Artistically-inclined students also need to be nimble on their feet as the annual portfolio marathon (sorry, art and design application process) gets under way.
Each year, we hear of exhausted parents and their offspring who have travelled the length and breadth of the country, ferrying around that precious bundle, the portfolio.
And, of course, it's not that simple. Transport or long-distance running skills alone will not secure you a place. You must be able to navigate through the maze of drawing tests, portfolio assessments, interviews and projects.
Each college has its own way of assessing which students are most suitable for its courses. This seems reasonable until you consider the implications for the individual student, who is likely to be applying to more than one college. He or she conceivably could have to prepare a portfolio, do a drawing test, and a project, and prepare for an interview or interviews, while studying for the Leaving Certificate. Closing dates must be juggled and portfolios retrieved for the next application.
The following is an attempt to unravel the mysteries of applying for art and design courses in the various colleges.
NCAD
NCAD offers three courses to school-leavers, two of which are in the CAO system. The first-year core programme which is the common first year for NCAD's four-year degree courses in fine art, craft design, fashion design, textile design, visual communications and the joint courses in history of art with either fine art or any of the four design options, is not in the CAO system.
Applications for first-year core must be made directly to the college and the minimum academic standard is two higher-level grade C3s in the Leaving Certificate and four D3s in ordinary-level papers including a language (Irish, English or continental). There is no Leaving Certificate points system. Places are allocated on the basis of a portfolio. Completed application forms and portfolios must be in the college by January 30th. (The same date applies for mature students.)
There is no need to deliver portfolios personally but many students, understandably, want to make sure they reach the college in pristine condition. To give NCAD its due, portfolios are assessed with great efficiency and are usually available for collection two weeks later.
Applicants to NCAD's BA in art and design education must apply through the CAO, with a closing date of February 1st. Mature students should apply directly to the college by April 1st. All applicants to the course will be offered an interview in the week beginning April 27th. They will be sent a brief for a drawing test before the interview. Applicants must bring the completed test and a portfolio of work with them to the interview. The minimum academic requirements are the same as for first-year core and, again, a Leaving Cert points system is not used.
NCAD's third offering, the BDes in industrial design, is offered jointly by the University of Limerick and NCAD. Students spend first year at UL and three years at NCAD. The course appears under UL in the CAO handbook. Interviews are held in the week beginning April 27th. Students must bring a portfolio and places are allocated on the basis of a portfolio and interview. A minimum of two grade C3s at higher level and four D3s at ordinary level are needed and there are specific maths/science/engineering requirements as there is some engineering content in the course.
As with the BA in art and design education, mature applicants should contact the college directly, before the closing date of April 1st.
NCAD is included in the free fees scheme and students are also eligible to apply for Higher Education Authority grants and Vocational Education Committee scholarships.
RTCs and institutes of technology
ALL of the following colleges are in the central applications system and almost all are listed by the CAO as restricted-application courses. No late applications (after the February 1st closing date) will be accepted for any of the restricted courses. And the change-of-mind form may not be used to introduce any new restricted application course.
DIT : Six art and design courses are offered by the Dublin Institute of Technology. Students must submit a portfolio before 4.30 p.m. on February 19th or February 20th to DIT, Mountjoy Square, Dublin. Usually, about half of those who submit a portfolio are called for interview. Last year, more than 1,000 students applied and about 500 were called to interview.
A maximum of 600 points is awarded for portfolio and interview. These points are then added to the Leaving Cert points to allocate places. Candidates are scored separately for each course for which they apply.
Three of the courses, which were four-year advanced diplomas, are now four-year DIT degrees. So there may be increased demand for the these courses this year - design (environmental/spatial), design (visual communications) and fine art.
Athlone RTC takes part in the CAO project assessment system. If an applicant passes the project, he or she is asked to attend a portfolio assessment and information session at the college. The idea of the information session is to meet staff to discuss the candidate's suitability for the course. Points are awarded for the portfolio and these are added to Leaving Cert points to allocate places.
Carlow RTC does not require a project or portfolio for its industrial design course. Places are awarded on the basis of Leaving Cert points alone. It is not a restricted application course so late applications will be accepted by the CAO.
Cork and Limerick RTCs operate within the CAO admissions process for the project section, with the project scored on a pass/fail basis. Those who are successful in the project are called for a portfolio assessment/ interview. A maximum of 600 points is available for the portfolio/interview; these are then added to normal Leaving Cert points.
Cork and Limerick RTCs usually operate a combined portfolio assessment/interview so some students applying for both colleges need attend only one interview. Both colleges offer similar courses - national diplomas followed by add-on degrees.
Dun Laoghaire RTC (formerly Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design) : In March, applicants are asked, in writing, to submit a portfolio which is assessed on a pass/fail basis. Each year, after February 1st, the CAO closing date, a number of students come to the admissions office in the college clutching portfolios. Please wait until you are asked to submit it. The college hires a hall in Dun Laoghaire which is convenient to the DART and buses and that is where the portfolios are assessed in March - not in the college itself.
If your portfolio passes the initial assessment, you will be called to an interview/portfolio assessment in April which carries a maximum of 600 points (the portfolio can be further developed between March and April). These are then added to the Leaving Cert points to allocate places.
Galway RTC operates within the CAO project system but, here, the project is scored and this score is added to the normal Leaving Cert points to allocate places.
Letterkenny RTC : Applicants for graphic design and industrial design courses have the option of attending a portfolio/ assessment. This was mandatory in the past. Students with a strong portfolio, who decide to go this route, will have their portfolio/assessment marked out of 600 points and their score added to their Leaving Cert points. Students who opt to be assessed on the basis of the Leaving Cert alone will have their points doubled for the purposes of ranking.
Sligo RTC : Applicants for the national diploma in fine art must submit a portfolio in April. This is scored out of 600 and these points are then added to Leaving Cert points to allocate places.
Students also had the option of submitting portfolios in December - this seems to have confused some students who thought they had to have their portfolio with the college before Christmas. It is simply an additional optional facility which allows students to obtain their portfolio scores early. This allows students to change their course option if they do badly or, on the advice of the college, to put in some additional work and resubmit their portfolio in April.
WIT : A project is no longer required for entry to the national diploma in art. Students must have a minimum of an ordinary-level B3 or a higher-level C3 in art in the Leaving Certificate. Mature students and students who do not satisfy the Leaving Certificate art requirement will be required to satisfy the college as to their suitability for the course. This is not a restricted-application course.
Additional research by Catherine Foley