Grant Applications

Applying for a grant can be a bit of a minefield for people, particularly mature students. Aontas have written a helpful blog post "Ten things mature students need to know about student grants". The studentfinance site is also very useful as you can check your eligibility and download forms there. Louth VEC grants section are open to queries from 9 - 12 Monday to Friday and Louth County Council grants department from 9 - 11 Monday to Friday.

CAO Round A 2011

For those of you who applied to the CAO as mature students you should have received notification of offers by now. Even if you have received a letter offering you a place by a college prior to now you MUST still accept it through the CAO. All offers issued by colleges prior to the 6th July are provisional. Official offers can only be given and accepted through the CAO.

If you had been offered a place by a college and did not receive an official CAO offer, don't panic! First check that whether your offer is conditional, if it is (on the basis of leaving certificate or FETAC results) then you should expect to receive your offer through the CAO at the Round Zero stage, which is in early August. It can help to double check this information with the college admissions section. If your offer was not conditional but you did not receive notification through the CAO contact the admissions department of the college.

If you are unsure what to do or have concerns relating to your CAO application feel free to contact us via the form to the right or at 041 9842030.

Grant Forms Available Now!

Hi everyone
Grant forms are now available on http://www.studentfinance.ie/.
It is now possible to apply online if you are applying to the VECs in Louth, Meath, Monaghan and Dublin.
It is also possible to apply online if your awarding authority is Meath County Council. For those of you applying to Louth, Monaghan or Fingal County Councils you will have to apply through the paper version which can also be downloaded from the site.
It is advisable to start the process of applying for your grants as soon as possible as we expect there to be a very large number applying this year.
If you are having any difficulties with completing the application forms contact us through the form on the right or at 041 9842030.

Mature Student Information Evenings

 Hi Everyone

Welcome to 2011!

Now that it is January we are really moving into Third Level application time as the CAO closing date looms on the 1st February. In our last post we discussed how research is key to your CAO application.

Some of the main Universities and colleges are holding CAO information evenings some of which are specifically for mature applicants. Attending these is a great opportunity for you to get some really good quality information about your course choices, the college itself and applying as a mature student from those who have the 'inside track'. These information sessions include:

• Dublin City University:                        11th January 2011 (7 - 9pm)
• Dublin Institute of Technology:            11th January 2011 (2.30 - 7pm)
• IADT Dun Laoghaire:                         11th January 2011 (4 - 8pm)
• NUI Maynooth:                                  12th January 2011 (7.30 - 9.30pm
• Trinity College:                                   13th January 2011 (4.30 - 7.30pm)

Further information is available on the individual college websites and Qualifax.

Filling in the CAO Form - Before you start

As the CAO closing date looms we have decided to publish an article each day relating to applying for the CAO as a mature student.
Today we are looking at what you should do BEFORE you start to fill in the form.

The most important thing is RESEARCH.

Find out what courses are available in the area you are interested in.
http://www.qualifax.ie/ is a great tool in this search, click on the Higher Education CAO link on the left hand side of the page when in course search. You can narrow fields by County and/or province, by qualification level (eg Level 7 or Level 8 degree) and so on if you wish. Think abou the location of the college, look at the actual subjects taught within the course, take a look at the progression options after you complete the course, the supports that are available for mature students, these are all elements that will help you decide which course is for you.

As a 'mature applicant' you will need to fill in a section of the CAO form which is on page 4 of the paper form, and is called the Mature Section on the online form. We will be publishing another article specifically related to filling in this section but it is enough to know here that you must research your selected courses to give the details that colleges want to hear in this section. Contact the mature student officer in the institution(s) you are applying to, contact the course directors or co-ordinators of your chosen courses. Suggestions of questions to ask include, what proportion of places are available to mature students, do they get many mature applicants, what areas do students struggle most with, what kind of things do they look for from a mature applicant, what would they advise you to do to prepare for their course? These kind of questions will also help you to prepare for the interview stage of applying for college.

This research process should also help you in choosing which of the courses you are looking at would be your preferred option and what areas you feel you may have to work on to prepare for college.

