Choosing a course? Do your homework first

The realisation that the world of schooling is about to come to an end is often crystallised for sixth-year students when they find themselves walking the corridors or sitting in a lecture theatre in one of Ireland’s third-level institutions during an “Open Day”.

The simple fact that students get to physically experience the college environment – even if just for a few hours – can often help them realise the importance of maximising their performance in the Leaving Cert as they begin the process of deciding on the next appropriate step on their life-long career journey.

It can also bring a greater focus to their interactions with their school guidance counsellor as they work together to identify the most suitable course option to pursue following the completion of their school years in June 2018.

The key to successfully making the transition to higher or further education is to concentrate on the suitability of the curriculum content, college facilities, availability of accommodation or suitable public transport links, etc, rather than the occupational area or specific job which they may hope to progress to following graduation.

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That task can become the focus of attention in four or five years’ time, when college life is coming to an end and the needs of the labour market in 2023 are clear.

With all this in mind, students who are planning to attend a series of open days in the coming months should undertake some basic research about the college and its course offerings prior to each event. Doing so hugely increases the benefit of taking time out of their studies to experience what college life is actually like.

After all, depending on the decision students will make by the close of the CAO course selection process on July 1st, 2018, and the course option they eventually secure at offer stage next August, prospective college students are committing several years of their life to this next stage of study and learning.

Prospective third-level or further-education students will already have been given a copy of the 2018-19 CAO handbook and have been online to explore college courses in Ireland (see qualifax.ie). Anybody who is not based in a second-level school or college of further education, who all receive a stock of handbooks from the CAO, can secure a copy from the Central Applications Office in Galway (cao.ie).

As stated previously, Leaving Cert students are not only considering courses offered through the CAO process.

Thousands of students choose to study at their local Further Education (FE) College, where they can secure level 5 and 6 QQI awards, which will facilitate their entry to direct employment opportunities or into CAO courses which reserve a percentage of their 1st year undergraduate places for FE graduates.

All FE colleges operate Open Days, often holding a number of such events throughout the academic year.

Several thousand Irish students will apply for courses in Northern Ireland (particularly true for those who living near the Border), Scotland (where Irish students pay no fees) or, in some cases, England, notwithstanding the £9,000 (€12,500) yearly fees. Most of these applications are through the UK Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (ucas.com).

Thousands of Irish students have in the past five years chosen to study at one of the more than 1,000 courses taught through English in continental EU universities.

You can find out more from the European Universities Central Application Support Service (eunicas.ie). All of these EU colleges also host open days which Irish students can attend, utilising access to low-cost air fares to minimise the expense involved in attending such events.

Some sixth-year students may even consider studying farther afield, such as in the US or Australia.

When exploring the college options, be aware that the content of the course is only a small part of what you will experience when you arrive on registration day, in late August next year, to start college life. You will be entering a community that will help shape you for the rest of your life.

In our personal relationships we take our time getting to know other people and every aspect of their personality before we commit to them. Selecting a course that will commit you to living your life within that community for at least three years should be considered just as carefully.

The only way to evaluate whether a college is right for you is to explore all aspects of its life as fully as you can on its open day and see whether it feels right. This is more than an intellectual exercise.

As a guidance counsellor I have dealt with many students whose minds were full of facts and figures about dozens of courses but could not differentiate between the choices. They were lost in a sea of data, with no guiding compass to make the right choice.

Would you commit yourself to a relationship with someone based on reading a fact sheet about their life so far? Visiting a college open day is like a first date. It is dressed in its finest attire, full of presentations, smiling student ambassadors, friendly lecturers and goodie bags, all designed to present the college in its best light.

It can be hard to see the true nature of a college’s life from such an experience. But, as on a first date, you can see through a certain amount of the perfect presentation that every college puts on during open days, to the reality that lies behind it.

If you are particularly impressed with a college or course after an open day, try to go back on an ordinary day and wander around, to see if day-to-day normality gels with its open-day presentation.