It’s time to decide on your college course choices for 2021

With all the uncertainty that Leaving Cert students have experienced over these past two academic years many will be looking forward to starting college in the autumn. If you are one of these students, now is the time to turn to that final list of CAO course choices, which must be submitted to the CAO by 5.15pm on July 1st.

Securing a degree at the end of three or four years of study will be a major achievement, but you will only manage it if you are determined and focused on its course content from day one.

Unfortunately, every year, many students make avoidable mistakes when applying. Thousands apply to the CAO to go to a particular college only because it is where their friends are planning to attend, while others will apply for courses without conducting any serious or detailed research.

Once the reality of what’s involved in completing the programme dawns on them, many will end up dropping out of their courses before Christmas.

Will grade inflation affect my hopes of securing a course in the UK or Ireland?

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In most cases, college is a three or four-year long journey. Would you start a marathon on a whim? Absolutely not; such a task requires months of training and planning. Selecting a college course requires the same level of planning and commitment.

The good news is that it is not too late. Now is the time to act. If you think you might be one of these people, you have just over a month to rectify the situation.

By now, you will no doubt be aware of the course options available to you depending of course on how you perform in the forthcoming assessed grades process undertaken by your teachers, and in the written papers you choose to sit in June.

If not, Qualifax has details of every course that is on offer, and its advanced search facility will enable you to refine your search to the subjects that genuinely interest you.

Litmus test
The litmus test is what will motivate you to get out of bed on a cold morning next winter, when nobody will be checking whether you do so or not, to attend lectures, study the topics in the library, write the assignments that such research will generate, and then pass your first-year exams next May.

All of this is of course contingent on how colleges organise the delivery of their programmes in the post Covid-19 world in September. There is a huge level of determination among all those involved in the delivery of further and third-level sectors to make the next academic year a face-to-face one for most students.

Select a suitable course
If you think you will not have enough CAO points to get a place on your preferred course there are plenty of other opportunities. Look at other options farther afield in Europe and elsewhere, where smaller college-age populations and more developed third-level sectors often mean lower points requirements.

You should also research local Further Education (FE) Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) options, which may have reserved places on your preferred course, meaning you could secure a place on the programme in September 2022.

Even if you are perfectly happy with your original course choices, it is wise to review them. Courses are discontinued all the time, and colleges often add new courses to the CAO system. Dozens of courses on offer in May 2021 did not exist when the CAO printed its handbook last summer. Explore them now.

Between now and July 1st, log on to your account on cao.ie and see what courses you have listed, and in what order. For the courses you have listed, study the full content of each year's lectures and how they might allow you to progress to employment or postgraduate opportunities on qualifax.ie.

Technological change
Technological change is rapidly reshaping the nature of work, and a degree completed in 2026 or 2027 could open opportunities in the labour market that have not yet been envisaged. So, don't worry about it now; just get your course choices right over the next few weeks.

What happens if you choose the wrong course?
If you end up accepting a course that is not right for you when the colleges offer their places in August – be it because you do not like the curriculum, you did not research the content thoroughly or you realise that you have selected a course you have no interest in – you may end up dropping out during the academic year or failing the exams.

If either happens and you decide to return to college the following year to study another course, you will have to pay another registration fee of €3,000 in 2022.

You will also have to fork out the course fee of at least €8,000 that the Department of Education will pay the college on your behalf this year.

The Higher Education Authority, on behalf of the State, will pay course fees only once for each year of an approved course.

If you repeat a year, you will be the one paying. This extra €8,000 would bring your total fee for your first year to at least €11,000. This is far beyond the means of many families, especially when you factor in the living costs of attending college.

Even if you choose a course at a private college this year, then leave it to follow one in a State-funded college next year, you must still pay the full fees. Fees paid to private colleges are tax deductible at 20 per cent on any charges over €3,000, and so are treated in the same way as State-funded places, even if you do not claim the tax relief.

Things to check
Make sure you meet all the entry requirements and have taken the required subjects at the appropriate level. An example of this is the higher-level maths requirement for level eight engineering degrees. With this list in hand, put your courses in an order of preference or priority.

The coming month will be one of the most intensive periods of engagement between colleges and prospective students. Colleges will facilitate, within Covid-19 restrictions, individual interactions with staff via online communication or virtual open days.

You can use these forums to discuss any programme you are seriously considering. Contact the course director or programme office; you will find phone numbers and email addresses in the college prospectus or on the college website.

When you have completed this process, list your final course choices on your CAO record in the order you want them, allowing for all possible outcomes from your assessed grades.

You have up to 10 choices at both level eight higher degrees and level seven and six ordinary degrees and higher-certificate programmes.

Never disregard the level seven and six courses out of academic snobbery: almost all these programmes allow you to progress to the level eight higher degree with an additional year of study.

Do not finalise your choices without consulting the key adults in your life, such as your parents, your guardians, and guidance counsellor. Your guidance counsellor and teachers will continue in the weeks ahead to work with you to help finalise your course choices. Make sure to use their expertise before you submit your course lists.

* Do you have a CAO query? Join our Irish Times Facebook Live Q&A with guidance counsellor Brian Mooney and education editor Carl O'Brien this evening (11/05) at 5pm facebook.com/irishtimes