CAO helpdesk: How do I apply for a course through available places?

How do I apply for a course from the vacant places?

Vacant or available places are essentially places on courses that remain unfilled or places that colleges feel they will not fill. They are advertised on the CAO website after the first round of offers. This list is updated regularly during the days after round one offers so it can change daily.

Rule number one with applying for these places is you must still meet the entry requirements for any course you are applying for. If you haven’t met the entry requirements there is no point applying. If some places were allocated in round one for a course that is now in Available places, ignore the points from that round, they will tell you nothing about what points may or may not be needed for the place now through Available places.

Essentially applying for a vacant place is like completing a change of mind. You can insert the available place anywhere you like in your list of course preferences. You may have to think carefully about the position of your available place course in your list as you may still want to remain in the running, for example, for your top three original preferences so you would place the available place as your fourth preference.

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Log onto the CAO website and find the list of available courses and the description of how the system works in detail.

My son applied for no CAO or PLC Courses. He has seen a course on the “Available Places” section on CAO that he would like to do. Can he still apply for this course and how does he go about it?

Yes, students who have not already applied, ie who have not got a 17 CAO application number, can apply now for vacant places. They will essentially create a CAO account for €40 and will then be able to apply for courses on the available places list. Go to the CAO website, click on “Available Places” on the left hand menu, Go to the section New Applicants (for 2017 entry) and click on the green button New Applicants. Read carefully all the information on this page and then click on proceed with application. If you have any issues come back to us.