It's not just points that count when it comes to college applications. When you're filling out your CAO form, you should not list any course until you have checked whether it has special subject requirements.
Many courses lay down minimum grades in particular subjects and you must achieve these grades in order to be considered for a place. No matter how many points you accumulate, you must fulfil the special subject requirement.
It is possible you could get 500 points and still not be eligible for a course with a cut-off of 300 if you don't have the right Leaving Certificate subjects.
The "College Choice" supplement published with The Irish Times on January 11th contains master charts of subject requirements in an easily accessible form.
These requirements are also to be found in the individual college prospectuses. If you are repeating the Leaving Certificate, you can accumulate these subject requirements, but remember you cannot accumulate points.
Most subject requirements are straightforward, so, for instance, you need a minimum of a higher-level C3 in maths to be considered for a place on Athlone IT's polymer engineering course, while you need a higher-level B3 to be considered for a place on UCD's omnibus engineering programme. If you're not taking maths at higher level, there is obviously no point in listing these courses on your CAO form.
Colleges often differ in their grade or subject requirement, even if courses are broadly similar. This anomaly is addressed by the Commission on the Points System, which recommends that special subject requirements for similar courses should not differ to any great extent.
Foundation level subjects
It all becomes slightly more complicated if you are taking maths or Irish at foundation level, as some colleges and courses do not recognise foundation-level subjects for the purposes of entry.
The CAO has just issued a chart which lists all the colleges and whether they accept foundation-level subjects, how they score Leaving Certificate vocational link modules, as well as their recognition of Post Leaving Certificate students.
This is a good general guide. So, for instance, we can see that Cork IT does not accept foundation-level Irish at all while it accepts foundation-level maths for general minimum entry requirements but no points are awarded and it is not accepted as meeting a specific course requirement for maths.
However, there are a number of colleges where the situation varies by course and maths is only accepted for "certain courses specified in the prospectus".
The CAO chart does not give any further detail. The National Centre for Guidance in Education has produced a comprehensive guide to colleges' acceptance of foundation-level maths and Irish for entry purposes and this should be helpful if the CAO chart does not answer all your questions.
LCVP link modules:
Students who sit the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme take three link modules in addition to their more traditional Leaving Certificate subjects. These modules are enterprise education, preparation for work and work experience.
A composite mark is awarded for these and students achieve a distinction (80-100 per cent), merit (65-79 per cent), pass (5064 per cent) or are ungraded.
There are two scales for translating LCVP link modules into points. Scale 1 awards 70 points for a distinction, 50 for a merit and 30 for a pass while scale 2 awards 50 for a distinction, 40 for a merit and 30 for a pass.
The first scale is used by the institutes of technology, with the exception of DIT while the universities use the second less-favourable scale.
The Commission on the Points System has recommended that the universities "consider giving higher points to the links modules, as recommended by the Department of Education and Science, as soon as possible".
Fees and the CAO
Sometimes students and their parents assume that all courses listed in the CAO handbook qualify for the free fees initiative. Not so.
Private third-level colleges include the Burren College of Art, Co Clare; American College, Dublin; Dublin Business School; Griffith College, Dublin; LSB College, Dublin; Portobello College, Dublin, and Shannon College of Hotel Management. Fees are also payable for UCD's arts modular evening and for medicine and physiotherapy in the RCSI.
The 1995 Finance Act provides for tax relief at the standard rate for tuition fees paid in respect of students attending full-time approved courses at approved private third-level colleges.
These courses are full-time undergraduate courses with a minimum duration of two years. A list of approved courses is available from the Revenue Commissioners.
Parents can claim tax relief for tuition fees paid in respect of their children while married people can claim tax relief for fees paid by or on behalf of their spouses. Tax relief may only be claimed on tuition fees up to a maximum of £2,500.
The 1996 Finance Act provides for tax relief, at the standard rate, for tuition fees paid in respect of approved part-time third-level courses in colleges approved for the Higher Education Grants scheme or in private colleges which satisfy the codes of standards set down by the Minister for Education and Science.
The relief can be claimed by a student who pays fees for an approved part-time course provided he or she does not already hold a certificate, diploma or degree which was awarded following a two-year course of study.
The exception is in the case of a certificate or diploma student who is progressing to a degree, having obtained an exemption of one or more years from the degree course.
Married people can claim tax relief in respect of fees paid by or on behalf of their spouses. Again, a ceiling to £2,500 on tuition fees applies.
Consult the Department of Education's booklet, Financial support for higher and further education. Copies of the booklet may be obtained from the Student Support Unit, Department of Education and Science, Tullamore. Tel (01) 8734700/(0506) 21363.
Special fund for students with disabilities
The Department of Education and Science operates a special fund for students with disabilities. The purpose of the scheme is to provide assistance and/or equipment for students with "serious sensory, physical and/or communicative disorders".
So, this might provide for a personal assistant, notetaker, transport or equipment such as computers, tape-recorders, braille equipment and software. The equipment remains the property of the third-level institution or PLC college.
Students are advised to provide, where available, a recent assessment of the nature and extent of their disability and their needs as the Department must be satisfied that the student will benefit from the service or equipment. The fund does not cover the cost of this assessment.
The special fund is growing in size, with £250,000 available in 1998 and £700,000 available last year. It is completed by targeted funding initiatives by the Higher Education Authority.
Open Days
Tallaght Institute of Technology is holding a CAO advisory evening on Thursday. This is aimed at Leaving Cert applicants, mature applicants, NCVA applicants, non-standard applicants and parents.
Taking place from 5.30 p.m. to 9 p.m., the evening will provide information on the CAO system and application procedures as well as courses in science, computing, engineering, business and humanities. Advice will also be available on CERT courses. Complimentary tea and coffee will be served.
Colaiste Dhulaigh is opening its doors to students on January 28th from noon to 4 p.m. The college offers a wide variety of courses at Post Leaving Certificate level: applied languages and information technology, applied social studies, architectural studies, art and design, business studies, communication and media production, computer animation, computer science, computer-aided design, electronic servicing, European languages and computer applications, graphic design, interior design, journalism, marketing, advertising and language, medical lab science, multimedia, outdoor adventure management, preliminary engineering, secretarial and computer studies, travel and tourism and theatre studies. Tel: (01) 847 4399. Email: info@cdc.cdvec.ie
The three CDVEC colleges in the Crumlin area - Crumlin College, Pearse College and St Kevin's College - are coming together again for their annual joint open day on February 2nd, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. A shuttle bus will operate between the colleges.
The colleges offer a range of courses including Post Leaving Certificate, adult education, second chance education, VTOS and repeat Leaving Certificate.
Helpline: Students, parents and teachers with queries about colleges, courses and application procedures are invited to call the College Choice helpline between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. today. Tel: (01) 679 1915/679 1919