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

The month of May is a very important one for CAO applicants as there are some key deadlines and dates coming up.

Firstly, any applicants who want to apply to CAO 2022 and haven’t already done so, must apply before the Late Application deadline which is on May 1 at 5pm. The fee for late applications is €60 and some restrictions do apply at this stage. For example, in general courses which are categorised as ‘restricted’ cannot be added now and some Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) may not consider late applications for certain categories of applicant such as mature applicants, and those presenting qualifications other than recently taken EU school-leaving exams. Make sure to check the relevant HEI website before applying.

Change of Mind Facility

From May 5 at 12pm the CAO Change of Mind facility opens to allow applicants to make changes to course choices. This can be done up to July 1 at 5pm. You can make changes on both lists – Level 8 and Level 7/6. The two lists are completely separate in your application and you have the option to include up to 10 choices on both. You can take out, add in or change the order of the courses. Some restrictions do apply. There is no charge for the Change of Mind facility and if you make a change online, an acknowledgement is sent to the email address used at the application stage. You can also log on to www.cao.ie/myapplication to check the application at any time.

Statement of Application Record

By the end of May all applicants will receive a Statement of Application Record by email from CAO. You will be asked to log into your CAO account and verify that all of your information is recorded correctly. This includes your personal details, qualifications and assessment section which includes examination and language exemption information as well as your course choices. If there are any omissions or errors you must inform CAO immediately as this could have consequences at offer stage and may lead to a loss of a college place. Don’t assume that your examination number and information is correct, check them carefully. You will then be asked to confirm that all your account information is correct. If you have not received the Statement of Application Record email by June 1, contact the CAO immediately via the Contact section of the website. Video guides to the Change of Mind and the Statement of Application Record are available on www.cao.ie.

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 Career Consultant - see www.mycareerplan.ie or follow @mycareerplan on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.