A woman has reminded Leaving Cert students of a mistake often made when filling in the CAO and it is an essential reminder as the change of mind deadline looms.
If your son or daughter is hoping to attend third-level education in September and is finalising their preferences on the CAO form before the change of mind closes next week then this information is a must read.
Caoimhe Horan, an Irish content creator, took to TikTok to recall a conversation she had with a Leaving Cert student about course preferences, and they admitted that they had put a prestigious college in first place (Trinity) because they thought they wouldn’t get the points.
Meanwhile, they added the courses that they actually wanted lower on the list and were shocked when Caoimhe reminded them that if they do somehow get the points for the Trinity course, then they won’t have an option to reject it and get offered one of the courses lower down the list.
This is because once you get offered a course, the ones lower down your list are wiped. You may get offered courses higher on the list during subsequent offer rounds, if more places become available or the points change.
This is why it’s so important to list the courses in order of preference and not by points or how good the college is. Because in reality, no matter how good a college is, if the course isn’t the right fit, it won’t be good for you.
So our advice for parents is to double-check that their teens understand this fact before July 1st, which is when the change of mind closes.
@caoimhe.ire One thing I wish more students understood: The CAO isn't asking you to rank the most impressive colleges. It's asking you to rank the courses you'd most like to study. One mistake I see students make is putting a course first because they think: "I won't get the points anyway." The reality? You don't know that. Nobody knows exactly how they're going to perform until the exams are done and the results are released. Every year, students exceed their own expectations. And if you've put a course first that you don't actually want because you assumed you wouldn't get the points… What happens if you do? You could find yourself being offered a course you don't really want. In a location you wouldn't choose. Paying accommodation costs you hadn't planned for. All because you never expected to get the offer. When building your CAO, think about the full picture: – The course content – The career opportunities – The campus environment – Accommodation and living costs – Commute times – The lifestyle you want Too often, students are influenced by points, prestige, reputation, or what sounds impressive when they tell people where they're thinking of going. But those things won't be sitting beside you in lectures. They won't be paying your rent. They won't be helping you through assignments and exams. Before the Change of Mind deadline, ask yourself: "If points, prestige and other people's opinions didn't exist, would this still be the order of my CAO?" The best CAO list isn't the one that looks most impressive. It's the one that's most true to you and what you want.
♬ Cinematic Meditation Loop – Milan Paloyannidis
