IT might appear to the casual observer that the points race is all about getting a college place. What's all the fuss, some people ask, either they've got a place or they haven't, surely it's straight forward?
But in the experience of this column, the dilemma of huge numbers of applicants and parents is one of choice. Should they accept what they have been offered, is it the right course for them, should they repeat for something else, should they defer and mull things over until next year maybe a PLC in the meantime?
Would they be better off on an RTC certificate/diploma course than a degree course (most people have an offer of both).
Then there are those who have a place offered in the Northern Ireland or British system those who are toying with the idea of a private third level college.
There are also those who have accepted a course on round one and get offered a higher preference on the second round just when they have come to terms with their first offer. They are thus thrown into the whole agony of indecision once again.
For many people, the dilemma of having choices is almost worse than having no offer at all. "I think the bright ones have a bigger problem," one dazed mother said to us. "At least if you have only one thing on offer, you don't have to agonise over choices." And she has a point.
Points Race encounters a lot of confused people. In many cases, students simply have not given any real thought to the nature of the courses for which they have applied and they find themselves in an agony of indecision as to whether they will like the course, whether it is suited to them or whether they can cope. A size able number do find that they have made a wrong choice.
We also talk with a considerable number of students who have done first year and are back again starting from scratch in a different course or indeed after second year, also.
For people reading this column with a view to applying next year, we cannot emphasise strongly enough the importance of doing as much research as possible in advance. Too many applicants simply pick courses by name alone or by what they think is involved. Then when offers time arrives they find themselves utterly confused and with no real idea of what they should do.
For a student caught in this dilemma, it can make sense to repeat the Leaving Cert and use the opportunity to do a lot more research on careers and courses in the intervening year.
Some of our callers are considering doing a one year PLC to help them clarify their minds and find out more about a particular area this, too, can be a very sensible approach.
∙ REPEAT LEAVING CERT
WE have never known a year in which so many repeat Leaving Cert courses have spare places on that evidence it would appear the numbers opting to repeat have fallen considerably.
In fact, we have yet to encounter a college which does not have at least a vacancy or two. All of the Dublin City VEC colleges seem to be able to take a few more. Secondary schools like St Joseph's in Fairview, Dublin, also still have places as do the private colleges.
The Pre-University Centre in Dublin has vacancies as do the various others including the Institute of Education, Ashfield College and Bruce College.
. ROUND THREE
THE third round of CAO/CAS place offers will be posted from Galway today, so successful applicants should get an offer tomorrow. The points for round three will be published in The Irish Times on Friday. It is unlikely that there will be many offers in round three as round two had a good take up rate, so don't expect any dramatic drops in points.
After Thursday, a "rolling round" begins. Any place not taken up or returned will immediately be offered to the next person on the waiting list. This process continues until the end of the season.
The CAO appeals to any student who may have accepted a place on any round and who decided not to take it up or take up any other CAO/CAS place to inform the college or the CAO office so the place can be offered to another applicant.
∙ UK COLLEGES
SOME people appear to have misunderstood the situation in relation to grants to attend colleges in Northern Ireland and Britain. The UK authorities will pay fees grants, but only fees for Irish students attending their colleges.
Irish students are not eligible for a UK maintenance grant. Students who are eligible for a Higher Education Grant at home can now be paid this grant while attending college in Britain previously this applied only in the case of Northern Ireland.
The same means test limits apply as do to grant availability to attend college here, so realistically only those with a family income below £18,500 or thereabouts will be eligible you apply to your county council or corporation in the normal way.
To avail of the fees grant in the North or Britain, you must apply to the local education authority in which the college is situated.
In the Going to College supplement published with The Irish Times on August 15th we carried a full list of these local authorities if you want to check them out if not, ring the college and ask in which education authority area it is based. You will get a fees grant application form from the authority and return it it will then normally pay your fees to the college in question.
There are still places available in clearing, but applicants would be well advised to check carefully it does not necessarily follow that any degree course in the British system is better than certificate/diploma courses at home standards vary a lot, so check it out carefully.
∙ PLC FUNDING
THE absence of any maintenance grants whatsoever continues to feature as a huge problem for many students wishing to avail of PLC courses.
We spoke to a student yesterday who can get a maintenance grant to go to a college in Britain, but can get no assistance to travel to a PLC course in Ballyfermot Senior College. This really is an absurd state of affairs.
But students have also been complaining to Points Race that though theoretically fees do not exist in PLCs, students are being levied charges as high as the RTCs in some cases.
Yesterday, we spoke to a student who had been asked for £150 to cover materials at a PLC in Colaiste Dhalaigh we had another report of a charge of £200 at a sport and recreation PLC in Athlone. Yet, officially the word is that "there are no fees in PLC courses".
Both those students rang to say they would have to turn down the PLC places if they could not get the fees paid for them.
The problem for the PLC colleges is that the materials and equipment required to participate in some of these courses are expensive and the Department of Education does not give the colleges enough to cover it all, so they have to put a levy on the students.
. YOUTH INFORMATION CENTRES
A NUMBER of youth information centres have contacted us to say they can provide advice and help to students who are in a dilemma about changing courses, choosing what to, etc, after they have left school. Some of them can offer the services of a guidance counsellor. They can also give information on grants, fees etc.
There is one in Sackville Place in central Dublin at the Bell Tower, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire at Glentworth Street, Limerick, and such places as Kilkenny, Galway, Sligo, Cork etc.
For a full list of centres, contact the Youth Information Resource Unit at Hawkins House (11th floor), Hawkins Street, Dublin 2.
∙ VACANCIES
∙ St Brigid's Post Primary Athy PLC vacancies in CERT catering/tourism professional cookery child care information technology.
∙ Cavan College of Further Studies Still have places in hairdressing and accounting technician.