There are two ways to do Higher Options. Option one: Whether you’re hopping on a bus to the RDS in Dublin, or travelling en masse with your classmates, you can ditch your teachers and take some time out to hang out with your friends.
Listen, no judgment here: that’s exactly what I did. The weather was great and we soaked up the sun before sneaking away early. I’m not going to lie, I had a lovely day.
Then there’s option two. This involves making a plan for the day and making the most of this early chance to find out all you can about colleges and courses, both in Ireland and abroad.
As much as option one seemed appealing, I quickly realised my mistake – and I paid for it. My more organised classmates had piles of brochures and bucket loads of information to begin deciding on college options. I had nothing, so I ended up scrambling around and ultimately spending a lot more time on my CAO form than they did.
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Don’t be like me. There’s only a three-hour time slot for Higher Options, and it’s in your interests to gather this information now, with a view to saving time down the line.
Neil McCann is a guidance counsellor at St Vincent’s Secondary School in Glasnevin, Co Dublin.
“We go every year, and it’s popular because it’s a one-stop-shop with so many different institutions in one place,” he says.
“This gives students the chance to touch base with different institutions. Often, it’s here that they begin to narrow down their area of study, and then it can become about the difference between, say, engineering in UCD or engineering in DCU. At the same time, with so many other exhibitors – including UK and European colleges – their eyes are further opened as to how many options are available.”
By sixth year, McCann says there are three types of students – and the category you fall into can influence how you spend the day at Higher Options.
“The first set are university-focused; they know the area they want to study and where. These are a small minority, but they can nonetheless benefit from Higher Options by being open to listening and talking; they may even find a course that they had not previously considered but which matches their skill set and what they want to achieve.
“The second may know their area of interest, but not the college, study or course, and Higher Options can help them narrow it down.
“The third, then, may be unclear about what they want, but they have a skill set – such as being good at maths, English or languages – that can help them begin to narrow it down.”
McCann points out that the stands at Higher Options are usually manned by both lecturers and students who are actually attending the third-level in question, which provides an opportunity to get answers that may not be on the website.
Janet Stafford, marketing partnerships manager at The Irish Times and organiser of the Higher Options event, advises students to plan their day.
“Look at the schedule and the timetable of talks,” she says. “There will be four stages with career talks happening. Choose a few talks to attend and the colleges or universities you’d like to see, but also take some time to wander around and open your mind to options that you may not have considered before. Don’t just go to the large colleges, as you should also look at other options around Ireland.”
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Higher Options will also have a large representation from third-level institutions in Britain and Northern Ireland, “as well as French, Spanish and Italian universities”, says Stafford.
“We’ll also have stalls from Polish and Czechian colleges, which often attract students who want to study medicine, veterinary or pharmacy and are drawn by the lower points requirements.”
For the third year running, there will be an Irish-language area at the event. Careers in Irish are growing, particularly in the Civil Service. In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs will be there to highlight careers in the European Union, particularly as many in Ireland’s delegation approach retirement.
McCann says the day itself tends to be both busy and packed, so students who think they might just “wander around” with friends won’t get the best of it.
“Your plan is specific to you, not to them,” he says. “Look at who is giving guest talks and whether they may be relevant to you. For instance, if there’s a talk on attending college in the UK, it’s probably worth attending if this is something you have been considering.”
He advises students to speak to the people on stands with a view to getting an insight on what it’s like to study a specific course in a specific college.
World Skills Ireland runs parallel to Higher Options, and in the same venue, so it’s a good idea to also attend World Skills in either the morning or the afternoon. Here, students can find out all about their further education options, including PLCs, apprenticeships and traineeships, as well as the many routes from further to higher education.
Some questions to ask
- Was it hard to find accommodation?
- Is there a lot of maths in this course and, if so, at what level?
- Is the library good?
- Is it easy to make friends here?
- What sort of clubs and societies are there? Is there a (chess/debating/camogie/tennis/insert your own interest here) club or society?
- Have you been happy here?
- What’s the best thing about this college? And the worst?
How to prepare for the event
- Make a plan before you go.
- “The Irish Times provides a preparation sheet in advance of the event, which lists the exhibitors,” says Janet Stafford, Higher Options organiser. “You will also find information on the Higher Options website, higheroptions.irishtimes.com.”
- On the day, bear in mind that the career talks will be about 25 minutes each, so you will have to prioritise, as you won’t be able to make them all.
- You also won’t be able to attend every stall, and you wouldn’t want to, so prioritise those that are most relevant and interesting. Consider the questions you might like to ask, and take notes.
- After the event, don’t wait too long to follow up. Look over your notes or any material you took from the hall. Check out websites of interest and start contacting admissions offices with any queries you have. If something unexpected has caught your attention, look into it.
The senior cycle is often overwhelming and it’s very easy to delay your research into further and higher education. But it’s an added stress if you leave it all to the last minute, either in the run-up to the Leaving Cert or in those few weeks between the end of your exams and the closing date for the CAO Change of Mind.
