The Central Applications Office (CAO ) has launched The CAO: A guide for parents and guardians to coincide with the opening of the online applications facility this week.
The online guide is intended for parents and guardians who are assisting a student with their undergraduate application to Irish higher education institutions.
The document contains information for parents about their role in the CAO process and how best they can support their child with their application throughout the year.
Speaking at the launch of the guide, Operations Manager of the CAO, Joseph O’Grady, said, “Making course choices can be an extremely daunting task for a student, and it is important that they receive as much practical support as possible.
“Whilst parents cannot and should not make the decision on which courses to apply for, they can assist their child by helping them to research the courses that they are interested in and by keeping track of the important deadlines and correspondence throughout the year.”
Designed to support parents, the guide should not replace the CAO Handbook for students who are completing the application process. Students are also advised to speak with their Guidance Counsellor for professional assistance before submitting their CAO application.
The CAO: A guide for parents and guardians contains advice on researching course-choices and making sure that applicants place their course choices in genuine order of preference.
The guide also asks parents and guardians to note the important deadlines, including closing dates for change of mind or change of course-choices, restrictions that may apply, and the latest date for the acceptance of an offer.
The online resource will be available to download from November 5 on www.cao.ie
The normal closing date for online and paper applications to CAO is February 1 2014 - restrictions may apply. Applicants wishing to avail of the reduced price online application fee of €25 must apply before 5:15 PM on January 20 2014.
