CAO Change of Mind: Last chance to fix errors and confirm choices via
The free CAO Change of Mind facility is available until 5pm on July 1; remember to confirm any changes made, or else they won’t be recorded.
The Leaving Cert exams are over for most students at this stage, and this is the time to give one last look at the CAO application to make sure everything is in order.
The first job is to check that all of the personal information is correct, and that any extra relevant information is present e.g. exemptions, HEAR, DARE details etc.
Check your Statement of Record which was emailed to you in May by the CAO. Log in to your CAO account. Review all details. Fix any errors and add any missing information.
It may be wise to ask another person to check with you. There can be serious consequences if something fundamental is missed.
“Check your exam number. Last year a student missed out on first round offers because they had submitted the wrong exam number. This was later rectified,” explains incoming president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, Gerry Reilly.
High numbers of CAO applicants are familiar with the Change of Mind facility. Last year almost 57% of applicants (50,787 individuals) used it to make changes to their course choices.
The facility is available until 5pm on July 1st, it is free and applicants can make changes as often as they wish. It is important to remember to confirm any changes made, or else they won’t be recorded.
After confirming changes to their course lists, applicants will receive an email from CAO confirming that the changes have been updated in the system. If no email is received, this has to be followed up by the applicant.
It is possible to add new courses not previously listed to a CAO application through the Change of Mind facility with the exception of restricted courses that often require added elements to apply such as portfolios, interviews, auditions, separate exams etc.
Applicants who have already applied for a restricted course and who wish to apply for a similar one at this late stage must contact the HEI directly. It cannot be added through the Change of Mind without the HEI’s agreement.
Mature applicants should also contact proposed HEI’s directly if they want to add a new course to their CAO list.
Every guidance counsellor in the country will say: “List your course choices in order of preference.” There are many reasons for this, the main one being that studying something you like increases your chances of succeeding. Also, the majority of CAO applicants get offered a course from the top three spots on their list.
Guidance Counselllors still stick to this mantra even if the exam may not have gone to plan.
“Make sure you list your courses in genuine order of preference. If an exam didn’t go well, don’t think you have to change course completely. Don’t make any rash decisions based on feeling bad after an exam. Your thoughts could be lying to you and might cause you to second guess yourself,” says Gerry Reilly of the IGC.
Julie O’Connor of Synergy Careers agrees.
“If you feel you did badly in an exam, keep your dream course at the top, as long as you meet the requirements. If everyone found the exam hard then the marking may change or the points may reduce. Just don’t panic,” she advises.
If an exam didn’t go well, Ms O’Connor recommends to also focus on the Level 6/7 list as a back up plan. She says that there is still time to research suitable courses for this list to find alternative routes to the dream course or study area.
Ms O’Connor says that ideally CAO applicants review their lists with a guidance counsellor who is trained to assess the true level of interest in a particular area of study and who is a neutral person who the student can bounce ideas off of. With much more guidance counsellor time given to supporting students’ emotional needs, especially since the covid pandemic, that leaves less time to help students make choices about their future.
“I have a book for students to complete before our meeting. Then I have half an hour per student. It’s like speed guidance, but if the student has the workbook done, then we can make progress,” says Julie O’Connor.
Put the dream course at the top of the list. While some CAO applicants or their families are focused on what degrees will be most useful in the future, Julie O’Connor of Synergy Careers says that it’s unpredictable where any degree will take you.
“I’m slow to say any degree is a waste of time. You can go for a flexible degree and you can pivot. I don’t stop people from considering degrees. Nothing is written off because there may be many ways to apply their learning,” she says.
Ms O’Connor added that Deloitte recently revealed that they don’t look for graduates with a specific degree. It’s the academic achievement – the value of a degree that is more important to them when hiring.
Know what is covered in every module of every year of the course so there are no nasty surprises.
When you start college you will make a lot more friends and if you are doing different courses, you will see a lot less of your old pals anyway.
If you are living at home while attending college, stay on campus and hang out. Picking the right course, hanging around and engaging in college life help reduce drop-out rates.
If you start a course and realise early on that it’s not for you, act fast. You may be able to transfer to another course within the same institution. Engage with the college as soon as possible to avoid negative fallout financially and psychologically.
