Education

CAO helpdesk: Deferrals and transfers

A selection of questions asked of our guidance counsellors Brian Howard and Deirdre Garrett

‘I got my third choice. I want to defer entry but also want to see if I can get my first choice in a later round.’ Photograph: Getty Images

Deirdre Garrett
Brian Howard
Mon Aug 21 2017 - 18:15

Expert guidance counsellors Brian Howard and Deirdre Garrett were working on irishtimes.comon Monday answering people's queries about CAO offers.

Here is a selection of the questions and answers on deferrals and transfers.

My daughter has been offered Intellectual Disability Nursing in DCU. She has the offer of a pre-nursing PLC course. If she deferred her ID Nursing course does she risk not being offered the course next year if the points go up?
No. However, when applying next year she may only list that one course on her application. If she lists other courses as well as her deferred place, she puts herself back in open competition with next year's applicants, with the chance that points for this course may increase in 2018.

I would like to defer for a year to do further education before university. I want to do a different course to the ones I applied for this year. Do I still have to defer my first round option for a year or can I start completely afresh next year?
If you defer an offer from this year then you can only take up that place next year by filling out the CAO form again next year and only putting down that course. If you put any other course down on the form in addition to the deferred course then you lose your deferred place. So in essence if you don't want to do the deferred course next year then don't bother deferring it, just fill in a whole new application next year.

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My daughter has been offered her third choice. She has also been offered a PLC course. Could she defer her CAO choice until next year and do a PLC course this year?
She must contact the admission's office of the college in question. She must request to postpone until next year, outlining her reason for seeking a deferral. The college will most likely allow you to defer. Do not delay on this. Please read email above regarding re-applying to CAO 2018 and ensuring that you don't lose your deferred place.

I got my third choice. I want to defer entry but also want to see if I can get my first choice in a later round. Can I accept the offer and then defer later if I get the offer I want?
Accepting today's offer will have no bearing on future rounds. If you want to defer your place, you must immediately contact the admissions office of the college making the offer and outline the reasons for a deferral. You must remember to reapply to the CAO next year. Please read above on how to complete your 2018 CAO in order not to lose your deferred place.

If my daughter defers her third choice offer and she is offered her second choice on second round, can she accept the second round offer or will that be deemed to be deferred too?
Yes, she can accept it if this situation arises.

My cousin got the points for his second choice (Computer Science in TCD) but didn't get the H4 in maths. Can he repeat only maths/how does this affect his points? Can he defer the course he was offered while he repeats and keep it as a safety net?
He can repeat maths only. He can then use his 2018 grade to satisfy minimum entry requirements along with his 2017 CAO points. In order to keep his deferral he must reapply to CAO in 2018. He can only list that one course on his CAO 2018 application. If he does list other courses he loses his deferral and enters back into open competition for places.

I got my second choice of Science in Galway, but would like to do science in Trinity. Both are level 8, would I be able to transfer to Trinity next year?
Transfers are really up to the colleges and they each have their own regulations around this area. A lot of factors come into play: available space in the course you want to transfer into, similarity of material covered in first year etc, so very often the faculty themselves handle transfers as opposed to admissions. I would suggest giving the science office in TCD a ring and get their advice on this issue.

I got enough points for Science in Galway. But do you think I will be able to transfer to Pharmacy in Trinity after first year with my good grades even though I didn't get enough points for pharmacy?
It's unlikely. However, colleges vary with their transfer policies. I recommend that you contact the institutions themselves. Research graduate Pharmacy also.

My daughter has been offered her third choice. She has also been offered a PLC course. Could she defer her CAO choice until next year and do a PLC course this year?
She must contact the admissions office of the college in question. She must request to postpone until next year, outlining her reason for seeking a deferral. The college will most likely allow you to defer. Do not delay on this. Please read email above regarding re-applying to CAO 2018 and ensuring that you don't lose your deferred place.

If you're offered a deferred place for 2018 in Trinity but you've done year one in UCD, how does that work regarding fees? Also when is round two offered? Is it Monday for Thursday of next week?
My understanding here is that if you are offered a place in October by the college and you decide to defer it to 2018 and continue in UCD then you may have to pay full fees in 2018. If you have no choice but to take a deferred place in 2018 and you continue in UCD then you will not have to pay fees for TCD. To find out definitively for your case you should ring the fees office in TCD. Round two offers will be available online on Thursday 31st August and reply date is Wednesday 6th, September.

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