course.

One of the great advantages of attending the Higher Options Conference is the opportunity it affords your parents to have the same information as you have by attending the Thursday evening session. Having the same information as your parents means that you can sit down with them early in the year to discuss the various options open to you.

To get the most out of your visit to the conference, you should have a copy of both the CAO and the UCAS handbooks. Once you know which colleges offer the courses in which you are interested, then it is easier to spend more time at their stands.

Later this year, you will be filling in two important forms that have a great bearing on your future. The first form is the UCAS form, which must be posted before December 15th, 1997.

If you are applying to Oxford, or Cambridge, your application must be in by October 15th, 1997. Most of the UCAS applications arrive in early December; so it makes sense to apply earlier if you are in a position to make up your mind after spending the day at the Higher Options Conference.

In filling in the UCAS form, you will notice that there is a great deal more information required than in the CAO system. You must list your six choices in the order that they appear in the UCAS Handbook. It is very important to show a trend in your choices.

If you apply for medicine, the medical schools urge candidates not to include more than five choices in medicine or dentistry. The advice from the Chartered Society for Physiotherapy is that applicants for physiotherapy are advised to make no more than four choices for physiotherapy. These are requests rather than regulations. You should then include a related course which attracts a lower points score.

You must fill in your Junior Cert results and the level at which you are taking your Leaving Cert subjects. Remember, the admission tutors will be offering places before they have your Leaving Cert results, so they use your Junior Cert results as an indication of your interest and success in certain relevant subject areas.

In many ways, the most important section of the UCAS form is the personal statement where you have the opportunity to sell yourself to the admission tutors. You need to offer a comprehensive description of your achievements, interests and abilities. Don't be afraid to boast of your achievements - this is one case where modesty is not a virtue!

Finally, a school reference must be supplied by your principal. This is very important, as it will give estimates of your Leaving Cert grades. As your principal is a busy person, do not leave it to the last minute to hand in your application form.

As you are aware, the CAO offers you 10 options for degree courses and 10 for diploma/certificate courses. The problem with such a wide choice is that some students only research their first three options and then include courses about which they know little or nothing.

The Irish Times helpline is inundated with callers after the first round offers are announced in August each year seeking information about courses from students who have been offered courses they never researched. The CAO system really works for you if you follow the instructions in the CAO Handbook.

Your choices must be in genuine order of preference - a statement you will hear repeated many times over the coming year. Getting the order of preference correct is crucial, and the process starts here today with your research.

It is important to find out just which courses each third-level institution represented at the conference offers you. In degree courses, such as science or arts, what choice of first year subjects are on offer? How many degree courses are "denominated"? This means that you must choose your subjects as you apply.

Above all, check the college and faculty requirements for each course in which you are interested.

Many students believe that the universities alone have degree programmes. So open your eyes to the opportunities afforded by the institutes of technology, the RTCs and the private colleges. Research the alternative routes offered by a certificate/diploma course.

The PLC sector has been one of the most exciting developments in recent years. Many of the courses on offer have been specifically designed to fill a void in the employment market, so plan to spend some time at their stands and have a copy of their literature.

Be realistic about the opportunities open to you. Do not leave the conference without all the information you require. If you are interested in a British or Northern Irish college, be sure you have a name for further contact. Ask about open days, and interview/assessment procedures for various courses.

If you had set out to gather all of the information available to you here today by writing or phoning colleges, it would have taken up so much of your valuable study time.

Today, the full range of possible courses are together in one setting. Make the most of it!

Vivian Cassells is a guidance counsellor at Oatlands College in Stillorgan, Co Dublin.