Trust your instinct when considering an offer

COLLEGE CHOICE: Yesterday at 6 a.m. was the moment of truth for the 63,239 applicants to the CAO this year.

Students around the world logged on to see what course if any they had been offered and within minutes acceptances started to flood into the CAO offices in Galway.

The image of a Leaving Cert student in far away Australia, logging on at a beachside cafe and accepting their place in a matter of a minute before returning to ride the surf, is one to strike envy into the hearts of those who remember a different Ireland a generation ago.

After what must have seemed an eternity, students and their parents contacted The Irish Times helpline from 8 a.m. with a multitude of questions.

The first question I dealt with was from a parent in Ennis, whose daughter, just turned 17, had got 585 points and had secured her place in pharmacy in Trinity, but was uncertain whether she was ready both emotionally and socially for university. This is a not an uncommon question.

We have one of the youngest university age profiles in the world, even though transition year has increased the age profile for approximately 25,000 students by a year. Many of our 17-year-olds are not mature enough for college and many academically bright students have left college within a year or so of entry, unable to handle the multiple stresses of college life.

My advice to both parents and students is to trust your instinct in this matter. It is ironic that a teeming campus can be the loneliest place in the world. As a post-graduate lecturer in UCD for many years, it was my privilege to share the anguish of a number of students who were finding the pressures all too much to cope with, but could not find the courage to articulate their fears to family or friends.

College can be the most exciting place in the world, provided you have the skills to cope with it. If you are uncertain about your readiness for the college experience, apply for a deferment of your place for a year and undertake something less daunting.

It might be to undertake a Post- Leaving Certificate course in computer skills or word processing, which would be an invaluable resource at college later. Alternatively, one might like to work for a year to earn the funds to support a college life.

McDonald's corporation awards three student scholarships every three months to young people who have worked for it for at least six months. The scholarships are valued at €1,300 and are awarded on the basis of an essay competition.

The central message is simple: trust your instinct in this matter. Go to college when you are ready, you will enjoy it all the more for having waited.

If you decide to defer a place in college for any reason, you must act immediately. You must write immediately to the admissions office of the college, setting out your reasons for seek- ing a deferral, enclosing part C of your offer notice and marking your envelope "deferred entry".

Your letter must arrive in the college at least two days before the reply date shown on the offer notice. Do not send anything to the CAO at this time, but reapply to them by February 1st, 2005, placing the deferred course as the only course on your application form.

Another common question raised by callers yesterday was whether they would receive another offer if they accepted the one to hand. Whether you accept a place or not, you will still be eligible for an offer of a higher place on all lists, in later rounds.

If you do not accept a place by 5.15 p.m. on August 31st, the offer lapses, but you will be offered a place from a course higher up any list, if one becomes available later.

In other words, accepting or rejecting an offer has no effect on your eligibility for a higher- placed offer later on. You will be offered it if the place becomes available. You can then decide to stay with the place originally accepted or accept the new course. Any money paid to the first college will simply be transferred on to the second.

Numerous callers were looking for details of courses which may not have been their preferred option and on which little research was carried out prior to listing the course on the CAO application.

College websites normally carry all course details as does the Qualifax disk issued to students by their guidance counsellor last year.

You have a week to make your mind up whether you wish to accept a place. If you are uncertain of a course's content or where it might lead to from a career perspective, use the next few days wisely to research the course, college, facilities, accommodation etc.

Remember that if you accept a place and decide during the year that the course is not for you, you will be liable to pay fees for the first year of any new course you may choose to apply for subsequently. So think carefully if you are in any way uncertain about the place you were offered yesterday.

Finally, if you were not able for any reason to access a computer yesterday, you will receive your offer notice by post this morning. You may in fact use the postal service to accept your place, although most students now accept a place online.

Irish Times Helpline 1800 946 942

The Irish Times Helpline is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today to deal with your CAO questions. The helpline, sponsored by ESAT BT, is staffed by experts from the Institute of Guidance Counsellors.

[ bmooney@irish-times.ie ]

Tomorrow: Dealing with disappointment.