By Niamh Dwyer, Chairperson of the Kerry Branch of Guidance Counsellors

Results day has finally arrived - congratulations to the Class of 2021! After an exceptionally difficult senior cycle the wait is over to move on to the next exciting stage.

Whatever the outcome, celebrate what you have achieved in getting to this point. Over the next week there are lots of important events and deadlines to be aware of. Make sure to take note of them all and don’t miss them.

CAO Offers and Available Places

Round 1 CAO offers will be made available by email/text or by logging on to www.cao.ie/myapplication on September 7 from 2pm. To accept the offer you must reply by the 13th at 3pm or else the offer lapses. If you wish to defer a place, you do not accept the offer, you must contact the admissions office of the college immediately by email to apply for the deferral. You will find all details on deferral on the www.cao.ie. Round 2 offers will be issued on September 20 from 10am and further rounds will continue until Round 5 on October 12. The Available Places facility reopens on September 8 at 12.00. Available Places are places that remain unfilled in particular courses after the offers have been made and it is open to new and existing CAO applicants. Applicants must meet the minimum entry requirements for the course(s) and can ignore CAO points from earlier rounds. Further details can be found on www.cao.ie.

UCAS Applications

If you have applied to college in the UK through UCAS and have a conditional offer, September 8 is the final deadline for the conditions of your offer to be met. It is still possible to apply for college places in the UK by using the Clearing facility in UCAS which remains open until October 19. See www.ucas.com for details.

Viewing of Scripts and Appeals

You are credited with the best result in each subject whether you opted for Accredited Grades or to sit the written paper. From 5pm on September 7 you will be able to access more detailed information about both sets of results via the Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP) on www.examinations.ie. The data will include the marks awarded in written papers, orals, practicals, projects and coursework, as well as the various stages of the Accredited Grades process. This information will help you to decide whether or not to appeal a result in a subject. The appeals process is different for written papers and Accredited Grades. It is a good idea to view the scripts of your written papers before you apply to appeal a result. Applications to view scripts will open on September 7 at 5pm and will close at 5pm on the 8th. Depending on how they were corrected, scripts can be viewed online through the CSSP from 9am on September 11 or in the case of scripts corrected on paper it will take place in the school at an assigned time on the same date. If you decide you want to appeal a result, the application can be made through CSSP from 9am on September 11 and closes on the 13th at 12pm. A date for the result of the appeals is yet to be confirmed.

Alternative Maths Exams

Some students do not get a CAO Round 1 offer because they don’t meet an entry requirement. In the case of Maths, some colleges host Alternative Maths exams which gives students a second chance to gain entry to their chosen course provided they get the required grade. In some colleges the option is only open for specific programmes while in others it relates to any programme. The dates for these exams, some of which start as early as September 9, are available on www.careersportal.ie and www.cao.ie and further details on how to apply and prepare can be found on the specific college websites.

Several other pathways and options remain open to students at this stage including Post Leaving Cert Courses (PLCs), apprenticeships, traineeships, courses in the National Learning Network and of course repeating the Leaving Cert if you have the motivation to do so.

The National Parents Council Post Primary helpline 1800 265 165, is open up from 11am each morning up to Friday 10, where qualified guidance counsellors are on hand to answer queries from students and parents.

Niamh Dwyer is a Guidance Counsellor in Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra, Rathmore, and Chairperson of the Kerry Branch of Guidance Counsellors. She is also a Careers Advisor - For details see www.mycareerplan.ie or follow @mycareerplan on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.