Now that many students have completed the Leaving Cert, it is an ideal time to reflect on their previous CAO choices and avail of the change of mind facility, based on anticipated exam results. The change of mind form is open until July 1 at 5pm and students can change their mind as many times as they like, up until this date, free of charge. No further CAO changes can be made after July 1. Students should avoid last minute changes to reduce any potential errors and complete the form well in advance of the deadline. It is important to note that courses marked as ‘restricted courses’ typically require assessments or interviews and must have been included in the original CAO application before the closing date of February 1, 2025. Students are therefore unable to apply to ‘restricted courses’ with the CAO change of mind facility.
The change of mind form allows students to revise any previous course choices which include both Level 8 and Level 7/6 courses. It is really important that students base their course choice on course preferences, costs and the location as opposed to what courses students predict they will get, or choosing courses based on the highest points. There are some 89,258 CAO applications this year, so it is very difficult to predict how this number of applicants will affect this year’s points. The Leaving Cert points calculator on the CAO website allows students to calculate their points by selecting the exam year and entering their results by level and grade. The Course Finder on the CAO website is also particularly useful for researching CAO courses, as it contains a comprehensive list of all programmes in third level institutions in the Republic of Ireland and can be searched for by programme keywords.
It is also important for students to consider alternative options, such as tertiary degrees which can be applied for on the National Tertiary Office website at www.nto.hea.ie and not through the CAO. Many PLC courses also offer alternative career pathways to high points courses such as Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Nursing. PLCs are a great way to try out a new subject, for example law or computer programming, before enrolling in a university course, especially if students have never studied the subject before and are unsure of that subject. Students can log onto Fetchcourses.ie to learn more about all the PLC courses on offer. Students can apply for PLC courses directly to the relevant college of further education through the www.fetchcourses.ie website.
Opportunities to ask further questions in Galway
There is still plenty of time to research courses on www.Qualifax.ie or the university websites and explore new courses such as the new five year Pharmacy course (MPharm ) in the University of Galway. The University of Galway is running a ‘Change of Mind Fair’ on Thursday June 26 from 12 noon to 2pm in the Human Biology building in the university campus. Students can register for this event on the University of Galway website. ATU are also running an ‘Ask campaign across campus’ and events over the last five days of June, from June 27 to July 1. For more details on these events, contact ATU directly on [email protected]. If you have any questions or are interested in exploring any courses in either of these universities, I would strongly advise attending.
Once a student enters new choices on the change of mind form, they will receive a revised Statement of Course Choice email acknowledging any edits made. This will confirm that these new choices have been entered into their records. If a student does not receive this confirmation email, they should contact the CAO immediately.
Finally, congratulations to all those who have finished their Leaving Cert exams. Once the Change of Mind is completed, students can then relax until August 22 when the Leaving Cert results will be released. I would like to wish all students (and their parents ) a peaceful and restful summer.
Claire Murphy obtained her Masters in Career Guidance and Counselling in Trinity and has over 15 years’ experience working as a teacher and a career guidance counsellor at both second level and third level. She is working as a career consultant with www.galwayguidance.com To book an appointment for a CV review, interview skills or help with CAO change of mind form, email Claire at [email protected].
