THIS MORNING, THOUSANDS of students across Ireland will receive the results of one of the biggest challenges of their academic careers so far – the Leaving Cert.
A massive 56,569 students applied to sit the Leaving Certificate this year. Results Day marks the close of their second-level education, and the start of a brand new chapter.
For some students, it’s a day of excitement, for most it’s a day of nerves, and for others it might just be a day of relief.
Whatever the feelings that are bubbling up this morning, there are some important details that must be kept in mind over the coming days, especially for students who are waiting on a CAO offer or have questions about their course choices.
Here’s all that you’ll need to know to help the student in your life (or indeed, yourself) navigate the next steps…
This year, a new grading scale was introduced for Leaving Certificate results. Most students will be familiar with the system from their mocks back in the spring, but it may still take a few minutes to decipher things.
Bring a calculator and some spare paper to tot things up on – and encourage students to step away from the madness and find somewhere quiet to get their head around things.
Keeping it simple, the top Honours grade is now a H1, worth 100 points, while the top Ordinary Level grade is an O1, worth 56 points. A full table of points is available via the CAO here, and will be to hand at schools this morning.
Now that the results are out, it’s five long days until the CAO release the 2017 college course points.
Until Monday August 21st, there’s no way to explicitly say one way or the other how many points will be required for each course – but you can check over the 2016 CAO listings to get a rough idea.
If a CAO course previously listed a Higher Level C3 grade as a minimum requirement, it’ll require a H5 under the new grading system. Courses listing Ordinary Level D3 grades will now require either an O6 or a H7.
From 6am on August 21st, students can find out if they received a Round One CAO offer by logging into My Application on the CAO website. Offers will also be sent by post.
Students can accept online or by post at any stage before 5.15pm on August 28th. Last year 99% of offers were accepted online, according to the CAO, so you can expect the website to be pretty busy on the morning of August 21st.
The Leaving Cert results envelope might not contain good news for every student, but it’s not the end of the road by any means. Every year following the first cycle of offers and acceptances, points for some courses drop depending on demand.
Round Two offers are sent out on August 31st and weekly thereafter. It’s important to note that accepting an offer for a lower-preference course in Round One will not disqualify students from receiving or accepting Round Two offers.
Not all students will feel ready to begin their college journey right away, and some may opt to defer their start date by a year.
To do so, students should contact the relevant institutions Admissions Office by email or post as soon as they receive an offer. To avoid confusion, write ‘Deferred Entry’ clearly on the envelope or in the email subject line.
After the applicants list for each course has been exhausted (anywhere between early September and late October), institutions will list spots not yet filled via the Available Places system on the CAO website.
Students can take a vacant place on any of the advertised courses, provided they meet the minimum entry requirements and pay a €40 application fee.
As Ireland’s largest independent third-level college, Dublin Business School gives students the support and knowledge to take on everything the future has in store. DBS has over 9,000 students and a comprehensive range of part-time and full-time courses. For more information, visit www.dbs.ie or email the dedicated admissions team.
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