Tag Archives: CAO

LIT has confirmed its plans to open a new campus in Ennis on foot of a proposed capital investment of €0.75 million by Clare County Council. Located on Bindon Street in the town’s historic core, the new facility will enable a substantial increase in higher education activity in the town. Reflecting LIT’s regional development remit, the LIT Ennis campus will join LIT’s existing campuses at Clonmel and Thurles in County Tipperary; Moylish and Clare Street in Limerick City; and a new engineering-focused campus currently under development at Coonagh in Limerick. A total of six degree programmes in Social Care, Early Childhood Care and Education, and Marketing and Management are now available through the CAO at LIT in Ennis for September commencement. Possibilities for evening and professional learning will also be opened up. Commenting on the news, LIT President, Professor Vincent Cunnane said, “We are delighted to be able to progress our plans in Ennis. We intend to provide an expanded …

The national student grant awarding body, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland), is urging students who have yet to submit their applications for student grant funding for the 2017/18 academic year to do so now. The deadline for applications is this Thursday, July 13. Graham Doyle, head of communications & customer service with SUSI, said, “The processing of grant applications is once again running pretty smoothly. We are expecting to receive around 105,000 applications for the 2017/18 academic year. We have received 80,000 applications to-date and I would urge students to apply before the deadline to ensure that their applications receive priority”. The national awarding authority has already awarded grants to more than 41,000 students for 2017/18, including 10,500 new students. Mr Doyle said, “Leaving Certificate students should not wait until they receive their Leaving Certificate results and CAO offers late in August before applying to SUSI. They should put down their first choice of course on their SUSI application forms …

SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland), has announced that its online application system, for new and renewal student grants, for the 2017/18 academic year is now open. SUSI is entering its sixth year of operations. Last year the national awarding body processed more than 105,000 applications with 83,000 students (new and renewal) receiving funding for the 2016/17 academic year. Graham Doyle, head of communications and customer service with SUSI,said,” would encourage students to visit our website, www.susi.ie, and review the eligibility criteria for student grant funding prior to making their applications. We have an online grant eligibility reckoner that enables students to answer a short set of questions following which they will be given an indication as to their eligibility for student grant funding. We also have a number of self-help tools available on our website, including videos and detailed guidance notes for making an application. Following the advanced processing of grant applications achieved by SUSI last year, we had awarded …

WITH more than 56,000 Leaving Certificate students set to get their results on Wednesday, the free Examination Helpline is at the ready to offer support and valuable information. Hosted by the National Parents’ Council Post Primary (NPCpp), it will be open from Wednesday until Wednesday, August 24 to take calls from students, parents and teachers. The Helpline is sponsored by the Irish Independent and eircom and is supported by the Department of Education and Skills. It is staffed by members of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, who are fully qualified experts in their field, while representative of the grant-awarding body, SUSI, will also be on hand to answer queries. All queries on third level courses, such as the points system, rechecks, repeats, CAO procedures, apprenticeships and further training options will be dealt with in a professional and confidential manner. The Helpline received thousands of calls last year, and helped students to make informed decisions about the choices they faced and …

SMART Futures champion and star of Dragons’ Den, Barry O’Sullivan is encouraging Leaving Certificate students to consider careers in science and technology. He is bringing this idea to the fore in advance of the July 1 CAO change of mind deadline. CEO of Altocloud, Mr O’Sullivan is also encouraging leading tech companies in Ireland to get involved with Smart Futures to inspire young people and break down any stereotypical perceptions they may have about careers in science, engineering or technology. According to research with over 2,000 Irish third-level students, conducted by Amárach Research as part of Science Foundation Ireland’s Smart Futures programme, students’ main concern when making their CAO choice is whether they will “fit in”, ranking it higher than other factors like career prospects. The Smart Futures programme, which is managed by SFI Discover and coordinated in partnership with Engineers Ireland, provides a coordinated platform for science and technology companies to reach out to young people and their parents …

There was general satisfaction among Clare Leaving Certificate students at this morning’s first round of CAO offers to third level institutions. Over 50,000 third level applicants across Ireland, including up to 1,400 here in Clare, received the much anticipated letter in the post or checked their offers on-line details. Demand for science and technology courses is expected to have grown considerably this year. A record number of Leaving Cert students got 25 bonus points for passing higher level maths and this is being linked to a rise in the points needed for technology-related courses.

The Central Applications Office (CAO) has launched a useful online resource for CAO applicants who are anxiously awaiting round one offers on Monday next. The four minute video titled, A guide to the CAO Offer and Acceptance process, can be viewed on the CAO website www.cao.ie. The online video talks applicants through the Offer and Acceptance process and aims to answer some common questions that arise at this time of the year. Speaking about the video guide, CAO communications officer, Eileen Keleghan, encouraged applicants to share this resource via social media in order to help classmates and friends understand what to expect during the CAO offer season. She said, “This guide summarises the offer and acceptance process explaining in detail the many different ways that applicants are informed about an offer and also what happens if they have not received an offer. “We hope that people will share this free resource in order to ensure that applicants avoid some of …