Key dates and deadlines for 2024 College Applications
Leaving Cert students have returned to a short but very busy term, with mock exams only a couple of weeks away at the end of January. As well as preparing for the mocks, students are busy looking at the college applications ahead of the CAO normal closing date on February 1st. There are some other important dates and deadlines that students and parents/guardians need to watch out for in the coming weeks, as well as information events that will help with decision-making and applications.
CAO, HEAR & DARE
As mentioned the normal closing date for applying to CAO 2024 is February the 1st at 5pm. While late applications are accepted from March 5th to May 1st, it is strongly advised to apply before the normal closing date as some courses are restricted and students may not be able to add them in after February the 1st. Any students applying for the HEAR (Higher Education Access Route) or DARE (Disability Access Route to Education) schemes must have applied to CAO by February 1st. Applicants who apply to CAO by the 20th of February can avail of the discounted fee of €30. Applications after this date will cost €45. Changes can be made to CAO applications free of charge when the Change of Mind facility opens on May 7th and up to the final deadline of July the 1st. The CAO Virtual Information Session for students and parents/guardians will take place on Wednesday, January the 17th from 6pm. For further details on the CAO application process and to register for the webinar see www.cao.ie , where a full list of the important dates for all categories of applicant as well as test and interview dates can be found.
Online Information Sessions for the HEAR and the DARE take place on Saturday, January the 13th. Students applying to either or both of these access schemes are strongly urged to register for and attend the information sessions to get a clear understanding of why and how to apply. See www.accesscollege.ie for details. Students who are applying for medicine should apply to do the HPAT by January 19th on https://hpat-ireland.acer.org/. Late applications are accepted up to February the 2nd for a late fee. As well as those mentioned here, lots of universities/colleges have CAO Information Sessions taking place in the coming weeks, so take a look at the events calendars on www.qualifax.ie and www.careersportal.ie as well as individual college websites for more details.
UCAS Applications
Any students applying to universities in the UK including Northern Ireland need to complete their application by January 31st at 6pm. This equal consideration deadline means course providers must consider all applications received by this time equally. Universities and colleges do not have to consider applications received after the deadline, although they can if they have spaces available once the on-time applications have been considered. This does not include courses included in the early deadline of October the 15th.
Other Pathways & lots of options
There are various pathways open to students after Leaving Cert, many of which remain open for applications up to and after the Leaving Cert results. They include PLC (Post Leaving Cert) courses in colleges of further education (FET), traineeships, apprenticeships and supported educational programmes. The new joint tertiary degrees which allow students to start their degree in a local Education & Training Board (ETB) and finish it in university, open for 2024 applications on February 1st. For more details see www.nto.hea.ie. So, while there are important deadlines and dates to be aware of and adhere to, there is no rush to make final decisions at the moment.