Once you sign in to the SEC (State Examination Commissions) portal, a wave of excitement and expectation will wash over you, as you’re at the threshold of being presented with the results of your six years of secondary education. Before you try to understand the grades that you have received, make sure to stay calm, specifically their connection with college entry prerequisites for either CAO in Ireland, European universities, or UCAS courses in the UK and Northern Ireland.
Given that the process of tallying CAO points is generally a one-time affair, there’s a possibility that a mistake might cause unnecessary stress for you and your family. Therefore, put aside a few minutes to meticulously calculate your score. Possessing a points chart will be beneficial, and platforms like careersportal.ie can aid in calculating your CAO points by simply entering your grades.
Regardless of the result, keep in mind that success has numerous interpretations. A score of 560 points may be disappointing for a student aspiring to study veterinary medicine at UCD, yet for another, 250 points could signify an immense accomplishment. Remember, your best six grades from all subjects are what count.
In the event that you opted for the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP), if the module score is higher than one of your lowest six scores, you can use the LCVP score instead. In cases where you have achieved a minimum of H6 at a higher level of maths, add 25 points to the points score linked to the grade you achieved.
Bear in mind, there might be minor variations in the points calculation at different third-level colleges. All such variations are explicitly mentioned in the CAO handbook which can be accessed online at cao.ie.
Is your CAO points score sufficient to attain your desired courses? There’s a prevalent misconception that colleges determine the points, and you work towards this target throughout your two-year Leaving Cert studies.
In the United Kingdom, the University and College Admissions System (UCAS) typically secures your admission if you reach the qualifying grades set by the relevant college or course leader. This was the norm before the impact of Covid-19. Historically, a useful indicator of how likely you were to receive an offer from the Central Applications Office (CAO) was the CAO points necessary to secure the final spot from the previous year. This was particularly prevalent for students undertaking higher-level papers under updated guidelines, which included grade amendments, leading to significantly better results than those attained by students in 2019 and earlier.
However, the points required this year will remain uncertain until the CAO publishes its offers next Wednesday. It’s sensible to reckon that the CAO points necessities for the most desired courses will likely hover around numbers seen in 2023.
Is our current system equitable to all aspiring college attendees? Norma Foley, the Education Minister, and the State Examinations Commission face this crucial question. Will they manage to gradually return the Leaving Cert grade proportions to pre-pandemic times, ensuring they do not unfairly affect students appearing for their Leaving Cert in 2025 or the subsequent three to four years?
Regrettably, CAO aspirants who completed the Leaving Cert prior to 2020, and just before, have been at a clear disadvantage in recent years. They have not been able to reap the advantages of the easier papers set between the years 2021 and 2024, which were designed to compensate for lost lesson time for those year groups. These students are forced to live with the results they attained when completing the pre-2020 Leaving Cert examination.
Many applicants, now around the age of 23, have been continuously disappointed over the last four years and have applied again this year. Fortunately, they can escape the initial round and apply for their ideal course as mature students.
Other possibilities also exist outside of the CAO, with Ireland boasting a booming system of Further Education and Training (FET). This includes a vast array of post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) programmes and growing apprenticeship schemes, both of which incorporate ongoing training and part-time study with employment.
A multitude of avenues for further education exist for thousands of budding learners wanting to augment their skills and capabilities in a fashion that befits them best. These pathways often culminate in tertiary level certifications.
Every year, a considerable number of students graduating from secondary school, find the most suitable option to be applying for a QQI level-five or six award at a local FE college, or initiating an apprenticeship which blends study with employment, regardless of whether a CAO place is accessible to them or not.
Educational and training courses at board colleges across the country cater to learners excelling in an array of disciplines, from information technology and science to business studies and creative arts. A proportion of up to 20% of high CAO points course slots are set aside annually for FE course graduates who bag places in, and excel at, such courses despite potentially lacking the necessary CAO points the previous year.
Some FE courses aim to groom students for immediate integration into high-calibre job roles once their one or two-year programmes are completed. These industry or profession-oriented courses encompass areas like aspiring police officer or paramedic, childcare, hairstyling, veterinary care and more.
Information about CAO linked PLC/FE courses can be found on the careersportal.ie portal, and qualifax.ie provides particulars of every such course in the country.
In 2023, the then Minister and present Taoiseach Simon Harris introduced a novel programme which allows candidates to apply for a multitude of degree programmes that are available even today, where students commence their first (and sometimes second) year of study at their local further education college. Following this, they continue their course at a university. Distinct from previous FE models, this programme guarantees progression from the outset, granted exam success is maintained, with applications still in progress. More details can be found at nto.ie.