Applying

to CAO
Applicants presenting GCE A/AS Level
and GCSE qualifications
Purpose of the CAO

• CAO processes applications to undergraduate courses

in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

• Offers are issued and acceptances are recorded by CAO.

• Assessment of applications and decisions on

admissions are made by HEI Admissions Officers.
Application Process

www.cao.ie/handbook www.cao.ie/apply
Timely Action

DO NOT LEAVE In order to be fair to all

applicants, closing dates
EVERTHING TO are strict and therefore
THE LAST action should be taken
MINUTE! in good time.
Making an Application

Applicants apply online at

www.cao.ie/apply

Carefully enter details such as your

name, address, date of birth, schools
attended, examination information,
etc.

Make sure you inform CAO about all

relevant qualifications and
exemptions – select the relevant
categories on the application form.
CAO Application Number

• When you apply online your application number will

appear on screen. You will also receive an email
containing your CAO application number and an email
verification code.
• Your application number is private and it will be used
in every correspondence between you and the CAO
for the rest of the year.
• You will require your CAO application number, date of
birth and password when you log in to your account
via the ‘My Application’ facility to update your
application.
Qualifications & Assessment

• You must complete the Qualifications and Assessments

categories that are relevant to you.

Applicants presenting GCE A/AS Levels and

GCSE examinations must provide additional
information to support their application.
Evidence of all examinations mentioned must
be supplied.
Informing CAO of all GCSE, AS & A Levels

• GCE A/AS Level and GCSE applicants must enter the year, sitting, level,
subject and grade for all GCSE, AS and A level examinations previously
taken. Note: GCSE results are required to meet minimum entry
requirements, but are not used for points computation purposes.
• Applicants MUST also provide certified photocopies of
certificates/statements of results produced by an examining board to
support their application. If supporting documents are not supplied the
qualifications mentioned will not be considered for assessment
purposes.

Certified photocopies of certificates/statements of results produced by an

Examining Board must be supplied to CAO a minimum of 12 working days
in advance of Round One offers. A certified photocopy means that
you photocopy the documents and then bring both the originals and
the photocopies to an acceptable person or body (School, University, Police
Station, Admissions Office, Notary) where they will stamp the photocopy as
being a true copy of the original.
Qualifications & Assessment

• Applicants completing A/AS Level examinations

in summer will be asked to insert their 5-digit
centre number and 4-digit candidate number
for each examination.
• You must inform CAO if you are taking your
summer examinations with CCEA and/or with
British/Welsh examining boards. If we do not
have this information, CAO will be unable to
obtain your results electronically. This
information must be supplied when you are
making your CAO application and must be fully
and completely correct no later than 25 July.
• Detailed instructions for the completion of this
part of the application form may be found in
the Qualifications and Assessments section of
the CAO Handbook.
Matching Prior Year Exam Data to Supporting Documentation

• When supporting documents are received by

CAO they will be reviewed to ensure they meet
the criteria set out in the previous slide.
• Where correct documents are supplied for all
results the exam data in your online application
will be matched.
• Results will not be matched where documents
do not meet the criteria or where documents
are not supplied for prior year exam data The screenshot above shows a combination of matched
included in your online application. Such results (in grey) and unmatched results which are
results will appear in red in your CAO highlighted in red.
application and will not be considered by the
HEIs you have applied to until correct
supporting documentation is supplied.
AS Level Results

• CAO advises GCE applicants to discuss the AS Level certification process with their school.
• AS Level results are frequently cashed in along with A2 Level results in the final year. As a result,
candidates often will not have evidence of their AS Level results until the release of their A2
Level results in August.
• In this instance, CAO will expect to receive electronic notification of the AS Level results
provided that the applicant has supplied their correct Board, Centre Number and Candidate
Number for all subjects that will be cashed in in August.
• If your school cashes in AS Level results in the same year as A2 Level results, you must enter the
remaining AS Level subject which you are not taking at A2 Level on your CAO application – you
must use the space provided for ‘Examinations to be taken’ in the Qualifications & Assessments
section.
• CAO must be informed if the candidate sat any AS or A2 Level examinations at a different school.
 Common Errors

• Not supplying supporting documentation

• Not supplying Board, Centre Number and Candidate Number for current year
examinations
• No school stamp on supporting documentation
• Providing documents produced by a school as opposed to an examining board
• Not informing CAO of GCSE examination results
• Not informing CAO of previously taken AS & A Levels
• BTEC Level 1-3 should be listed under Other School Leaving qualifications.
• BTEC Level 4 should be listed under Other Further Education.
Choosing Courses

• Consult your Careers Teacher/Adviser.

