You are a pillar of certainty. You know exactly what you want and more importantly you know why you want it. The points, the course, the college, the finances, you have it all sorted. Simply jot down what you want on the CAO form and sit back and relax. What could go wrong?
Quite a lot actually. Apart from the problem of filling out the form incorrectly (more of that anon) such confident souls often forget they need certain subjects in their Leaving Cert to get into their desired course.
There is no point in mapping out a bright future for yourself if you have not even got the basic requirements needed for the course. So what subjects are essential for entry to which courses?
Well, to be definitive look up the course you want in the college prospectus or refer to our "College Choice" supplement from Tuesday which included a master chart on minimum entry requirements and essential subjects.
The first thing to be said about this area is that the colleges are not all the same. Each one has its own unique requirements and they are unlikely to be standardised any time soon.
While most colleges regard entry requirements as a necessary evil to keep academic standards up, you might find yourself a victim of them.
For example, only about 7,000 Leaving Cert students took chemistry in last year's exam. The numbers could be even lower this year.
Regrettable. Yes. Worrying. Yes. But from your point of view it could mean you do not make it on to your desired course. Remember, according to the Department of Education, about one third of schools do not offer chemistry to their students.
So how are pupils from these schools going to get on to courses like UCD's veterinary medicine degree (DN 005), DIT's human nutrition degree (FT223) or the certificate in medical laboratory sciences (DT 214), also at DIT?
With so many schools not offering chemistry, you could be excluded from these courses no matter how many points you get.
It is particularly unfair on female students who do not take chemistry in the same numbers as males (statistically, female students are more likely to take biology).
In their defence the colleges say the courses involve a lot of complicated chemistry and those entering need to be knowledgeable in the area.
But other observers suggest the colleges themselves should bring new entrants up to speed in the first few months of the course, rather than retaining it as a minimum requirement.
Leaving aside the chemistry debate, the complications do not end there. Take one of the biggest faculties in any college - science.
In Trinity you can only do its science degree (TR 071) if you have a minimum of a C3 in ordinary level maths. So any students hovering around a D level grade in science could be under pressure to get on to this course.
To do UCD's science course (DN 008) the bar gets higher - you need a minimum of a B3 in ordinary level maths. UCD also needs you to have at least one science subject. Trinity needs two science subjects (although under this heading it also includes geography, applied maths and one or two others).
A lot of students are interested in doing law, but the maths requirement is relevant here too. Even within some colleges the requirements are different. To do the bachelor of civil law degree at NUI Galway (GY251) you do not need maths, but to do its degree in corporate law (GY250) you do, albeit a D3 at ordinary level.
Medicine - which attracts huge interest each year - is a veritable minefield in terms of subject requirements. The main thing to watch here are the science subjects.
For example Trinity's medical degree (TR051) requires two science subjects at higher level - one has to be at least a B3 while the other has to be at least a C3. This compares with UCD where only one science subject is required.
But go to UCC and its medical degree (CK 701) also requires a minimum of a C3 in two higher-level science subjects. One has to be chemistry and the other has to be either physics or biology.
While most colleges have requirements in a general sense, some have specific cut-off requirements. For example, two UCD science degrees - theoretical physics (DN031) and mathematical science (DN 032) are very specific on grades.
The first one requires a B2 or more in higher-level maths and the other a B1 or more in a higher-level maths paper.
A question arises in relation to these types of specific requirements. How can any student judge whether they will get a B2 or B1? A student may feel he or she is capable of getting a B, but will not have any notion of what kind of B they are likely to get.
The only thing you can do is be positive and put the course down and hope you make the basic requirements. Obviously with colleges maintaining different standards you can spread your bets a little. If you don't make the requirements on one course, you can make it on another. So if you really want to do something such as medicine you should put down several medicine courses on the main degree list, not just one.
Not everything rests on the Leaving Cert however. At NUI Galway, its engineering degrees offer you a second bite at the cherry.
They all require a minimum of a C3 in the higher-level maths paper, but the college also holds its own maths test shortly after the Leaving Cert.
If you fail to get a C3 or more in the Leaving and do get it in the college's own exam, you are allowed to enter the faculty.
A college spokeswoman says the college "hopes" to get the results of its exam around the period when the Leaving Cert results are released.
This could allow those who did not get the C3 in the Leaving (but did in the college's exam) to be offered a place on the first round. However, it might have to be done on the second round, she said.
Time for a change
Last year only about 5 per cent of students filled out their CAO form online. The CAO is hoping the figure will improve this year, although it is an option open only to standard applicants. As its handbook bluntly states: "For such applicants, the online system should be the standard method of application."
But there is a major reason for you to consider the idea if you have a PC or access to one in school.
Doing the form online eliminates almost all potential for errors. If a candidate puts in an invalid course code the computer will reject it and ask the candidate to try again. If you incorrectly put a degree option on the certificate/diploma list, this will also be picked up by the computer.
Compare this with the paper version, where invalid course codes may not be picked up for quite some time and the CAO is entitled to ask you for £5.50 to repeat the exercise.
Of course the other advantage is you can have several attempts at getting it right online.
The one disadvantage of the online method is you still have to pay through a bank and the CAO has no facility for credit card payments. The online method at £19 is £1 cheaper than the paper option. Not much of a saving, but better than nothing!