No, you don't need to pay that £30 when you are accepting a college place through the CAO. Lots and lots of confused callers are ringing the Irish Times helpline, worried that if they don't send the money they won't get the place.
One determined mother went to the bank to get a draft for the £30. They told her they weren't making out drafts to the CAO as the fee was no longer required. Undeterred, she then hiked to the post office, where they gave her a postal order. Now, she's wondering if she should have sent it at all.
The £30 is not lost. It will be processed by the CAO and will be offset against any registration fee payable to the college.
Another mother waited and waited in the queue at her local post office. By the time she got to the cashier, there were no £30 postal orders left. She rang the helpline from her mobile, while standing, distraught, outside the post office.
And for those bewildered parents trying to contact the CAO by phone yesterday, it was not off the hook: there was a fault on the line and Eircom was working on it.
And then there's the ongoing debate about script viewing. Some students want to line up two, three, or even six teachers to accompany them when they go to see their marked Leaving Certificate scripts.
A spokesman for the Department of Education and Science says each student can go to one viewing session and may have just one other person in the room. The exercise is governed by an organising superintendent.
Those students who wanted to take a maths teacher into the session, followed by a French teacher may be allowed to do so . . . sequentially. But it's entirely at the discretion of the superintendent.
There are now vacant places on some 27 degrees, including four courses in TCD. In addition, there are vacancies on 55 certificate/diploma courses.
If you didn't get an offer on Tuesday or you definitely don't want the offer you have, then you should browse through the list below.
These places are open to you whether you have already applied to the CAO or not. If you have applied already, there is no further fee and no need to complete a further application document. Simply inform the CAO of the desired course(s), quoting your application number.
If you have not applied previously, you must contact the CAO at Tower House, Eglinton Street, Galway, for an application form. In this case a fee of £18.90 applies.
Or if you prefer, you can apply electronically. Each evening during the offer stage (starting last week and until mid-October), the CAO will put a list of courses with vacant places on its website (www.cao.ie). An existing applicant need enter only her CAO application number to request vacant-place application material. A person who has not applied in 2000 may enter her name and address and the CAO will send on the material.
Remember, to be eligible for a place, you must fulfil the minimum educational requirements, including any specific subject requirements. For instance, you need an ordinary-level B or higher in maths to be eligible for a place on Athlone IT's polymer technology degree.
Many of the vacant places are in private fee-paying colleges.
If you are considering applying for vacant places, you should research the course thoroughly. What subjects are offered each year? How much practical work will the course entail? Is there a work-experience element? How have graduates fared in the past? What is the drop-out rate?
Degrees
Athlone IT: AL032 polymer technology
UCC: CK601 food process engineering
American College, Dublin: AC110 liberal arts (English, history or international relations); AC120 international business (management or marketing); AC130 international tourism; AC141 behavioural science (psychology); AC142 behavioural science (applied social studies)
Dublin Business School: DB512 business studies; DB521 accountancy and finance; DB531 business studies (marketing).
Griffith College, Dublin: GC401 accounting and finance; GC402 law with business
LSB College, Dublin: LS101 anthropology; LS201 arts (general); LS202 arts (psychology); LS501 business (marketing)
Portobello College, Dublin: PB251 accounting and finance; PB252 business information management; PB253 business studies; PB254 marketing; PB255 human resource management
TCD: TR037 information and communications technology; TR074 computational chemistry/computational physics; TR076 physics and chemistry of advanced materials; TR088 business studies and Chinese
UCD: DN022 arts (evening modular course)
Letterkenny IT: : LY151 computing with data communications
Certificate/diploma
Athlone IT: AL002 business studies (Cavan); AL004 office information systems (Cavan); AL007 front office administration; AL008 hotel/catering supervision; AL009 plastics engineering; AL010 mechanical engineering; AL014 mineral engineering; AL016 science (applied biology); AL017 science (applied chemistry); AL019 professional accountancy; AL023 accounting technician; AL025 equine studies.
Burren College of Art: BC001 art (fine art).
Carlow IT: CW048 business studies (Kilkenny); CW093 business studies (Wexford); CW095 office information systems (Wexford); CW096 office information systems (Kilkenny).
American College, Dublin: AC100 humanities.
Dublin Business School: DB522 business studies (accounting); DB533 business studies (marketing); DB542 business studies (computer applications).
Griffith College, Dublin: GC415 legal studies; GC416 business studies; GC440 computing.
Tallaght IT: TA404 engineering (microelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing); TA504 engineering (electro/mechanical systems).
LSB College: LS211 arts in cultural studies; LS421 computing/IT; LS521 business studies.
Portobello College, Dublin: PB202 computing; PB203 business studies; PB204 business studies (accounting and financial services); PB205 business studies (computer applications); PB206 business studies (marketing).
Dundalk IT: DK001 electronics/product development; DK002 electronics; DK005 businesss studies; DK006 business studies (marketing/language); DK008 civil engineering; DK009 construction studies; DK010 manufacturing engineering; DK011 mechanical engineering; DK012 biology; DK050 food science; DK051 chemistry; DK053 environmental science.
Galway Mayo IT: GA046 hospitality information technology.
Letterkenny IT: LY001 aquatic science; LY002 accounting technician; LY010 electronic engineering; LY011 mechanical engineering; LY014 chemistry; LY046 environmental engineering.
Shannon College of Hotel Management: SN101 business studies (plus international hotel management).
Tralee IT: TL670 mechanical engineering.