CAO 2025: Expert guidance to keep students on the right track

Leading guidance counsellors offer advice for CAO applicants

Applying for a college place is a key step towards a career choice, getting the education and then the experience required for that career. Picture: iStock

Leaving Certificate students around Ireland are gearing up for the coming months, which will be filled with mock exams, orals, college applications and general decisions about their future.

To help ease this stress and guide students in the right direction, Limerick-based career coach Cathy Balfe and Cork-based guidance counsellor Aisling Falvey spoke to the Irish Examiner to give their top tips for juggling the pressures of sixth year.