Filling out the CAO form is not a simple matter, but it needn't throw you. All right, you're taking your future in your hands. Yes, it's serious - but, taken step by step, it can be done without too much trouble.
First, make sure you've read the college prospectuses, researched the courses, talked to your guidance counsellor and your parents.
Next, take out your CAO handbook and familiarise yourself with the general information contained in the grey pages. Now, it's time to reach for the pen - or the keyboard - and fill out that form, keeping the handbook close by at all times.
Page one is straightforward. It asks for personal details such as name, address and schools attended. No big deal. Strangely, the commonest error reported by the CAO is of students who are unfamiliar with their birth date . . . instead, they give the date on which they are filling out the form.
Most of the errors are clearly due to nerves, so take plenty of time. Better yet, photocopy the form and make your mistakes in comfort without fear of the £5 penalty if the form is returned because of an error. Ask a friend, relative or counsellor to check the form before you post it.
Page two is the all-important page. It contains two separate lists - one for degrees and one for certs and diplomas. The lists operate independently of each other, so pay equal attention to both.
Many students leave the cert/diploma list blank because they are interested only in degrees. In fact, you're cutting yourself off from many very good degree options if you ignore the certs and diplomas. There is a well-trodden route from cert to diploma to add-on degree and the number of add-on degrees available is increasing each year. And, of course, certs and diplomas are valid qualfications in their own right.
If you fill out both lists you may well end up with two college offers.
The form affords you the opportunity to list 20 courses in all and you should try and use this facility to the full. The vital thing is to LIST THE COURSES IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE. This means you should put the course you want most at the top of the list. Your number one choice should be your dream course - the one you want above all others.
DON'T allow last year's points to influence this decision. Each year, the CAO reports tearful phone calls from students who did better in the Leaving Cert than they had expected. Unfortunately, they had listed courses in the order in which they had "guesstimated" the points would lie. They were offered their first choice but really wanted a course further down the list.
Remember, IF YOU ARE OFFERED YOUR FIRST CHOICE, YOU WILL NOT BE MADE ANY FURTHER OFFER. All of the courses listed below the course that you were offered are effectively wiped out by the CAO computer. YOU CAN MOVE UP THE LIST BUT NOT DOWN. Bear this in mind as you fill out your list.
When it comes to the end of the list, your ninth or tenth choice, you might consider consulting last year's points and selecting a course with a cut-off way below what you expect to achieve. This way, you can virtually ensure you are made an offer. And, if you are disappointed with your results in autumn but don't want to repeat the Leaving Cert, at least you have another option.
ONCE pages one and two are completed, most school-leavers are ready to visit the bank to pay the application fee, prior to posting the form off to Galway.
SPECIAL CATEGORY applicants must also fill out pages three and four of the form. These applicants include students who have sat NCVA/PLC courses; students with previous third-level education; mature applicants and those with trade/craft qualfications. A full list is given on page eight of the CAO handbook.
If you fall into a special category you must supply one photocopy of pages three and four for each college to which you are applying. You must also supply certified photocopies of all qualifications you have listed on page three, with the exception of summer 1999 NICCEA GCE results.
Before posting off your application form, you should take a photocopy and keep it for reference. Don't forget to get the certificate of posting, on the back page of your CAO handbook, stamped. And, your application fee payment form must be stamped by the bank. There's a useful checklist on the back of the CAO envelope.
