Brian Mooney advises students on the choices they now face as a result of today's second round of CAO offers

This morning several thousand additional places have been offered to CAO applicants. As in the previous round, applicants can accept the place offered by returning the appropriate portion of the offer notice to the CAO, by September 9th at 5.15 p.m.

As in the first round, acceptances can also be made online at www.cao.ie. An applicant not wishing to accept the place offered can ignore the offer.

A student who has already accepted a place offered in the first round can now make a choice. They can choose to retain the place previously accepted or they can accept the new place offered, which was listed higher up their list of choices.

Over the coming weeks, this process will continue, for as long as vacant places become available. Any registration charges paid to a college, from where a student has transferred, by accepting a higher placed offer, will be passed on to the new college.

As in the previous round, students wishing to defer accepting the place offered for a year must write immediately to the admissions office of the college, setting out the reasons for a deferral, enclosing part C of their offer notice and marking their envelope "deferred entry".

Their letter must arrive in the college at least two days before the reply date shown on the offer notice. They need not send anything to the CAO at this time, but reapply to them by February 1st, 2003, placing the deferred course as the only course on their application form. In the current year there is no provision for deferring a nursing place.

If an applicant receives an offer of a place on a course, which they have not fully researched, they can immediately contact the college to discuss their options with a member of staff from the course in question.

They can also visit the college's website to explore aspects of the college and the course. If they wish to read the full details on the course, these can be found on the QualifaX website at www.qualifax.ie.

As with all correspondence with the CAO, when accepting a place by post, an applicant should obtain a certificate of posting from the Post Office. The certificate is printed on the inside cover of your CAO course list booklet. This is proof that an applicant has accepted a place.

Although the CAO will continue to offer places on courses as they become available, only a small number of them are likely to be offered after this round. Students, who have not received a suitable offer by now, should start to plan for alternative options.

Many colleges have been offering vacant places in the national newspapers and on the CAO website. Students should study these courses carefully to ascertain if any of them are suitable. Many thousands of places are still available on PLC courses in all areas of the country. Contact your local VEC for details of courses available in your area.

MANY students viewed their scripts last weekend, and some have chosen to have their papers remarked. This process will take some weeks to complete and those receiving an upgrade will have their points total increased by the CAO. If a student becomes eligible for a course, due to such an upgrade, they will be entitled to take up that place, even though they will have missed a number of weeks of lectures. They may bank their place by applying for a deferral, and start their programme in September 2003.

Where now for those who will not be offered a place in the current year?

If a student failed to secure their choice of place for a reason other than points, they may choose to repeat the subject in question in June 2003. If, for instance, they failed pass maths or took foundation level and now wish to apply for a course where a pass in maths is an entry requirement, they should register with the Department of Education and Science to take this subject next June.

They may be able to arrange with their local school to attend maths class daily or may organise a regular grind during the year. They could work part-time or take some short-term course where maths is not an entry requirement. The same applies to any single subject required for entry to any course.

If their failure to achieve there desired course results from a shortage of points, they have two choices. Abandon their choice and choose another academic route, or repeat the Leaving Certificate in 2003.

Repeating a Leaving Certificate is not a step to be taken lightly. The chances are that they will get the same result next year, unless how they prepare for the examination changes.

Human beings are creatures of habit and tend to fall back into old patterns of behaviour very easily. Look at all the broken new year's resolutions.

If a student makes the decision to commit a year of their life to getting an improved result, they should take a very hard look at how that improvement is to be brought about.

THIS evaluation should result in a weekly plan that is high on specifics and low on generalities. Students sometimes take parental support for granted, and forget that a parent's agreement and support - both financially and otherwise - for an additional year's schooling is a major commitment on their part.

It is a commitment most parents are more than happy to make, provided the son or daughter makes good use of the second chance afforded to them.

A further option available to the disappointed student is to consider entering the work force in the medium to short term.

There are many thousands of excellent employment opportunities available to school leavers which can in many cases involve further study and training.

Alternatively, students can consider working until they reach their 23rd birthday when they may apply to colleges under rules governing mature student entry. There are a growing number of places being made available by colleges to students of mature years.

Whatever a CAO applicant's position is today, whether they have been offered the course of their choice or they face disappointment, we can be certain that there is a bright future ahead for all our young people.

Our country needs the talents and skills of every citizen to bring quality to all our lives.

Every Leaving Certificate student - whatever his or her result - has a contribution to make to create the kind of society we all want to be part of.

Brian Mooney is president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors