Information Session for

1
www.cao.ie

• Information Session for
• Parents
• Sutton Park School 2009

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Dates and fees

• January 20th Online Discount 35
• February 1st Normal application 45
• May 1 Late online 70
• July 1st Closing change of mind Free!

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Application Form

• Part A (Pages 1 2)Sufficient for most Irish
  Applicants
• Part B (Pages 3 4) Must be completed by non
  standard applicants
• Includes information about any learning
  difficulties, other qualifications and for mature
  students

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Application Form

• Page 1
• Personal Data
• Signature
• Date
• Page 2
• Selection of Courses

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Qualifications

• Three levels of Certification
• Level 6 Higher Certificate (formerly Cert)
• Level 7 Ordinary Degree (formerly Dip)
• Level 8 Honours Degree
• Students choose courses in order of preference
• Maximum of ten courses may be chosen from each
  list

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Applying on -line

• Follow instructions on screen www.cao.ie
• Choose courses in order of preference
• Choose method of payment
• Credit card / Fee Payment Form
• Submit choices
• Always print receipt and note application number

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Restricted Application Courses

• Assessment procedures for these courses including
  art, drama, film and also medicine.
• Clearly identified in the handbook
• Must be included in CAO Form by February 1st

8
Application to Medicine from 2009

1. Must apply by February 1st on CAO (515pm)
2. Using CAO number, then apply to sit HPAT test.
   www.hpat-ireland.acer.edu.au. Closing date also
   Feb 1st (2359). Cost 95
3. Test date27th February venues in Dublin and
   elsewhere. Advised to book centre early!
4. Test 2.5 hours long in 3 sections logical
   reasoning/ interpersonal understanding and
   non-verbal reasoning

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Medicine applications

• Results issued late June 2009
• Maximum score 300, students will also be given a
  percentile score to give them an indication of
  how well they performed against other candidates.
• Must also achieve a minimum of 480 in Leaving
  Cert exams AND minimum entry requirements.
• Any student achieving over 550 will be awarded 1
  point for every 5 CAO point. i.e. Student
  achieving 560 will be given Medicine rating of
  552. Max score of 600 points becomes 560.
• Results of HPAT and Leaving Cert then added
  together. Maximum possible score 860.
• Normal allocation of places then takes place,
  with students ranked highest being given places.
• (top 15 )

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Application Process

• Phase 1 November until February 1stApply and
  change your mind as often as you like, free of
  charge.
• Phase 2 February 1st March 1stYou may amend
  details and course choices but will pay 10
  penalty
• Phase 3 March 1st April 30thInterviews and
  assessments usually scheduled
• Phase 4 May 1st July 1stChange of mind, free
  of charge

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Alternative routes

• Medicine / Physiotherapy Science 325 425
  points, then post graduate programme
• Law variety of degrees for Blackhall place. For
  kings Inn law is ideal or 2 years diploma req.
  (arts, private colleges)
• Business / marketing entry at level 6 /7 (330)
  in DIT and progress through to level 8 (410)
• FETAC route many linked programmes, nursing,
  art, business, social science, science

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Offer Stage

• Leaving Certificate results mid Aug (possibly
  Wednesday 11th)
• Round One Offers Monday 16th August
• Each list separate. Can accept on-line.
• Can only move up, never down the list
• Can accept or ignore subsequent offers

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Level 8 Level 8 Level 6/7 Level 6/7
Pref Course Code Pref Course Code
1 CK101 1 BN003 (business studies)
2 DC201 2 TA102
3 AL033 3 TA101
4 DN021 4 NC101
5 TR084 5 TA108
6 DC115 6 DT315
7 DT366 7 DT521
8 BN101 8
9 DT413 9
10 PD101 10
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How Places are Allocated

• When examination results are released in August
  they are entered into the CAO computer.
• The computer checks each applicants results. For
  each course the applicant has applied for, the
  computer first determines if the applicant has
  the minimum entry requirements for the course.

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How Places are Allocated

• If the applicant meets the minimum entry
  requirements for the course, the applicants
  points are calculated for this course choice.
• All eligible applicants are then placed in a
  list, in order of the points they achieved, for
  each course that they applied for.

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How Places are Allocated

• The colleges then tell CAO how many places are to
  be offered on each course
• CAO then makes offers to the required number of
  applicants on each course starting with the
  applicant with the highest points and working
  down until enough places have been offered.

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These are the applicants for CK101 (Arts in UCC)
The examination results have not yet been
released, so these applicants are in no
particular order. We are going to trace the
progress of the applicant marked in red.
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Applicants are placed in a queue for each course
they applied for, their position in the queue is
determined by their points. The applicant with
the highest points is placed at the top of the
queue. The points achieved by the applicant in
red determines her position in the queue for each
course she applied to.
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The applicants marked in green have enough points
to be offered places. The applicant marked in
red has enough points for her second preference.
20
The applicant in red is offered her second
preference, the highest preference course that
she has enough points for, and she will now
disappear from the queue in all her lower choices.
21

• Normally given 10 days to accept the offer but
  very important to check the deadline date given
  with the offer.
• If offered Level 8 and Level 6/7 offer, accepting
  one automatically rejects the other.
• You may never receive another offer from the CAO
  so think very carefully before rejecting the
  offer.
• Accepting or rejecting an offer will have no
  effect on your higher course choices.

22
In the Second round of offers three more offers
are made on CK101 and our applicant, who was
second in line, now receives an offer. She may
do nothing and remain in DN201 or she may accept
the offer and begin in CK101.
23

• You do not need to guess what the points are
  going to be for the courses you are interested
  in.
• Simply list your courses in genuine order of
  preference from the highest preference 1, to the
  lowest preference 10.
• If you are entitled to an offer, you will be
  offered the highest preference that you are
  entitled to.