Next blog will be on Filling in the CAO Form - The form itself

The CAO - Personal Statement

The Further Details(on the paper version)/Mature Section (on the online version) of the CAO form is often referred to as the Personal Statement. This is your opportunity to show the person behind the application and to 'sell yourself' to the colleges you are applying to. Remember that the CAO form can be seen by all the institutions whose courses you have chosen so be careful not to make the information you include specific to one institution/course.

Colleges will often shortlist on the basis of this personal statement and/or their own application forms so you really need to provide further information about yourself in this section. You need to get it right so practise and rewrite until you feel it is strong enough to get you that place at interview!

In your personal statement you should demonstrate that you have put thought and consideration into your choices. You should also allow the college to gain an understanding of yourself as a 'whole person' - your personality, skills, hobbies, interests and experience. Page 14 of the CAO handbook provides guidelines as to what should be included in this section, some other suggestions are listed below as to what else you might include. It is only a guide giving some ideas of what you might include, remember the personal statement is personal so really has to come from YOU!

Course Choice
You need to show reasoning for the course(s) you have chosen. Examples would include having a personal interest in the area, work experience included, the course having a mixture of theory and practise). If you have a number of courses that are in unrelated areas you need do explain this diversity so that it does not look like you are 'hedging your bets' or are unclear about what you want to do.

Career Goals
If you do have a particular career goal which will be helped by getting the course you are applying for outline this in your application. You may not have a clear career goal as yet and may be applying for courses which open up a number of options to you but it would be beneficial to indicate that you know what career options are open to you after studying the areas you are applying for.

Your own experience
Give a little bit of your 'back-story', indicate why you are returning to education, how you have prepared for attending Third Level, and why you are the person they should interview for their course. Colleges want to see that you are ready, committed and capable of the academic rigours of Third Level. They want to see that you are aware of what is involved in going to Third Level and, in particular, what is involved in the course(s) you are applying for. This is why research BEFORE you apply is so important. We discuss preliminary research in a previous post.

When you have completed your form and are satisfied that you have 'sold' yourself to the best of your ability make sure you take a copy or print out a copy of the form for your own records. This will help to remind you of key points made and areas which may be covered in the interview stage.

Good Luck with your application and if you have any questions you can ask them here (click on the comment button), make an appointment with the form on the right or drop into the office.

College Open Days



 Hi Everyone

We hope you've all settled back since your mid-term break and are right back into the swing of things now. Some of you may be aware that a number of Third Level colleges and universities will have open days coming up in the near future. These are really worthwhile attending and help to clarify what next steps you may wish to take.

Qualifax have a great events calendar on their website which helps you to stay up to date on upcoming events such as open days. You can search by date and event type, or just take a look through the calendar. Click here for more info. Many colleges will have events specifically for mature students as well so keep an eye out for those.

We will also be posting notification of particular open days that we feel will be relevant to our learners and clients so don't forget to keep checking our blog!

CAO Round A

Mature Students - if you have been offered a place via the CAO over the past week and wish to take your place remember today is the closing date for accepting your offer.

If you had been offered a place by a college prior to this and did not receive an offer from that college in this round don't panic, it may be that the college is waiting to have sight of results of any courses or exams you may have taken since your interview. If you received any results in the interim send through to the college as this will speed up the process for the college themselves and will help to ensure you get your place in the next round of offers (early August).

CAO Acceptance

Congratulations to all our clients who are moving on to Third Level. By now you should have made sure that you have placed the course you have been offered or wish to choose at the top of your list of course choices on the CAO.

Mature applicants should receive their acceptance slip (or an email from the CAO if they applied online) within the next week. Please keep an eye on your post and/or emails for this as although you may have received offers from the relevant college you MUST accept officially through the CAO, otherwise you will not get your place.

Feel free to get in touch with us if you are having any difficulties with this or do not hear from the CAO over the next week or two.

Mock Interviews

For those of you attending college interviews over the next few weeks don't forget to book your mock interview with us. Mock interviews help you to thoroughly prepare for interviews with colleges or universities.
Fill in the form on the right hand side of this page, give us a call at 041 9842030 or drop into us to schedule your mock interview.

