It is time to get that CAO application in the post as tomorrow is the last posting day for the February 1st deadline.
You must obtain proof of posting from the post office. There is a certificate of posting at the back of the CAO handbook which the post office will stamp. The CAO has put a helpful check list on the back of the envelope so glance through this before you put it in the post.
If you live in Galway or are willing to travel there, you can wait until Monday and drop your completed application form through the CAO postbox in Tower House, Eglinton Street, Galway, before 5.15 p.m. Applications may not be faxed.
The final date for applying to the CAO is May 1st. Those applying after the February 1st deadline must pay double the standard application fee. You may not apply for any restricted application courses (listed on page three of the CAO handbook) once the February 1st deadline has passed.
Once you have applied to the CAO, you may change your mind about your choice of courses as often as you like until 5.15 p.m. on July 1st. There is no charge and the only proviso is that you may not introduce any new restricted-application courses.
Mature applicants
Mature applicants need to be a little more vigilant when it comes to closing dates for applying to college. These
dates are listed on page 5 of the CAO handbook. Some colleges require direct applications, others ask you to apply through the CAO, while TCD and St Catherine's ask mature applicants to apply both to the CAO and the college admissions office.
Guidance counsellor Mr Vivian Cassells says of mature students: "One can only be struck by the sacrifices these people are willing to make in the interest of lifelong learning. A great deal still has to be done to ensure that these people get a fair crack of the whip when it comes to allocating places."
The Points Commission is ad dressing this and is likely to re commend some improvements.
Points and repeating
Points cannot be accumulated over a number of Leaving Certificates. They will be calculated on the basis of one sitting only, but you can accumulate subject requirements over two or more Leaving Certs.
For instance, if you needed a higher-level B in maths to secure a place on UCD's engineering course, you need only achieve this in one sitting of the Leaving Cert or, if you need Irish for the NUI colleges, you need only pass it in one sitting.
If you are repeating the Leaving Cert, remember to fill out the appropriate boxes on the CAO form. The CAO says this is a common omission and, if it is not picked up in the May statement, students will not get credit for a previous year's exams.
There are many students who are adamant that they will not repeat their Leaving Cert if they do not get their first or second course choice, but they don't see the necessity of giving the certificate/diploma list the same consideration as the degree list.
These students also dismiss post-Leaving Cert colleges as irrelevant to their needs. This is a short-sighted approach - these students really need to broaden their horizons and look beyond the obvious traditional careers.
Points for new courses
Nobody knows what the cut-off points will be for new courses. The points are not set by the colleges. The number and quality of applicants (as measured in their Leaving Cert points) and the number of places determine the points levels.
The cut-off points are simply the points achieved by the last student who was offered a place on the course. In other words, everyone else in the class has similar or higher points.
In general, the fewer the places and the greater the demand, the higher the points are likely to be.
NCVA and DIT
Students who decide to do a post-Leaving Cert course to use a National Council for Vocational Awards qualification as a route to third level should be aware that DIT differs from the other institutes of technology in that applicants must also have achieved the minimum Leaving Cert grades. This seems somewhat counter-productive. Surely, the PLC qualification should compensate for any lack in the Leaving Cert.
The research doesn't end here
Your list of course choices should be in genuine order of preference by July 1st. Some students are still playing the "points game" and listing their courses in order of last year's points.
Mr Cassells is adamant. "Any student who has not got his or her courses in genuine order of preference by July 1st deserves no sympathy whatsoever when the offers are made in late August . . . it is really difficult to understand how a student can go off his or her first choice between July 1st and mid-August.
"The August phone-in handles numerous calls from students wanting a lower option than the one they have been offered."
So, when you are looking over your CAO form for the last time, remember you may be offered a higher preference in later rounds but you will not be offered a lower one.
NUI matriculation requirements
The NUI has relaxed its requirement for a third language for nursing applicants and, in the case of the National College of Art and Design, students can present art - a "visual language" - in place of the third language. One guidance counsellor would like to see these chinks widening to include all NUI courses.
Meanwhile, students worried about the NUI's Irish requirement should be aware that you can compensate for a grade E on a higher-level Irish paper or any other subject if you have three other grade C3s on higher-level papers or at least one grade B3 and one grade C3 at higher level or the equivalent grade at the matriculation or on the joint results of both exams.
Gaeltacht places
This query turns up year after year as students study the cut-off points for teacher-training colleges. A glance at last year's points shows that general applicants for teacher-training at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, needed 470 (random selection applied) to secure a place while Gaeltacht applicants needed 430.
Gaeltacht applicants for Mary Immaculate College needed 45 points fewer than general applicants. In Froebel and Colaiste Mhuire, Marino, Gaeltacht applicants needed 30 and 40 points fewer respectively. Callers living outside the Gaeltacht are usually unimpressed.
There are two CAO codes, one for general applicants and one for Gaeltacht applicants. It is Government policy that 10 per cent of places are reserved for this latter category. Inevitably, there are fewer applicants and points are considerably lower.
LCVP link modules
The institutes of technology and, for the first time, DIT, award points for the results of the Leaving Cert Vocational Programme link modules in place of a sixth Leaving Cert subject. There are 30 points for a pass; 50 for a merit and 70 for a distinction.
A plea from the helpline
Guidance counsellor Mr Vivian Cassells asks: "When are our students to take full responsibility for their own forms? We love helping the mums of Ireland to get it right - but the vision of a highly intelligent student in a third-level situation being unable to phone for information or complete a form is disturbing. Maybe the millennium will see all our students applying to courses on their personal computers. Will mum still peep over their shoulders?"
Letterkenny IT
Letterkenny IT offers a two-year certificate in legal studies followed by a two-year add-on degree, also in legal studies. The new degree programme replaces the one-year add-on diploma which is listed in the CAO handbook. The degree was approved after the publication of the CAO handbook and details of the degree are available in the current prospectus.
RCSI
There are 10 scholarships available - five are awarded on the basis of the scholarship exam in general education and five are based on the Leaving Certificate results. These scholarships include full remission of fees and £1,000 bursary.
NCI clarification
Students taking the BA in European business studies and languages in the National College of Ireland spend the third year in France or Germany. This is an academic year which includes a work placement.
Helpline
Students, parents and teachers with queries about colleges, courses and application procedures are invited to call the College choice helpline between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. today. Tel (01) 679 2099
End of the helpline
This is the final day of the helpline service. No further phone queries can be answered after 4 p.m. today. Please address any questions in writing to Questions and Answers, Education and Living, The Irish Times, 1016 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2. Answers will be given through the Q & A column.