Students who apply to the CAO before January 20 can avail of a discounted application fee. With just three weeks to go before this deadline, it is worth looking at the other key dates and deadlines coming up in the application process.
Discounted application fees are available up to 5pm on Thursday January 20. The normal deadline for applications is 5pm on Tuesday February 1. However the CAO has been advising students to get their applications done early.
Applicants for the HEAR and DARE schemes in particular are encouraged to start the process early. HEAR and DARE sections must be completed in the online application by March 1, with all documentation supplied by March 15.
“March 15 is the deadline for HEAR DARE documentation, but applicants should begin the process of gathering supporting documentation as soon as possible, as many of these documents are provided by third parties," said Eileen Keleghan, communications officer for CAO.
Potential applicants are advised to read the CAO Handbook which is available to view and download at www.cao.ie/handbook and to become familiar with the various guides available in the applicants section of the CAO website, including the demo application facility and the video guides explaining the application process.
“Once you have read the online CAO Handbook you can go to the CAO website and click on apply," Ms Keleghan said. "You must enter your personal details and you will also be asked to indicate the qualifications and assessments sections that are relevant to you.
“When you have registered, you can log into your CAO account to provide the additional information required to support your application and to enter your Level 8 and Level 7/6 course choices.
“It is a good idea to enter some course choices at this stage, however applicants can log into their account to add, remove, or change the order of their courses as many times as they like up to February 1 for no extra charge.
“There is no reason to delay registering with CAO. You should obtain your application number and submit any additional information required of you in advance of the February 1 at 5pm,” she added.
For more information see www.cao.ie