College Interviews

For those of you who have applied to Further or Higher Education interviews are held from March - May depending on the college and course you are applying for.

A college interview can be very stressful but, just like a job interview, preparation can take away most of that stress.

Here are some tips on preparing for the college interview, we plan to upload lots more between now and May to help you with getting that college place and we are available by phone, post or on a one-to-one basis to help you as well!

The CAO - Filling in the Form

The CAO Handbook

You should refer to the CAO handbook whether you are filling in the form on paper or online, it is a guide to assist you in the application process and reading it will help prevent any mistakes in your application.
We discussed in a previous post that you should do your research before applying and this will help you with filling in details on the CAO form.

Section 1
On both the online and paper versions the first page is mainly concerned with your personal details (name, address, etc).
You will also be asked whether you have a disability or specific learning disability. If you do it is important to tick the appropriate box. This will not put a college off your application AT ALL, in fact it is beneficial to include it as it allows the college to get supports in place for you prior to starting your college course. If you do indicate that you have a disability/specific learning disability you will need to complete the supplementary form and provide documentary evidence of this.

Special Categories
On the front page of the online form but on the third page of the paper form you select which categories you wish to be assessed on. As a Mature Applicant (over 23 on 01/01/10) you should tick Box F (paper version) or Box 8 (online version). This is VERY IMPORTANT as it will allow you to be assessed on the basis of your personal statement and interview rather than leaving cert/previous academic achievements.
If you previously did, or are currently doing, an NCVA/FETAC qualification you may be assessed on this basis AS WELL as being a mature applicant. If this is the case you need to tick Box D (paper version) or Box 2 / 3 (online version). Basically you get points for each grade you got in your FETAC qualification just as you would for leaving cert subjects and you compete against other FETAC applicants for places in the course(s) you are applying for.

Similarly if you did GCEs/GCSEs you can be assessed on the basis of those.

You may have to supply evidence of qualifications to the CAO.

If you apply on the basis of Special Category you may have to supply further information. Special Category applicants should refer to pages 13 and 14 of the CAO handbook for more information.

Further Details/Mature Section

This section is often referred to as the Personal Statement and is the most important part of the CAO form for a mature applicant. Details are given on Page 14 of the CAO handbook of what should be included in this section. On the paper form it is the Further Details box on page 4, whereas it is called the Mature Section in the online version. The difference between paper and online here is that on the paper version you are given a single box in which to include all your details whereas online you are given seperate boxes for each area the CAO recommend you include (for example Current Studies, Employment, Voluntary work). Further information in relation to the personal statement is available on our blog post on that topic.

Course Choices

Another REALLY important part of the CAO application is entering your course choices. You can enter up to ten Level 8 choices and up to ten Level 7/6 choices. You enter your choices in order of preference. You can change this order around at a later stage, this will be particularly important if you are offered a college place that was not originally your first choice but you do wish to take it. Some courses do not accept application on mature grounds, others have restricted entry, you need to check that the courses you are applying for accept mature applicants and whether they have any special requirements.

Later on in the year we will be posting about the college interview and the next step in the college application process.

Good Luck!

The CAO Form - Online v Paper

Whether you apply online or by paper is a matter of personal preference. There are some features of the online application which are particularly useful, not least the fact that you can log in and edit the form as many times as you like right up until the 1st February. However, you may feel more comfortable filling in the paper version.

It should be noted that you should not leave filling in the online form until the last minute as the system can get overloaded coming up to the closing date and you may not be able to access your account or your PC could crash. We keep saying it but BE PREPARED, do your research, check out your course choices and apply in good time for the 1st Feb.

NUI Maynooth CAO video

Hi All

NUI Maynooth have published a video on their website which discusses the CAO application process, and also the whole experience of entering third level. While the main focus is on students entering directly from 2nd Level there is also a discussion which relates to the other entrance options such as Mature Applicants, FETAC and coming from a Higher Certificate in an IT so it may be of some interest to adults considering NUIM. They also discuss other practical points like the cost of entering Third level so in that sense would be of interest to everyone!

