Many homes are experiencing tension as school leavers and college applicants attempt to make the right decisions before the 1 July 5.15pm deadline
1 July at 5.15pm is the final opportunity for traditional CAO applicants to change their minds about the order of the courses they wish to study.
“Increasingly college applicants are making their final decisions in the days before the CAO 1 July Change of Mind Deadline,” says Dr Derek O’Byrne, Registrar and Vice President for Academic Affairs at South East Technological University.
“The absolute key to making the right decision is to list courses in the order of preference. Applicants should choose what they really want, and not for example what their friends are doing.”
He also adds that applicants should be considerate of those around them as tension increases in the lead up to making final decisions before the deadline at 5.15pm.
There are ways to do last-minute research:
- read course descriptions and student/graduate case studies on the college website.
- ask for help – WIT's CAO hub is www.wit.ie/cao.
Five key things to consider when making a choice
- Course choice: We recommend a prospective student chooses courses that they will enjoy studying.
- Campus fit: A key factor for many students is they've visited and could see themselves studying at that college campus.
- City life: How ready are they for a big move? Waterford and Carlow, for example, are both compact in size and offer good value with a wide range of student accommodation to be found which immediately removes a number of stressors.
- Progression routes: We recommend that students look carefully at their level 6 and 7 choices. There are progression routes for students from level 6 to 7 and 6/7 to 8. Students also progress from colleges of further education into SETU.
- Friends: Don’t follow your friends’ choices. They may not get offers of a course at the same college and there are many opportunities to make new friends once you start college.
Research your options:
College choices:
Subject choices:
Download here and print at home to complete the helpful worksheets or just flick through the book to pick up tips to help you choose the right subjects for the Leaving Certificate.
Five ways to confirm your course choices
· Do a virtual tour, watch videos from our open events, book a virtual one-to-one meeting, and start a web chat at www.wit.ie/cao
· CAO booklets with worksheets for parents and students at http://www.wit.ie/how
· Browse hundreds of student stories at www.wit.ie/studentstories
· Discover 150 accounts to follow on social www.wit.ie/socialmediadirectory
· Helpful articles on social media and news section in run up to CAO deadlines – check back regularly for new articles or search social media for #StudyatSETU or #HelloSETU