Mature students applying to colleges to sit common test

MATURE students applying for places on arts degrees at two universities will all sit the same assessment for the first time this year.

The two-hour test of written English and reasoning ability will be taken next month by those seeking entry to almost 30 degree courses in arts, Celtic studies, social sciences and human sciences at University College Cork and University College Dublin.

Mature students applying through the Central Applications Office (CAO), open to anybody aged 23 or over, normally have to undergo some assessment of their abilities for courses being applied for. But this will be the first time that applicants to all institutions take the same exam, the idea being that it could make it easier for students to transfer between courses based on a standardised assessment.