CAO receives surge of early college course applications

THE Central Applications Office has received a surge of forms from students notifying them of their course choices more than three weeks before the deadline.

More than 62,000 people applied for third-level courses up to the February 1 cut-off last year, but 30,000 of these were received online in the final week.

However, CAO officials said they had already received more than 10,500 by mid-afternoon yesterday, compared with 3,847 on the same date last year. The application figures stood at 6,600 last Thursday, up from 2,200 at the same stage in 2007.

“Almost 1,000 people have been applying every day since schools reopened this week,” said a CAO spokesman.

The CAO website encountered technical difficulties a couple of days before the February 1 deadline last year, but the company has since installed a computer server capable of handling far greater volumes of applications.

It has also introduced a €10 discount on the normal €45 application fee for anybody who submits an application before January 20, giving prospective applications another 10 days to avail of it.

The Institute of Guidance Counsellors welcomed the increase in early applications and encouraged anybody thinking of applying for a college place to do the same.

“We know the CAO has put in a new computer system but there is also the financial discount to think of. It is important students know they can change their mind as many times as they want after applying, without any charge,” said IGC president Frank Mulvihill.

While late applications can be made up to May 1 — for an online fee of €70 or €90 if done by post — this is not the case for courses in which candidates may be assessed with an interview, portfolio or performance.

Last autumn, almost 40,000 college places were filled by the CAO at more than 40 universities, institutes of technology and other colleges.

More than 41,000 of last year’s 65,883 CAO applicants sat the Leaving Certificate last June, a group who accepted more than two-thirds of the 39,840 places on offer. More than 10% of places were filled by mature students, aged 23 or over, and 20% of new college entrants had previously studied on a further education or third level course.

The Choices 2008 supplement with today’s Irish Examiner offers advice and information about CAO applications, choosing the right courses, and thinking ahead about accommodation and grants, as well as the round one and final points for every CAO course in 2007.