Christmas Tips for Leaving Cert Students
At this stage of the year Leaving Cert students tend to be exhausted. It has been very busy since September so the Christmas holidays will bring a much needed break from school and the opportunity to rest and recharge the batteries. Take time to relax with family and friends and to re-energise for the first week of the holidays, then choose 4/5 days to focus on revision and your career research. You are heading into a very busy term after Christmas, with the ‘mocks’ starting in most schools by the end of January. From the February midterm up the beginning of the exams in June you will be extremely busy, completing course work and projects, orals, practicals and doing lots of revision. You don’t need to have final decisions about exactly what pathway you want to take after school before going back in January but Christmas is the ideal time to look at all the options you are considering carefully because you have the time! Being off school means that you will have the headspace needed to research your options carefully which will ease the pressure and stress coming up the application deadlines. Remember you will still have lots of time to review your options and change your mind later, but for now focus on exploring all the different options open to you.
Your Christmas Checklist
· Take some time to relax and enjoy the festivities.
· Choose 4/5 days to catch up on project work and revision. Write down the targets you want to achieve in each subject in the ‘mocks’ and in the Leaving Cert exams. Make a list of a couple of topics to complete or revise in each subject.
· Research the career areas and explore the various pathways open to you. These include CAO courses, Post Leaving Cert (PLC) courses in Colleges of Further Education, traineeships, apprenticeships, supported training programmes and study abroad options. This will help you to go back to school with a clearer focus in January.
· Register for CAO if you haven’t already done so and make a list of the courses you are interested in. Take particular note of ‘Restricted’ courses. Remember you will have plenty time to change your mind later on.
· Look carefully at the detail of the courses you are considering,
· If you are applying for colleges in the UK, finalise your UCAS application.
Explore all options
Now is the time to look at the range of options available to you. Think about how you learn best and choose options that reflect that. To look at courses in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) see www.cao.ie Use the course search facility by clicking on the ‘Courses’ tab. You will find a link to Further Education and apprenticeship options on www.cao.ie/options. To conduct a course search which includes the broad spectrum of pathways available check out www.careersportal.ie and www.qualifax.ie. More specific information on Further Education and Training can be found on www.fetchcourses.ie and for detailed information on apprenticeships see www.apprenticeship.ie. To find out more about traineeships see www.solas.ie. If you want to find out about supported education programmes see www.nln.ie and for anyone interested in exploring study abroad options see www.ucas.com, www.eunicas.ie and www.medicalpoland.ie.
Questions to ask yourself when researching course detail
You really need to dig deep to ensure you are making choices that suit you. The information you need will be available on the specific college/ training programme website but if you have particular questions you will find the contact details of course directors in the course information so email your query to them. Think about the following -
· Will I have the entry requirements?
· Do I like the majority of the course content? Dig deep into the module content and look at it for each year of the course.
· How will I be assessed? Check out the proportion of continuous assessment and how that is done – practicals, projects, presentations, reports, essays etc.
· Does the course have work placement? For how long?
· Are there opportunities to study abroad as part of the course?
· What are the career pathways open to me when I finish the course?
· Will I need to go on to postgraduate study or will I be able to go directly into the workplace?
· Am I happy with the location of the course? If you haven’t attended an Open Day in the College, check of they have a Spring Open Day coming up or take a virtual college tour on their website.
Important Dates after Christmas
14th Jan – Information Sessions for the HEAR and the DARE schemes (online). See www.accesscollege.ie
20th Jan – Discounted application fee (€30) for CAO available until 5pm. See www.cao.ie
20th Jan – Registration deadline for the HPAT for students who want to apply to study medicine is 5.15pm. See www.hpat-ireland.acer.org
25th Jan – Deadline for applying for colleges in the UK is 6pm. See www.ucas.com
1st Feb – Normal closing date for CAO applications at 5pm. Restricted courses must be applied for by this deadline.
Wishing you an enjoyable and restful Christmas!