CAO Applicant News

This page contains up-to-date news items for CAO Applicants. Always remember to read the CAO Handbook and any important correspondence sent to you by CAO throughout the application process.

03/07/2019
Round A Offers will be available at www.cao.ie from 6am on 5 July   Round A offers mainly concern mature applicants, mature nursing/midwifery applicants, and deferred applicants, but offers are also issued to some applicants who have completed an access course, or those who may be required to make visa arrangements. The ‘Reply Date’ by which Round A offers must be accepted is Wednesday, 10 July at 5:15 pm.

29/04/2019
CAO Change of Mind facility opens Monday, 6 May at noon   The Change of Mind facility allows registered applicants to add, remove or edit their course choices - as many times as they like - until 1st July at 5:15pm. [more...]
This facility is free of charge - to make changes go to the 'My Application' facility at www.cao.ie. Some restrictions do apply and applicants can find details of these in the CAO Handbook (pages 3, 14 and 15). For a guide on how to use the Change of Mind facility, you can watch the CAO Change of Mind Video Guide. Please note the Change of Mind facility closes on 1st July at 5:15pm.

29/04/2019
CAO Late Application facility closes on 1st May at 5:15pm   The CAO Late Application facility will close on Wednesday, 1st May at 5:15pm
You will have an opportunity to add course choices (free-of-charge) using the ‘Change of Mind’ facility from 6th May until 1st July at 5:15pm. [more...]

The following steps are provided by CAO as a guide for first-time applicants:

1. Read the CAO Handbook, then go to www.cao.ie and click on ‘Apply’.
2. Enter your personal information carefully in the spaces provided.
3. Select the ‘Qualifications and Assessments’ section that is relevant to you. You should select every section that is relevant to you.
4. Enter your payment details.
5. Create a password for your CAO account – you will need this password and your date of birth to log in to your account in future, so keep the details safe.
6. Click on ‘Proceed with Application’. Wait for your application to be processed. If successful, your CAO application number and personal information will appear on the screen – you will also receive an email and an SMS text if you have selected this option.

After this process has been completed, you can log in to your CAO account using the ‘My Application’ facility to provide additional information in support of your application, and to add, remove or re-order course choices (free-of-charge) using the ‘Change of Mind’ facility available from 6th May until 1st July at 5:15pm. Please note, however, that restrictions do apply for both the Late Applications facility and the Change of Mind facility – in the case of mature applicants and restricted courses. Details of all restrictions are listed in the CAO Handbook and on the CAO website.

15/02/2019
Offer and Acceptances Schedule Now Available   The 2019 Offer and Acceptances Schedule is now available to view here. [more...] In the CAO Handbook you will note that the expected date for the issue of Round One offers (for applicants competing on the basis of school-leaving qualifications) is Monday, 19 August at 06:00. Working with our colleagues in the higher education institutions and the State Examinations Commission, we plan to issue Round One offers earlier this year, on Thursday, 15 August at 14:00.

How will this affect me?
As a result of this change there will be no postal offer notices in Rounds One and Two. You can view and accept offers online via the ‘My Application’ facility at www.cao.ie . Applicants will also receive an email and SMS text message if they have been deemed eligible for an offer in Round One. Due to the number of people expecting offers in Round One, expect heavy traffic when trying to access your CAO account at 14:00 on the 15 August - please remain patient. Applicants have until Friday, 23 August at 17:15 to accept an offer.

What happens if I don’t get an offer?
If you have not been deemed eligible for an offer you will receive a ‘Statement of Application’ email from CAO asking you to check your account information carefully. If you notice any errors or omissions in this email you must contact CAO immediately.

29/01/2019
Normal closing date for CAO applications is Friday, 1st February at 5:15pm   To make a CAO application go to www.cao.ie and click on Apply before the 1st February at 5:15pm. [more...] Once registered on the system you can log in to your account (via 'My Application') to update some of your information and add, remove or change the order of your courses choices free of charge up to 1st February at 5:15pm

You can also practise your application in advance by using the Demo Application facility which is available in the Student Resources section of our website. All applicants should read the CAO Handbook in its entirety before submitting a CAO application, and watch the video guides available here.

29/01/2019
Take note of restrictions if you are applying to CAO   Applicants applying to CAO are advised to take note of the restrictions in advance of the main CAO deadline of 1st February at 5:15pm. [more...]

Interested in applying for a restricted course?
Applicants applying for restricted courses must have applied to CAO by the 1st February deadline and included the course(s) on their application by this date. In general, you cannot introduce a restricted course using the ‘Late Application’ or ‘Change of Mind’ facility so you must apply to CAO and include the restricted course on your application by 1st February at 5:15pm (there are some exceptions – see the CAO Handbook).

