Last year 4,674 students repeated the Leaving Certificate and many of them secured the college place they wanted. But guidance counsellors advise students to think carefully before they decide - repeating is not an automatic guarantee of higher points next year. And remember, the points levels for various courses are a moving target.
Guidance counsellors suggest that students look at all of their subjects and set themselves goals for next year. Are these goals realistic? Is it possible to improve on this year's marks or do your marks represent the best you could do?
Parents often ask about the merits of one repeat college over another. In fact, the most important factor is the motivation of the student. Many colleges will begin repeat classes next week so, if you have decided that repeating is a viable option for you, you should begin looking for vacancies now. Colleges say that the earlier you enrol, the more likely it is that you will get the subject combinations you want.
Some repeat colleges with vacancies:
Rathmines Senior College, Dublin is finding steady demand for places, according to a college spokeswoman, but there are still some places left. Tel: (01) 497 5334
Ringsend Technical Institute, Dublin is still taking applications, Tel: (01) 668 4498
Dun Laoghaire Community College, Dublin will offer up to 160 places. Tel: (01) 280 9676
Dundrum College, Dublin is also accepting applications for its repeat classes. Tel: (01) 298 2340
Bray Senior College, Co Wicklow has 100 to 120 repeat places and still has at least 25 vacant places. Applications accepted up to the last week in September - but by then there may not be places in some of the subject classes, so students are advised not to delay. Tel: (01) 286 6233.
Plunket College, Dublin, is currently enrolling on a continuous basis. (01) 837 1689
Pearse College, Dublin, also has vacancies on its repeat Leaving Certificate programme. Tel: (01) 453 6661
Grants:
A frustrated guidance counsellor contacted Points Race to highlight the Catch 22 situation which confronts one of her students. He obtained 200 points in his Leaving Certificate two years ago and enrolled on a business studies certificate in a regional technical college. Last year, he repeated the Leaving Certificate and obtained 400 points.
He has been offered a place on a business studies degree in DCU but was told he must pay full fees for the first year as he had already completed one year of an undergraduate programme.
However, if he deferred the place, and returned to the RTC to complete the certificate, he would then qualify for free fees for the first year of the degree. The guidance counsellor was mystified as to why, if he wasted public money for a year by completing the certificate, he would then qualify for free fees.
A spokesman for the Department of Education explained that the policy is not to penalise students who progress from course to course. In the past, to qualify for free fees, students had to gain exemptions if they were moving, for instance, from a certificate to a degree.
These requirements have been removed and a student can go from a certificate into the first year of a degree and still qualify for free fees. "The focus is on giving students credit for progression," said the spokesman.
PLCs and grants:
The director of Monaghan Institute of Further Education has called for immediate implementation of the Government's preelection promise to extend student support to the Post-Leaving Certificate sector.
Dr Fiona McGrath said that "PLC courses ought to be properly recognised and resourced by Government because they now play a significant role in local economic infrastructural development." PLC courses represented extremely good value - both to the taxpayer and to the individual student, she said.
"In these tiger days of prosperity, only academic snobbery remains as an obstacle to the extension of student grants to PLC students," said Dr McGrath. The Minister has reiterated his commitment to extending maintenance grants to the PLC sector and has indicated that the timing is dependent on budgetary considerations.
Students beginning PLCs this year should not bank on grants being available to them.
St Peter's Senior College, Dublin, has notified Points Race of some PLC vacancies. A small number of places are left on the business studies courses (banking and finance, administration, marketing, secretarial), practice enterprise, horticulture, green keeping and golf course management, child-care, community care, Montessori diploma, autoengineering and sales. The college is operating a waiting list for the following courses: computers, art/drama/design/portfolio preparation and veterinary assistant. St Peter's also has some places available for repeat Leaving Certificate students.
Dundrum College, Dublin, is accepting applications for all of its PLC courses.
Mature students: A number of mature students, who had not received an offer in round one, contacted the helpline to find out what a zero score on their offers notice meant. A spokesman for the CAO said that some score should have been allocated to students. Perhaps the colleges have not yet considered these applicants? Could they still be in the running for a round two offer? This is something that students would need to take up with the individual colleges.
Carlow RTC advises applicants for the national certificate in computing (CW094, Wexford campus), that no offers will be made in round two. The college recently advertised the course on the CAO vacant places list. The position is under review in relation to round three.
Offers season draws to a close With the publication of the second round points in Second Round Offers in The Irish Times on Monday the bulk of the college offers will have been made. A third round of offers will be made on September 15th but this will affect very few students. The cadetships and nurse training offers have been made.
The school year is beginning for students who have opted to repeat the Leaving Certificate and Post-Leaving Certificate courses are filling up fast. Second Round Offers will include an analysis of how the points have changed, as well as a roundup on accommodation and options for students outside the CAO system.
The Points Race helpline closes this evening and no more telephone queries can be answered.
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Additional reporting by Catherine Foley.