Degrees: the add-on option

Each year students who apply for third-level courses are struck by a debilitating disorder which allows them to accept places on ab-initio degree courses only. If "degree" is not in the course title, many automatically refuse the CAO offer.

The irony is that these students are ignoring certificate and diploma courses which can ultimately lead to the much-coveted degree. It may take four years or it may take five but there is a well-trodden ladder which takes students from a two-year certificate to a one-year diploma to a one or two-year add-on degree. Eligible students are entitled to free fees and to apply for maintenance grants as they progress up this undergraduate ladder.

Take a look at the list of courses below. It will give you some idea of the range of add-on degrees on offer in the various colleges. By the time you have completed your three years to gain a diploma, this list will have expanded even further.

The way it works is that you accept a place on a two-year certificate or a three-year diploma course. In the case of the certificate, if you perform sufficiently well in your exams you can progress to a diploma. You will usually need a merit or distinction in your exams (55 per cent or over). Students who pass their exams, but do not get sufficiently high grades, may be accepted on a diploma course if they have a year's relevant work experience. Students with diplomas will also need to do well in their exams to be accepted on to degree programmes.

So, think carefully before you turn down a certificate or diploma offer. Last year, 15,658 students accepted certificate and diploma courses through the CAO compared with 17,644 the previous year. This drop in acceptances is astonishing in light of all the hype about the points race and the difficulty of getting into college. Indeed, last year, by the end of the three main rounds of CAO offers, 42 courses had advertised vacancies.

Let's hope this year's applicants are somewhat more enlightened in their consideration of certificate and diploma offers.