COLLEGE 2002: Indecision continues to haunt this year's applicants and their parents. Yet students are increasingly accepting their offers, however reluctantly, and planning for their third-level future.
Even after the first day over 7,000 applicants had accepted their offer. Many students logged on to the CAO website to accept and this remains a relatively hassle-free method compared to posting your acceptance to CAO headquarters in Galway.
With so many students finally selecting their course, thoughts obviously turn to paying for that third-level experience.
Students, based on their parents' income, may qualify for a grant, otherwise you will have to pay this year's €670 student registration fee.
But at least you have received plenty of warning about that.
There are other almost hidden financial pitfalls parents and students need to be aware of over the next few months.
One of these occurs if you find the course you have selected not to your liking a few months into term. If you decide to leave and apply (via the CAO) to transfer into something else for the next academic year, you will have to pay full fees when you begin your new course.
However, if you drop out of the original course before January 31st you will only be charged a half-fee the next year. So be aware of the financial penalties when transferring from one course to another and do it in time.
The other problem facing students this year is that grants may be late.
The VECs in particular have warned that due to administrative delays some students may have to pay the €670 registration fee, although they will be refunded later.
Why all the work on grants has to be left until late summer never ceases to amaze people in the education world.
The CAO suggested a few years ago that anyone who wanted to apply for a grant should signal it on their application form.
The CAO could then forward this information to the local authorities and the VECs, and thereby reduce a lot of the workload. The CAO is still prepared to provide this service but nobody has taken up its offer.
Further education or post-Leaving Cert sector
Away from financial concerns, there is still a certain level of disappointment out there about this year's offers.
Many students are wearily having to face up to the reality of repeating the exam. But do not forget about the other alternatives and one of these is the post-Leaving Cert (PLC) sector.
It is now generally referred to as the further education sector and it consists of local colleges dotted around the country offering a broad range of courses.
Some of the colleges are very well known in education circles. For example, in Dublin, Senior College Dún Laoghaire and Ballyfermot Senior College are two of the biggest players.
Colleges in this sector are generally prepared to accept students with a pass Leaving Cert, although some will not accept foundation maths.
There are about 26,000 places available each year and the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) recognises many of the qualifications the colleges award.
Unlike the CAO, if you want a place you must contact the college directly or via your local VEC. If you are accepted you usually have to pay a deposit. The fees are quite low and anyone studying at a further education college is entitled to apply for a grant in the normal way.
The colleges have links with the institutes of technology and if you perform well in exams you could get a place on a diploma or certificate course down the line with one of the institutes.
However, the number of places reserved for students from the further education sector can be small so check with the college before you sign on the dotted line.
According to Mr Barry O'Callaghan, vice-principal of Senior College Dún Laoghaire, most people graduating from a further education college get a job quickly and consequently have no need to improve their qualifications by going on to an institute of technology.
The further education colleges are increasingly taking on people who drop out of university or an institute of technology.
They are also accepting students who have dropped out of IT courses.
Mr O'Callaghan says this is because the maths content is often beyond them.
Other reasons given by students for dropping out of the bigger colleges include: the large impersonal class sizes and the lack of contact/guidance with tutors.
"Many of these students are brilliant with PCs, can build their own PCs, can configure/install software, but are not suited to academia," he says.
He says the further education sector has several advantages over the ITs and the universities.
"There are the smaller classes, the one-to-one contact with tutors and the emphasis on practical learning first, then theory."
The range of courses available at further education colleges is also staggering.
For example, Mr O'Callaghan says Senior College Dún Laoghaire offers 41 courses in four departments, from auctioneering, accountancy, business, marketing and interior and landscape design.
Vacant Places
Because of the large number of certificate/diploma courses which still have vacant places available, it is not possible to publish a full list of them in this column. However, the CAO asks students to log on to its website, www.cao.ie, where a full list is available.
This column will resume next Tuesday. The Irish Times helpline will return in September when the second round offers are issued.