If you register on the CAO system by 1st February at 5:15pm, but you forget to list a restricted course on your application, you can introduce the course for a fee of €10 using the ‘Change of Course Choices’ facility which is accessible via the ‘My Application’ section of the CAO website from 5 February to 1 March at 5:15pm.

Are you a restricted-category applicant (e.g. Mature/HEAR/DARE applicants)?
You are considered a restricted-category applicant if you are applying to CAO on the basis of mature years (Mature Applicant) or if you wish to apply for the HEAR or DARE schemes. Such applicants must have applied to CAO by 1st February at 5:15pm. In the case of mature applicants some exceptions apply; in general, institutions will be conducting mature applicant assessments and interviews during spring so applying by 1 February at 5:15pm will be a requirement for many. The majority of applicants applying on the basis of mature years are required to complete mature applicant sections 1-11 of the CAO online application form and must submit supporting documents to CAO within ten days of the 1 February closing date.

Applicants applying for HEAR or DARE schemes must apply to CAO by 1st February at 5:15pm; fully complete the online HEAR or DARE application forms by 1st March at 5:15pm; and submit supporting documents to CAO by 1 April at 5:15pm – for more information on HEAR or DARE and the supporting documents required go to www.accesscollege.ie.

For more information about restrictions read the CAO Handbook and visit the 'Restrictions' page of the CAO website.

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29/01/2019
Advice for applicants sending supporting documents to CAO   If you are required to send supporting documents to CAO as part of your application, here are some tips to help you understand what is required: [more...]

Evidence of qualifications listed on your application
In respect of examinations already completed, you must supply to CAO certificates for all qualifications you mention on your application form: Certificates/transcripts should be supplied in their original language and should show dates, subjects and results. They should NOT be originals (except for Graduate Medicine where original transcripts of results for all years are required); they should be certified A4 photocopies – certified typically by a school stamp, a HEI stamp or a Notary’s stamp. (CAO will not return original documents.)

A certified English translation is required in the case of qualifications not issued originally in English or Irish, in addition to the certified A4 photocopies of the documents themselves.

If your documentation is in a different name, e.g. by marriage or deed poll, then a certified copy of your marriage certificate or deed poll must also be provided. CAO cannot check that the documents supplied meet with the requirements of the institutions.

What is a certified photocopy?
Where transcripts/certificates are required to support your application, please do not send the original. You must send certified photocopies as these documents will not be returned to you. In order to obtain a certified photocopy of a document you can bring the original document and a photocopy to a recognised secondary school, the Admissions Office of a CAO-participating Higher Education Institution (HEI), or a Notary to have the photocopy officially stamped.

What is a certified English translation?
If you are submitting documents in languages other than English or Irish, you must also submit a formal, certified translation carried out by a professional translation service – for advice on where to obtain such a service you can contact your relevant Embassy in Ireland (if you are currently living in Ireland) - if you are not living in Ireland you should contact the institution awarding the transcript for a recommendation. The translation document must accompany the certified photocopy of the original document.

What level of English language proficiency is required?
Individual institutions require different levels of English language proficiency – for advice on English language requirements please e-mail the Admissions Office of the institution(s) that you wish to apply to. Contact details for Admissions Offices are available here. An entry requirements criteria document for EU/EFTA Applicants is available here.
Please note: The matriculation and English language requirements contained in the EU/EFTA document are the minimum and will be higher for certain courses and in certain institutions – e-mailing the Admissions Office of the individual institutions is advisable.

Supporting documents for Supplementary Admissions Routes (e.g. HEAR/DARE or Access Programmes) For HEAR or DARE applicants please go to www.accesscollege.ie for details of supporting document requirements. For Access programmes other than HEAR or DARE schemes you must contact the Admissions Office of the institutions directly.

What about posting the documents?
When sending supporting documents to CAO please write your CAO application number on the front of each page and obtain a certificate of posting from the post office (free service). If you wish to receive confirmation from CAO that your documents have been received you must include a self-addressed and stamped postcard listing details of all of the documents enclosed in your mailing - you do not need to enclose a stamp if you are residing outside of the Republic of Ireland.

All documents should be sent to: CAO, Tower House, Eglinton Street, Galway, Ireland.

Are my documents too late?
Documents arriving within ten days of the 1st February closing date will be considered as having arrived on time. Do not delay starting your CAO application due to outstanding issues or missing documentation – make sure to apply by 1st February at 5:15 pm.

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