It's now two days since you got your Leaving Cert results and you are probably itching to get on with the next phase of your life. If you have your sights firmly set on third-level education in the Republic you must wait until Tuesday, when the first round of college offers will reach your home.
If, however, you are willing to broaden your horizons to include the burgeoning Post Leaving Certificate sector, there's lots to do. There is no centralised applications system for PLC courses, so you must contact each college individually to find out what courses they offer.
Many students did their research earlier in the year and, indeed, have already secured their places. Some of the more popular courses have filled, but it is a fluid situation as these students may get a third-level offer next week and turn down their PLC place.
You must have passed the Leaving Certificate or have an equivalent qualification to apply for a PLC course. Places are not allocated on the basis of points. Some colleges select from the applications forms but most interview candidates. Applicants for art and design courses may need portfolios.
There are no tuition fees for PLC courses, and this year students will be eligible to apply for maintenance grants, which will probably be paid retrospectively in December or January.
The following list contains an update on the situation in some of the larger PLC colleges around the country.
Community College Moinin na gCiseach, Galway (091) 755464
Applications will be accepted till the end of August and places will be allocated at registration on Tuesday, September 1st. Students who wait until September to apply will be treated on a first-come-first-served basis, with priority given to those who applied in August.
The college has four new courses this year - accounting, technician, cultural and heritage studies, sport and leisure management and the intriguingly-named applied network commerce, which introduces students to business over the Internet.
There is already a big demand for secretarial and business studies and child-care courses. There are vacancies in hotel and catering courses
St Thomas's Community College, Bray, Co Wicklow (01) 829668
Applications will be accepted until September 16th. So far, there are vacant places on all courses, but these are expected to fill quickly. Last year computer applications, CAD and information technology had waiting lists. St Thomas's is the only school that offers stenography.
The college also reports a steady stream of inquiries for the 100 places on its repeat Leaving Certificate course. The principal, Mr John Ryan, has noted a higher number of applications across the board as students seem more aware of PLC courses this year.
Crumlin College, Dublin (01) 454 0662
Crumlin College is running an information service on weekdays until September 11th. Staff will answer queries and accept applications from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. There is already a waiting list for the beauty therapy course. Another popular course is fashion buying and merchandising. There are vacancies on other courses, including teleservices with French.
Senior College, Ballyfermot, Dublin (01) 626 9421
Of the 41 courses on offer, sound engineering is completely full. There are still vacancies on the teleservices and other courses. Although closing dates have passed for all courses, interested students are advised to get in touch with the college immediately. Things are still in a certain amount of flux as, in some cases, offers have been made but not accepted.
Rathmines Senior College, Dublin (01) 497 5334
The college reports enormous interest in both PLC and repeat Leaving Certificate courses. The college is answering about 150 telephone calls a day. There is a lot of interest in the business, computers and secretarial courses. Applications continue to be taken and enrolment is on September 1st for PLC courses.
Cork College of Commerce, Cork (021) 270777
Applications will be accepted until September 1st and interviews will then be held on a staggered basis from September 1st to 5th. The college, which has a PLC student population in excess of 2,000, can usually accommodate most applicants. There is an increased number of places on the teleservices course, with more than three classes on offer and there are more than 300 child-care students. The college, which has a creche, has a number of mature students.
New courses on offer include executive secretary, introducing credit union studies, advertising and public relations, pastry and confectionery chef, applied psychology, counselling.
About 300 places are on offer for repeat Leaving Cert students. Interviews are on a walk-in basis from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, August 20th until September 1st from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
British and NI colleges
The central applications body for British and Northern Ireland colleges, University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), has reported a 2.4 per cent drop in college applications. This contrasts with the number of applications from students in the Republic, which have fallen by 27.4 per cent from 10,533 in 1997 to 7,643 this year. Both Queen's University, Belfast, and Ulster University report a 30 per cent drop in applications from the Republic.
But the expectation is that the final number of students from the Republic accepting places in British and Northern Ireland colleges will not drop equally steeply. The introduction of fees may have scared off the "floaters", those who have no real intention of taking up a place but apply anyway.
A-level students in England and Northern Ireland received their exam results yesterday. Scottish students got theirs on August 7th, and the Leaving Cert results were available on Wednesday this week so the college offers season in Britain and Northern Ireland is in full swing.
Thousands of vacant places in British and Northern Ireland universities will be advertised in the London Independent and Independent on Sunday over the next few weeks. Last year 608 Irish students accepted offers through this process.
UCAS/Student UK will publish lists of vacancies, updated daily, on the Worldwide Web until Friday, September 25th. It is expected that about 50,000 places will be available through clearing this year.
The UCAS helpline is open from Monday to Friday until September 18th, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (00 44 1242 227788).
NUI matriculation requirements
There is always some worry and confusion about National University of Ireland matriculation requirements. One worried mother rang the helpline because her son had failed higher-level Irish and she assumed his ambition to study arts in UCD was blighted.
As he scored an E in higher-level Irish, it is possible he could compensate, depending on his other results. One grade E on a higher-level paper in Irish or any other subject in the Leaving Cert will be accepted if the candidate has three grade C3s on higher-level papers or at least one grade B3 and one grade C3 at higher-level. Of course, he must still fulfil the points requirement.
This year the NUI has put a provision in place for dyslexic students. It is "prepared to consider applications seeking exemption from the third language requirement from students who are certified by a qualified professional as having a serious dyslexic condition."
CAO offers
Next Monday, the CAO will put the first round of college offers in the post. This is the round where the bulk of offers are made and is eagerly awaited by students around the country. You should have your offer on Tuesday morning, and a special College Places supplement, to be published with The Irish Times that day, will contain a complete list of the cut-off points. If you have a computer, an Internet connection, and you don't mind a late night, you can look at the first round points on The Irish Times on the web at 12.01 p.m. on Tuesday August 25th. http:// www.irish-times.com/cao.
Additional research by Elaine Larkin