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Errors made when selecting courses

• Students list courses in order of points instead
  of preference
• Student underestimate / overestimate Leaving
  Certificate results
• Poor research into courses
  College literature /Open Days

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Errors made when selecting courses

• Some students target low point courses in hope of
  getting College place
• Not considering courses outside certain
  geographic area
• Some target Level 8 courses only and ignore Level
  7 6 courses
• Ladder of Opportunity

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Ladder of Opportunity

• Institutes of Technology offer four year degree
  programmes which can be studied in stages
• Higher Certificate Two years (level 6)
• Ordinary Degree One year (level 7)
• Honours Degree One year (level 8)

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Life Outside CAO

• Check for vacant places www.cao.ie
• Private Colleges
• PLC - Post Leaving Courses
• UK www.ucas.com

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UCAS

• UCAS is the UK equivalent of the CAO
• WWW. UCAS.COM
• All applications must be made online
• All communication is electronic e.g. via
  website and email

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DEADLINES

• Applying to Oxford OR Cambridge to study anything
  15th October
• Applying to study Medicine Veterinary Medicine
  or Dentistry 15th October
• Everything else January 15th

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Before Applying

• www.ucas.ac.uk
• Pick courses huge choice
• Be familiar with a longer application system
• Pick a referee
• Prepare a personal statement
• Register Suttonpark is buzzword

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UCAS Points Honours Ordinary A1 90 A1 -
39 A2 77 A2 - 26 B1 71 B1 - 20 B2
64 B2 - 14 B3 58 B3 - 7 C1 - 52 C2 -
45 C3 - 39 D1 - 33 D2 - 26 D3 - 20
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Choices

• Applying for Medicine, Vet Medicine and Dentistry
  4 choices
• You can apply to Oxford or Cambridge, not both
  (plus additional application form)
• Everything else 6 choices (but remember the one
  personal statement has to cover all the options)

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Application contd.

• 5 Sections for you to completeCoursesAbout
  YouEducationStatementEmployment
• 2 more sections for school to complete Reference
  you will not seePredicted grades you will
  not see

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Aptitude assessments for UK

• BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT)For entry to
  medicine and veterinary schools.
• English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT)For
  entry to English courses at the University of
  Oxford.
• Graduate Medical School Admissions Test
  (GAMSAT)For entry into medicine.
• History Aptitude Test (HAT)For entry to modern
  history and a joint honours degrees involving
  modern history at the University of Oxford.
• Health Professions Admissions Test (HPAT)For
  entry to certain medical courses at the
  University of Ulster.
• The National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT)For
  entry to law.
• Modern and Medieval Languages Test (MML)For
  entry to modern and medieval languages at the
  University of Cambridge.
• Sixth Term Examination Papers (STEP)For entry to
  mathematics at the University of Cambridge.
• Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA Cambridgeor) For
  entry to computer science, natural sciences,
  engineering and economics at the University of
  Cambridge.
• Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA Oxford)
• formerly known as the PPE Admissions TestFor
  entry to the philosophy, politics and economics,
  and the economics and management courses at the
  University of Oxford.
• UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT)
• For entry to medical and dental schools

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Offers and Interviews

• After applying you may be called by the college
  for an interview (not always)
• Following this you may receive eitherConditional
  Offer (i.e. you can have the place if you
  achieve certain grades)Unsuccessful application

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Managing your offer

• If you receive more than one conditional offer
  you will have to choose which is your most
  preferred option
• This becomes your FIRM ACCEPTANCE
• You may also hold a INSURANCE ACCEPTANCE which
  is another offer which requires lower grades.

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UCAS and CAO

• UCAS and CAO do not communicate to each other
• What you choose to apply to and accept offers
  from has no effect on your CAO application
• FIRM or INSURANCE acceptance does not mean that
  you have to go to UK you can always decline the
  offer at a later time

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Post Leaving Certificate Courses

• Large variety of courses
• Business
• Art/Design
• Multimedia
• Beauty Therapy
• Insurance/Banking
• Travel/Tourism
• Social Care

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Post Leaving Certificate Courses

• Good, recognised qualification
• Also may allow students to go onto Degree courses
  in colleges based on their performance
• Should apply March/April / May directly to the PLC

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Ideal scenario!

• In August 2010 students should have many options
  including
• Level 8 honours degree
• Level 6 / 7 ordinary degree
• Fetac (back up) course
• UCAS offer

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Retention Rate in College

• Non Completion of Courses
• Universities 17
• Colleges of Technology 37
• Reasons
• Lack of preparation - insufficient research into
  course choice
• Poor choice of course - course chosen was often
  only course open to student given points rating

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Dos /Donts of CAO Applications

• Do choose ten options if at all possible
• Do not ignore the Level 6/7 route
  
• Do not target low point courses in hope of
  getting to College

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Dos / Donts contd.

• Do not depend totally on getting your 1st or 2nd
  choice
• - You may be offered your 4th / 5th choice
• - Be prepared for this!
• Do make sure you have other options if you do not
  get your preferences
• Check Alert Lists on CAO website 195 courses
  cancelled and 95 new courses introduced since
  booklet printed.

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Significant dates during Offer Stage

• Return form to view scripts Wednesday 18th
  August
• Viewing of Scripts
• Weekend of 27/28 August
• Only the candidate and one person who accompanies
  her can view the script!
• Dont be on holidays!