I had great difficulty finalising my CAO choices. At 18, when you haven’t even really had any life experience, it’s hard to write in stone what you want to do.

The most important factor of all was my course choice. At NUI Galway’s open day during Leaving Cert year, I felt arts would offer me flexibility. It was like lifting a weight off my shoulders so I could focus on the Leaving Cert and worry about choosing subjects when I started college. In my first few weeks I could pick and choose between subjects, attending lectures to see if they appealed.

Moving away from home is hard as an 18-year-old. NUIG was perfect for me because of its location, reputation, its focus on the Irish language and sport.

The university is five minutes’ walk from the city centre and I lived in campus accommodation for the first year, which helped in making friends.

Over 93 per cent of NUIG graduates are either employed or in further study six months after graduating, which was a relieving statistic when I was considering my course choices. The college’s ties with Irish also enticed me: over 10 per cent of the students study Irish or through Irish, so I could study an Ghaeilge in a bilingual environment.

A college that would allow me to progress as an athlete was also very important. A county footballer has to keep up a rigorous training regime through the college week.Gaelic football is only one of the sports to choose from, among over 180 clubs and societies. I joined the O’Connor Cup ladies football team, which was great for my sport, and also helped me to settle into college life.