CAO 2021 Timeline: Message to all Applicants

CAO 2021 Timeline: Message to all Applicants: The CAO has contacted all applicants who applied by 1 February at 17:15 to remind applicants that there are particular sections of the application form that must be complete and correct no later than 1 March at 17:15.

If you have not already done so, log in to your CAO account (go to www.cao.ie and click on `My Application`) and check that all of the information on your account is correct and complete.

CAO 2021 Timeline: Message to all Applicants

Items for your attention before 1 March at 17:15:

1. Correction of errors or omissions

in course choices (this facility will close on 1 March at 17:15)

– If you have omitted any restricted courses you now have an opportunity to introduce these courses.

– If you are a mature applicant you must ensure your course choices are correct and complete before 1 March at 17:15.

If you need to change course choices at this time go to `My Application`, log in to your account and, in the course choices section click on `change course choices` (or `add course choices`) and follow the instructions. There is a 10 Euro charge for this service. A video guide to the Change of Course Choices facility is available online:

http://www.cao.ie/index.php?page=video&l=154717972

2. DARE and HEAR Applications

(Supplementary entry schemes for applicants with disabilities and from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds)

– If you wish to be considered for these schemes you must complete the appropriate sections of the CAO application form no later than 1 March at 17:15.

– If you wish to apply to DARE, you must click on the Modify Disability/SLD (& DARE Application) button, complete the Supplementary Information Form and answer `Yes` to Question 1 by 1 March at 17:15.

– If you wish to apply to HEAR, you must complete all relevant sections of the online HEAR Application Form by 1 March at 17:15.

– DARE HEAR supporting documentation must arrive in CAO no later than 15 March at 17:15.

– DARE HEAR Eligibility Carry Forward: DARE applicants who wish to carry forward their DARE eligibility from 2020 to 2021 must complete the Supplementary Information Form including Question 1(b), by 1 March at 17:15.  HEAR applicants who wish to carry forward their HEAR eligibility from 2020 to 2021 must complete all relevant sections of the HEAR application form, including Section 8, by 1 March at 17:15.

See www.accesscollege.ie, the 2021 CAO Handbook and the CAO website for more details. Instructions for submitting a DARE or HEAR application may be found in the DARE HEAR Application Handbooks and at http://www.cao.ie/index.php?page=accessroutes

3. Mature applicant section

If you are a mature applicant and you have not yet completed the mature section of the application form you can do so up to 1 March at 17:15. Log in to your account via the `My Application` facility and click on `Modify Qualification and Assessment Details`. More information on the Mature Applicant Form can be found here: Mature Student Guide

Mature applicants may be interested in Uversity Higher Education Scholarships for Adult learners – see www.uversity.org – CAO plays no role in the processing of scholarship applications.

Other items to note:

4. Mature applicant for nursing/midwifery

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) set the criteria for entry to nursing and midwifery degree programmes. They require that all mature applicants to nursing and midwifery degree programmes in 2021 must be successful in an assessment test to be eligible to apply. You can register and take the test any time between 10am Thursday 22 April 2021 until 1pm on Wednesday 28 April 2021 when the testing window closes. For detailed information regarding the assessment test, see the following website:

https://www.nmbi.ie/Careers-in-Nursing-Midwifery/How-to-apply/Mature-Applicants

5. Grant applications

If you intend to apply for a grant (www.susi.ie) you may indicate this on your CAO online application. CAO will then provide your identification, contact and offer/acceptance details to the grant authority (SUSI).  Other than providing these details to the grant authority, CAO plays no role in the processing of grant applications. Grant applications should be made on the grant authority website www.susi.ie

6. Entry requirements and exemptions

You should ensure that you will meet the minimum entry requirements of the courses you are applying for. The Higher Education Institution websites and prospectuses have details of these. There may be some concessions, such as exemption from minimum age requirements, Irish language and other language requirements, etc.

If you are seeking an exemption from minimum entry requirements such as Irish (ROI applicants only) or a third language you must do the following:

– If applying to TCD, University of Limerick and Mary Immaculate College you must contact the Admissions Office directly.

– In the case of NUI institutions (i.e. UCC, UCD, Maynooth University, NUI Galway, RCSI, NCAD and St Angela`s College, Sligo), you must contact the NUI (see www.nui.ie for details). CAO plays no role in processing exemption applications.

EU students presenting with qualifications other than the Irish School Leaving Certificate Examination should view the agreed entry requirements criteria for EU/EFTA Applicants here: http://www2.cao.ie/downloads/documents/Guidelines-EU-EFTA.pdf

7. Correspondence from CAO

We will send a Statement of Application Record to all applicants in May. You must follow the instructions carefully and contact us if anything is incorrect or omitted from your CAO account.

We will contact you by email and/or text, so please regularly check the Correspondence Section of your CAO Account. It contains a history of all emails sent to the email address registered on your CAO application, and any online queries that you have submitted to CAO whilst logged in to your CAO Account.

8. Change of Mind

The Change of Mind facility opens on 5 May and closes on 1 July at 17:15. This facility is free of charge and may be used as many times as you like, however some restrictions apply (e.g., mature applicants and restricted courses).

9. Offer and Acceptance Schedule

   We will provide you with an update on the offer and acceptance schedule when we communicate with you in May.

CAO 2021 Timeline: Message to all Applicants: You must read the 2021 CAO Handbook carefully – the Handbook is available on the CAO website – http://www.cao.ie/handbook.php

www.cao.ie/

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