CAO offers: Be ready to consider Plan B if things don’t go your way

Nicole Rohan, 625 points, and Sinead Ahern, 625 points, after receiving their 2025 Leaving Certificate results at Christ King Girls Secondary School, South Douglas Road, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan

While a high percentage of CAO applicants get offered their first choice on their course list, this isn’t the case for everyone. Some students work hard to prepare for the exams, but life circumstances can get in the way, or they may have lost out in the random selection process for a course with limited places.

First choice isn’t always best

Guidance Counsellor Claire Murphy of the IGC says that when CAO offers come out first, the first reaction she sees is usually shock.

“When the offers come out, students are shocked when they get what they wanted, and also when they don’t get what they wanted,” she says.

“From my experience, every year many students are disappointed that they don’t get their first choice. Many students feel very disillusioned and disappointed because although they put the work in, they feel that all their efforts and hard work are not reflected in their points. Many feel that life may not work out the way they had planned or wanted as a result of not getting their first or second choice.”

However, Ms Murphy has seen many examples of such disappointed students accepting courses further down their CAO lists and ending up happy, and even grateful, that things didn’t go to the original plan.

“Some students have tunnel vision when it comes to college courses. It is important to be open-minded and consider all options. Many students have actually thrived and gone on to love their course even though it was their second or third choice,” she explains, adding that it’s a life lesson that there are times when we need to regroup and make the most of it.

Even by accepting a course lower on the CAO list, there are many options to achieve the desired qualification through Post Graduate courses which now include Medicine, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy.

Considering a recheck

If a student is a small number of points away from qualifying for a dream course, and they feel their marks are below what they expected, then ea recheck may be in order.

“If any student is thinking of appealing an exam result, I would always advise students to view the script first before they appeal. Students can apply to view scripts for free through the candidate self-service portal.

Ask a teacher or parent or subject matter expert to accompany you to the viewing as they may be able to advise you on where marks were lost or where marks could be gained,” explains Claire Murphy.

Appeal Applications to have a paper rechecked can be made from Sunday 31st of August 2025 at 10:00am to Monday the 1st of September 2025 at 5:00 pm and cost €40 per exam.

Grades can be revised up or down in this process

If you receive an upgrade and your revised result places you higher on the order-of-merit list than the last person who actually got an offer, then the Higher Education Institution will usually instruct CAO to either offer you a place to begin immediately or offer you a place deferred to the next year. The final decision is made by the Admissions Office. 

National Tertiary Degrees

You don’t need Leaving Cert points to apply, but there are some subject requirements. The course begins at a local college of further education, with the final 2 to 3 years at a HEI.

See www.nto.hea.ie

Apprenticeships

uited to students who like to earn while learning on the job. An apprenticeship can be a stepping stone to a Master’s qualification e.g. an electrician can go on to do electrical engineering. Earnings are between €250 and €400 p/w before tax.

See www.generationapprenticeship.ie

PLC courses

PLC courses are a lot cheaper than HEI’s, and many come with progression routes to Higher Education via the Higher Education Links Scheme. See www.plccourses.ie

Available places

You can apply for unfilled college places in the Available Places section of the CAO website, even if you haven’t previously applied through the CAO.

See www.cao.ie

Access programs

You can apply directly to a HEI to join an access course like TAP – the Trinity Access Programmes.

Repeat Leaving Cert

Repeating is a gamble, but it may be the answer for students who are laser focused on their goal and who know they can do better next time.

Take a year out

Some students just need to get out of the rat race, earn some money and gain some perspective and life experience. Spending months lounging around the house is not advised. Have some sort of a plan to keep a sense of purpose.

Look at studying abroad

People go overseas or to Northern Ireland to access their dream course, or simply because, in some cases, it is more affordable with easy access to accommodation.

n If you need advice for your own unique situation, IGC registered career guidance counsellors are available by phone (free of charge) on 1800 265 165.