CAO applicants right now tend to fall into two categories those who haven't a clue what they want to do and are in a state of panic despite the best efforts of their guidance counsellors and those who decided months ago that they know exactly what they want. Surprisingly, those who think they are certain are not always the ones who are best off.
Students who find it hard to make up their minds are inclined to think they are the only people in this dilemma whereas the reality is that there are thousands of students who find it hard to make a decision and many more who find themselves attracted to two or more different careers.
If you are undecided you are in good company and it is not necessarily a bad thing to keep an open mind right up to the end.
SPREADING THE CHOICES In some ways, the student who thinks she/he knows exactly what she/he wants and fills up the CAO form with a list of similar courses could be the one with the bigger problem, as she/he may be making choices within a narrow range, without engaging in proper research on the wider variety of courses available.
If there is one piece of advice which is more important than any other when it comes to deciding on which CAO courses to choose, it is not to limit yourself to a narrow range of courses, but to research and consider the whole broad range available. And it is in this respect that the "I'm certain of what I want" applicant can lose out.
GUARANTEEING A PLACE There is a strategy you can adopt in relation to filling out your CAO form through which you can actually guarantee yourself a place provided you pass the Leaving Cert. It may not necessarily be the place you think you want right now, but it is possible to be certain that you will have a place on offer, a place which will provide a good qualification and lead to good job opportunities. It is a strategy which involves the applicant being adventurous and spreading his or her options.
The problem with many applicants is that they concentrate their choices in a series of high points courses. If they fail to make those points, they are left with nothing.
But the clever applicant will look at the broad range of courses and make sure that he or she has a number of fall back options where the points are not likely to be so high.
These are by way of insurance policies and believe me there are plenty of good courses within the system which offer good opportunities and which do not require high points.
A limiting factor for some applicants is that they are not prepared to consider certificate/diploma courses at all and restrict themselves to the degree list only.
There are roughly 15,500 places available at degree level and 16,500 at certificate/diploma level. Logically, therefore, you are reducing your chances of getting a place by more than half if you ignore the cert/diploma list. This is hardly a sensible approach. And many indeed probably most of the certificate/diploma courses also offer an alternative route to a degree either by transfer to degree courses or through one or two year follow on study at the end of the diploma course.
COLLEGE LOCATION Students are often prevented from maximising their chances of getting a college place through failure to be geographically enterprising when choosing courses. Dubliners in particular are notoriously reluctant to consider colleges outside the capital. Quite a number of courses is available in colleges outside Dublin, but not in the capital.
Concentrating solely on Dublin reduces a student's chances of getting a college place quite considerably. It is no accident that Dublin school leavers, according to studies carried out for the Higher Education Authority, have one of the lowest success rates in getting into college in the whole State. If the CAO applicant is to maximise his or her chances of getting a college place then it is essential that he or she be prepared to consider colleges in different locations.
There are plenty of universities in Dublin, but only one RTC, and because of the large population base, points for most courses in Dub tin colleges are higher than the equivalent in provincial cities. So, the average to modest achieving Dublin student is going to reduce his or her chances of getting into college quite considerably if not prepared to look to places like Galway, Athlone, Waterford, etc.
This same parochialism seems to afflict Cork applicants, too, many being reluctant to look beyond UCC and the Cork RTC which latter registers among the highest points of any RTC. Apply to the local Cork colleges by all means, but do ensure that you have fall back options in other geographical areas.
ELITISM False snobbery is another factor which limits an applicant's range of choices and thus reduces the chances of getting a place. The number of applicants who want Trinity and nothing else but Trinity is startling and there are Dubliners who will only consider UCD and Trinity or who would rather repeat the Leaving than consider Tallaght RTC.
Some fondly believe employers will always favour graduates from the older universities than from newer, less well known colleges. If that were the case Trinity and UCD would have 100 per cent graduate employment and UL would have high unemployment rates, whereas in fact, UL graduates tend to have a higher job placement rate than graduates of the older universities.
The HEA compiles job placement rates and unemployment rates for graduates of all colleges each year, based on reports provided by the colleges, and the reality is that the success rate of graduates in the jobs market does not vary all that much from college to college. It is more the calibre of your qualification and your own ability to present yourself which will tell with an employer If employers want someone with computer skills, they are not likely to accept someone with an arts degree from Trinity rather than a computer degree from RTC Waterford (indeed even faced with an RTC Waterford computer degree and a Trinity computer degree, an employer is quite likely to go for the Waterford one, too)
Faced with some applicants with a third class honours degree from UCD and some with a first from DCU, all other things being equal, most employers will go for the academic high flyer. So, don't let false snobbery cloud your judgment examine the courses from the perspective of what they have to offer and the range of options available within them, rather than by their location or your perception of the "status" of the college.
In the experience of this column more people fail to get a college place through false snobbery than any other single factor. If you're from Cork or Dublin and you're interested in business studies and cannot make the points for business/commerce in UCD, Trinity or UCC, then you will almost certainly be better off going for a business course in DCU, the DIT or the RTCs than going for arts in the universities.
DIT INFORMATION DAY The DIT is holding its annual information day on Saturday in DIT Bolton Street and it will include information on all courses in the DIT. It is intended for students from outside the greater Dublin area the same talks were already held in October for local students. Twenty different course areas will be covered in the talks and each one will be repeated four times over the day. No advance booking is needed but students are advised by the DIT to be at the college at about 9.30 a.m. The sessions are extremely useful for those considering DIT courses for their CAO application.
WATERFORD RTC will hold an opening evening, tomorrow, for mature students and for students interested in part time courses.
The programme will begin at 7.30 p.m.
FIONTAR Leaving Cert students and their parents interested in DCU's BSc in Airgeadas, Riomhaireach agus Fiontarach are invited to an informal information/wine and cheese evening in the Mezzanine room, Jurys Hotel, Dublin, tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m.