Click here and hit the play button and you will be able to view it.

CAO Information Session

Hi Everyone

It's time to start thinking about your applications for Third Level as the CAO application deadline looms (1st February closing date!)

We are holding a CAO Application Workshop for mature applicants in our Information Centre in Drogheda on Wednesday 9th December at 9.30am. If you would like to attend please fill in the appointment form on the right hand side of this page. (In the times and days space enter CAO 9th December).

Applying to Third Level - Individual College Applications

Hi all

Although the CAO is regarded as the 'be all and end all' of the Third Level application process mature applicants should note that certain colleges require you to complete their own application forms AS WELL as apply to the CAO. The following colleges have this requirement and are of interest to applicants in the North East:

Trinity College: The Trinity mature student's supplementary application form is regarded by some as being the most difficult, however if you have prepared properly and chosen your course wisely it is a great tool for getting across your abilities to the college prior to the interview process. Further details on applying to Trinity as a mature student are available here.

DCU: DCU's supplementary application form asks for similar information to that you will be putting on the CAO. Remember, however, that you should tailor your answers on the DCU form to the courses you are applying for in DCU. The college has just recently appointed a new Mature Student officer and further info on applying via this route is available here.

NUI Maynooth: Maynooth are really looking for your motivations for going to college on their form and evidence that you have really researched and prepared for returning to education/college. Maynooth have a reputation for being very mature student 'friendly' (they aim to have 20% of their full-time student population be matures by 2012). Further information on applying to Maynooth as a mature student available here.

All of the above colleges expect you to return their application forms to them by 1st February (the same as CAO).

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT): If you apply to DkIT through the CAO they will automatically send you out their supplementary application form. You should receive this in March. DkIT definitely shortlist candidates on the basis of this form so it needs to be filled out very carefully. They also require documentary evidence for any claims you may make on the form, for example if you state that you got particular results in your Junior Cert they will look for your official results, or if you state that you did work experience in a particular area they will look for proof of that. Further information available here.

St. Pat's & All Hallows: You can apply directly to the BA programmes in both these colleges as well as through the CAO. St. Pat's close their mature student application process on 2nd April while All Hallow's have an open application process. For further information in relation to St. Pat's click here. Further information in relation to All Hallows here.

In relation to ALL college applications it is essential that you carry out research before applying. So contact the Mature Student Officers, study the prospectus, use the internet and come and see us here in laegis to chat about your next steps!

NUI Maynooth Open Day

Hi Everyone

More Open Days for you!

NUI Maynooth are having their Open Day(s) on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th November. Once again it really is well worth attending college open days even if you are only considering attending that college.

Maynooth have posted a schedule of talks that will be happening on the day on their website at http://www.nuim.ie/openday/schedule/index.shtml. While these talks will be more focused on school leavers they will also be of interest to the mature applicant. There is also a section for mature applicants on the open day schedule at http://www.nuim.ie/openday/yourday/mature.shtml.

Gathering as much information as possible on courses that are of interest to you will not only help you to make your CAO choices but also assist you when it comes to the interview stages of the application process as you can demonstrate that you have thoroughly researched your choices.

College/University Open Days

Hi Everyone

A couple of upcoming open days for your diaries!

• DCU will be holding their open days on Friday 20th (10am to 3pm) and Saturday 21st November (11am to 2pm)
• St. Pat's Drumcondra will have their open day on Saturday 21st November (10 - 3.30)
• Marino Institute of Education will also have their open day on Saturday 21st November (11 - 4)

DCU has just launched a new degree in Psychology starting September 2010.

St. Pat's is a very 'mature student' friendly institution and both St. Pat's and DCU are convenient for learners travelling from Co. Louth. (Matthews buses stop within walking distance of both colleges).

If you are interested in Primary Teaching remember that you must fulfill minimum requirements in your Leaving Cert even if applying as a mature student. Get in touch with us for more information

Going to college open days is an essential part of your research into college courses as it allows you to get a feel for how long it will take you to travel to the college, what the college is like, the courses it provides and even an opportunity to speak to course co-ordinators.