• Discuss your options with family and friends.

• Details about courses may be found in HEI prospectuses

and by consulting HEI websites.

• A course search facility is available at

www.cao.ie/courses
Level 8 and Level 7/6 Courses

• The National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) is a system of

10 levels which allows the different standards and levels of
qualifications to be compared in the Republic of Ireland.
• CAO process applications for Levels 6-8 in the Framework:
Level 6 courses result in the awarding of a Higher Certificate
Level 7 courses result in the awarding of an Ordinary Degree
Level 8 courses result in the awarding of an Honours Degree
• A diagram of the NFQ is on the website of the Quality and
Qualifications Ireland (QQI) www.qqi.ie.
• For more information see the CAO Handbook.
2 Applications in 1

• There are two course choice lists (Level 8 and Level 7/6) and
applicants may make up to 10 course choices on each list.
• Your choices on one list do not in any way affect your choices
on the other list. They may be considered two separate
applications on one form.
• It is possible to receive an offer on both lists. You may then
decide to accept either your Level 7/6 or your Level 8 offer.
• Alternatively, you might not wish to accept either offer.
Order of Preference

• If you learn nothing else from this presentation let it be this...

PLACE YOUR To do otherwise is a

grave mistake.
COURSES IN
GENUINE ORDER
OF PREFERENCE!
Order of Preference

• It is most important that applicants state their course choices in order of genuine preference
and/or career plans.
• It is a mistake to base course choices only on your present expectations of examination
performance or the points level of previous years.
• If you are not successful in your first choice this will have no effect on your chances of obtaining
a place in one of your lower preferences.
• Having received an offer in any round, you may get a higher preference offer in a later round.
You will never be offered a lower preference in a later round.
Restrictions

• Certain courses are ‘Restricted Courses’. They have early assessment procedures which may
start as early as February.
• This includes courses such as Music, Art and Drama which may require interviews, assessments
or presentation of a portfolio as part of the application process.
• Restricted courses are clearly marked in the relevant prospectus and also on the CAO Handbook
(by the words 'Restricted').
• An application for a Restricted Course will not be considered unless:
• a) it has been included among original course choices by 1 February b) it has been added to an
existing application not later than the final date for correction of errors or omissions (1 March).
• Please see the ‘Restrictions’ section of the CAO Handbook for further information.
Change of Mind Facility

You may use this facility to change the order

of your course choices and/or to introduce
new courses, subject to the restrictions
detailed in the handbook.

The Change of Mind opens in early May

and closes on 1 July at 5pm.
Statement of Application Record

Before the end of May you will be sent a Statement of Application

Record email to enable you to verify that all information has been
If you do not recorded completely and correctly. Check the following carefully,
and if there is any error or omission amend the Statement and
receive a return it to CAO.
Statement by
Are all the courses shown and in the correct order?
Are all the codes correct?
Are the exam numbers correct?
Are all exams mentioned?
Are all exemptions listed?
contact CAO
immediately.
The Offer Process

• In the days following the release of the A Level

results CAO will email all GCE/GCSE applicants.
• Applicants must read this email carefully and
inform CAO immediately if any details are
incorrect or missing.
• Applicants must supply a certified copy of any
missing results as soon as possible.
• Documents must be produced by the exam
board i.e. they must show the exam board logo,
and must be certified photocopies.
The Offer Process

• If you are entitled to an offer you will be sent an e-mail

and SMS text message if you have selected this option.
• You should check that all of the details on the offer
notification are correct and that there are no omissions.
• Offers will also be available on the CAO website.
• You may check for and accept offers on the website.
The Offer Process

There can be no delays at the offer/acceptance stage.

