Some students will be disappointed with their college offers, but all is not lost. There are other options if you didn’t get what you hoped for or if you just feel the offer you get isn’t for you. Three students share their experiences.
Going abroad
Lisa Goodstein
I always wanted to move away for college. When I was younger, I had my sights set on Edinburgh, but Brexit took that off the table.
So I looked to the Netherlands, and found Groningen. It’s a city of about 230,000 people, roughly the size of Cork.
My classes are all in English, and the city is really quaint and perfect for students from across Europe and beyond. A lot of my classmates did the international baccalaureate.
I got set up with the help of Eunicas, an application support service that helps Irish students going abroad. I had applied to Irish courses as well, but they were only my backup; I wanted to broaden my horizons and knew I didn’t want to stay in Ireland. I’ve travelled from a young age and did a student exchange in secondary school, so I knew I wouldn’t miss home too much.
I’m now heading into third year, and really enjoying my student life here.
The apprenticeship option
John Webster
I did my transition year work experience in a kitchen and decided it was the career for me. I wanted to work my way up, so I started with a level six commis chef apprenticeship.
My course was in the education and training board in Sligo. It’s full-time. I went to college for two days a week, with three days on-the-job training in a certified restaurant.
I really liked the balance of theory in college and experience in the kitchen. I went into the course with very little culinary experience, but this taught me everything I needed to know about cooking, from holding and sharpening knives to the best way to chop vegetables.
I’ve learned about classic Irish, French and Spanish recipes. We have looked at Thai, Chinese and Indian food, learned how other cultures cook and how their culinary traditions have evolved.
As the course progressed, we learned about the theory of cooking. One of my modules, culinary entrepreneurship, covered what we need to know about launching a business, including the research, paperwork and grants available. We learned about kitchen trials, sourced packaging, had logos and labels made up, and learned about the essentials that need to go on a label.
I’ve even created my own product – a range of infused rapeseed oils.
I graduated this year with a distinction. I knuckled down at work and got a promotion at House of Plates in Castlebar, Co Mayo, and the owner and head chef, Barry Ralph, has been really supportive.
Now, I’m hoping to use my degree to travel and get some international experience. Having this qualification will be very useful. I haven’t thought too much about the type of restaurant that I would like to have – if I had one – but I know it would be focused on high-quality, local and sustainable ingredients.
The apprenticeship gave me a lot of connections and, best of all, I was paid during it. I got to go to college, have a full-time job, get paid and not be reliant on my parents for money.
A year out, the PLC route and studying abroad
Ceara Shaw
Shaw studied yoga teaching and holistic studies at Kerry College, Killorglin Campus. After completing the Leaving Certificate in 2022, she took a gap year to live and work abroad, gaining valuable life experiences. In a spontaneous decision, she began the yoga course at Killorglin Campus in September 2023, eager to explore her interests further. Ceara has recently completed the course and has now been accepted to a university in the Netherlands to study English literature and is looking forward to starting in September.
I took a year out after school, travelling and ‘wwoofing’ [world wide opportunities on organic farms] in different parts of the world.
During my gap year, I volunteered at one organic permaculture farm in Tenerife, where we had yoga in the morning and mediation in the evening. Like most people my age, I was having fun, partying and drinking. In the middle of this, yoga gave me a mind-body connection that I knew I wanted to keep.
One of my friends told me about a post-Leaving Cert course in Kerry College, Killorglin, where I could study yoga and holistic therapy, so I went for it.
There was a diverse range of ages on the course, and I enjoyed that multigenerational aspect of listening and learning. We had communications, health and safety, body alignments and medical contradictions modules, as well as outdoor adventure classes and stand-up paddleboarding. Perhaps the most beneficial aspect was the work experience: I spent three weeks in a yoga and surf lodge in Co Mayo, giving me a chance to put what I learned into practice.
Because it was a level-five course, it wasn’t too demanding, so I also did a lot of practical things in this year, such as learning to drive, living independently and learning how to eat well. There was a lot of support, too, from our classmates and from Kerry College, so I was given a chance to prepare for the real world without being overwhelmed by the demands of it.
All my friends went straight to college, and there was a moment where I worried that I was being left behind. As everyone else was getting their accommodation, books and lectures, and I was heading abroad.
But I know now that I made the right decision for me, as some of my friends aren’t sure if they picked the right course.
I got 540 points in my Leaving, so I knew I had options. I applied for the CAO but I was in a lost place; I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, and what I would be happy to dedicate four years of my life to.
I applied through the CAO to study creative writing and, the following year, biology, but I didn’t take either course. They wouldn’t have been right for me.
Now, I have been accepted to study English literature in Utrecht in the Netherlands. I was drawn to study abroad because of the cost of living and accommodation options, and I also wanted to experience another different culture. Now, having had this space between school and college, I have a much better sense of self.
I am really excited about the course, and looking forward to having conversations with like-minded people who also love to read. I have a fairly good radar for good prose, but now I will be able to say why.
There’s a great saying that I find really helpful: growth and comfort cannot coexist. You need that discomfort to grow and mature.
I took a different route, and I would encourage other students to go against the grain and do what you want to do.
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