College Choice: Beginning today, Brian Mooney will provide all the information you need about the CAO process. The column will run every weekday from now until the CAO deadline at the end of the month.
Between now and 5.15 p.m. on February 1st, more than 60,000 applicants will register with the Central Applications Office in Galway hoping to secure a third-level place in one of 42 third-level colleges next August.
Most will be sitting the Leaving Cert in June for the first time, but they will be joined in the CAO application process by several thousand students who are repeating the Leaving in the hope of securing more points than last year.
There are also many other kinds of applicants.
There will be those who received sufficient points for their preferred course but who failed to meet a specific subject entry requirement in 2004.
There will also be those, usually the so-called gap year group, who deferred a place offered in August 2004. Although their place is secure, they must submit an application in 2005 to the CAO, listing only the deferred place. Failure to apply, or the inclusion of more than the deferred course on the application form, will result in the guaranteed place being forfeited.
These applicants are also entitled to use the points they secured last year to compete for a place on any other course, but they must give up their guaranteed place to do so.
The CAO will also receive thousands of applications from students completing post-Leaving Cert courses and who will be competing for places reserved for those with FETAC level-two awards. This year the Institutes of Technology are awarding points up to a maximum of 400 for PLC awards, which will enable students to compete for places in any course offered by the institutes. The universities are still offering a limited number of places on specific courses linked to a specific PLC course. UCC has, for example, extended FETAC links to 17 honours degree programmes.
Also applying will be many thousands of adults aged over 23 seeking entry to third-level education for the first time. The Government has set an ambitious target of 15 per cent for mature students in third-level education by 2006. At present the figure stands at 10.7 per cent, with the Institutes of Technology providing the majority of places.
The universities would like to offer more places to mature students, but given the cap on numbers applied by the Government in many faculties, places given to mature students mean fewer places for Leaving Cert students.
Finally, applicants from outside the State, presenting A Levels mainly - mostly studying in schools in Northern Ireland, but also including students from other EU countries and from outside the EU - will complete the range of candidates for places available.
This wide array of applications explains why the numbers applying to college will not decline, even though the number of school leavers continues to drop significantly.
Those hoping for a fall in the points required for entry into high-points courses are therefore likely to be disappointed. Given the recent commitment of Trinity College, as revealed by The Irish Times, in reserving places for applicants from Northern Ireland, points in many high-points courses may actually increase.
Those considering whether to seek a third-level place may be wondering about the potential benefit of spending a number of years studying as opposed to entering the workforce immediately. Given the health of the economy, there are many employers offering immediate employment to school leavers.
For me the issue is simple: if you have the potential to increase your skills level through further education, whether you are 17 or 71, you should take it. Every additional year spent in education increases your capacity to get a well-paid job that will withstand the competitive pressures, both from the new member-states of the EU and from further afield. For people of all ages, the option of standing still is not realistic. We live in a fiercely competitive world where every job has to remain cost-effective.
Ten new countries joined the EU last year, with cost bases that are a fraction of Ireland's. Our economy and level of education may be some years ahead of our eastern European neighbours, but they will be doing all in their power to catch up.
The message to all Leaving Cert students is that no matter what career choice you make over the coming months, continuous training and education should be part of your world for as long as you continue working.
One of the questions raised by students and parents is which courses will lead to employment. This is a false trail that should be avoided at all costs. Deciding on a career based on current market conditions is foolhardy to say the least. Opportunities in all career areas fluctuate as the economy changes.
Students sitting the Leaving Cert this year and then choosing courses in colleges - which will see them graduating and seeking their first job in 2009 - cannot do so on the basis of what careers are hot or otherwise now. Yet this is happening.
The plight of an older sibling or neighbour's child who may have graduated in 2004 and is still seeking a good job is quoted as evidence as to why candidates should avoid a course in that area. But who knows what the opportunities in that area will be like in three to four years' time?
Courses and careers should be chosen based on interest and aptitude, and on no other basis. If you are still in the dark as to what courses to select on the CAO form, do not panic.
I will attempt to provide as much information as possible over the next three weeks to help you make up your mind. Meanwhile, continue to discuss the matter with parents and your guidance counsellor in school.