• Any offer not accepted by the closing date for receipt of
acceptance of offers in CAO will be offered to another
applicant in the next round of offers.
• You will receive an e-mail acknowledging your
acceptance if you accept online.
Place Allocation

• We will look just at Level 8 courses, but

exactly the same process will take place
with Level 7/6 courses, and at the same
time.
• The importance of you, the applicant,
placing courses in genuine order of
preference will become apparent in the
following pages.
Place Allocation

• When examination results are released in

August they are entered into the CAO computer.
• The computer checks each applicant’s results.

For each course the applicant has applied for,

the computer first determines if the applicant has
the minimum entry requirements for the course.
 Place Allocation

If the applicant meets the minimum To view how to calculate your points go to
entry requirements for the course, the Applicants section of
the applicant’s points are calculated www.cao.ie or see the CAO Handbook.
for this course choice.

All eligible applicants are then placed on a list, in order of academic merit, for each course that they
applied for.
Minimum Entry Requirements + Points Score = Position on Order of Merit List
Place Allocation

• The admissions officers of the Higher

Education Institutions tell CAO how many
places are to be offered on each course.
• CAO then makes offers to the required
number of applicants on each course, starting
with the applicant with the highest points and
working down until enough places have been
offered.
Place Allocation

• Should some applicants decline to accept

their offers these places become available in
the next round of offers.
• They will be offered to the next applicants on
the Order of Merit list. This process continues
until all of the places on the course are filled
or until all the eligible applicants on the Order
of Merit list have been offered places.
Place Allocation

EXAMPLE
– no results yet!

• These are the applicants for CK101 - Arts in UCC.

• The examination results have not yet been
released, so these applicants are in no particular
order.
• We are going to trace the progress of the
applicant marked in red.
Place Allocation

1. CK101 EXAMPLE
– Exam results have been released.

2. DN201
• Applicants are placed in a queue for each course they
applied for - their position in the queue is determined
by their points.
3. AL850
• The applicant with the highest points is placed at the
top of the queue. The points achieved by the applicant
in red determines her position in the queue for each
10. LM040 course she has applied to.
Place Allocation

1. CK101 EXAMPLE
– HEIs issue R1 offers

2. DN201
• The applicants marked in GREEN have enough points
to be offered places.
3. AL850 • The applicant marked in RED has enough points for her
second preference.

10. LM040
Place Allocation

1. CK101 EXAMPLE
– HEIs issue R1 offers

2. DN201
• The applicant in RED is offered her second preference,
the highest preference course that she has enough
points for, and she will now disappear from the queue
for all her lower choices.
• Placing DN201 as her second preference meant that
she would prefer to receive an offer on DN201 than on
any other course except CK101 - which is her first
preference.
Place Allocation

1. CK101 EXAMPLE – R2 offers

• After Round 2 offers are issued, our applicant is now in

first place on the waiting list for her first preference
course.
• She has already accepted her 2nd preference course.
Accepting or not accepting her 2nd preference course
will not prevent her from receiving an offer of her 1st
preference course if she is deemed eligible by the
institution in a later round.
Place Allocation

1. CK101 EXAMPLE
– An offer is issued in R3 for her
1st preference!

• In the third round of offers two more offers are made

on CK101 and our applicant, who was at the top of
the queue, now receives an offer.
• She may do nothing and remain in DN201 or she may
accept the offer.
Genuine Order

• You do not need to guess what the points are going to

be for the courses you are interested in.
• Simply list your courses in genuine order of
preference from the highest preference 1, to the
lowest preference 10.
• If you are entitled to an offer, you will be offered the
highest preference that you are entitled to.
Communication with CAO

• The easiest and most efficient way to communicate with

CAO is by using the Correspondence Section of your CAO
Account. You will receive a reply to your query usually
within one working day.
• Always quote your CAO application number in any
communication with CAO.
• If you post something to CAO, always obtain a certificate
of posting at the post office. This is a free service and it
offers you peace of mind.
 Useful Resources

An online copy of the

CAO Handbook is
available here

Visit the ‘Applicants’ section

for Video Guides and useful
resources including the
‘Demo Application’ facility.
Watch this space for
‘Important Dates’.
 Finally...

Most applicants follow

the simple instructions If you are unclear on any
Remember to carefully from CAO and get matter concerning the
read all of the documents along just fine. application process, please
and instructions contact us via our
from CAO. website: www.cao.ie