Personal statement in CAO application crucial for mature students

Up to 80,000 people will seek a third-level place through the CAO this year. Most of those will sit the Leaving Cert for the first time and will succeed or fail based on the points they secure in the exam.

However, a sizeable number of mature applicants – about 12,000 – will be judged on other factors. Their success will depend largely on the quality of their personal statement in the application, and the interviews they may be invited to after the February 1st application deadline.

These applicants, who must have been aged 23 on or before January 1st, have to apply for a college place through the CAO.

If you are thinking of applying as a mature student, you need to consider the kind of information colleges want in assessing your application.

This includes your highest academic qualification to date, any studies you are engaged in, any non-certified courses you may have taken, your employment or voluntary work history to date, English language proficiency (if applicable), any references you hold, your hobbies/interests and, most importantly, why you are interested in taking the course.

Admissions pathway

For almost all course choices, mature applicants simply complete the online CAO application process, but there are a multiplicity of variations to this rule in colleges across the country (which are outlined fully at cao.ie/mature).

UCD, UL, NUIG and UCC have introduced a mature students’ admissions pathway for some faculties. This test takes place on on Saturday, March 5th, 2016. The fee this year is €75 per candidate during the registration period up to February 7th, 2016; it rises by a further €35 between February 8th and 21st, 2016.

For all applicants, including adults, it is important to research courses thoroughly before making applications to any college. There are lots of sources online (such as qualifax.ie and careersportal.ie). Many colleges also hold information events in the form of open days before the CAO deadline of February 1st each year. These are usually listed on the qualifax website.

Access and foundation courses also exist in many colleges. These aim to prepare people who are applying to higher education. You will need to check with the college to which you are considering applying to see if an access or foundation course is suitable.

Twelve colleges in the Dublin region have come together to produce a very useful set of supporting guidelines for mature applicants, which is also available at cao.ie/mature.

Interviews

During March and April, mature applicants may be called for an interview as part of a college’s assessment process of an application. Candidates typically find out if they have been successful in the first week of July.

Remember that it is normal to feel apprehensive about applying. I co-ordinated and lectured on an evening course in UCD for almost 20 years. The most tentative and insecure applicants were always the mature adults. Universally, they turned out to be the glue that helped the class bond and find their feet.

Their life experience provided them and their less mature classmates with invaluable resources as the two-year programme unfolded. As an adult, do not be overwhelmed by the prospect of returning to study. You will bring far more to the dynamic of your chosen course than you realise.