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## CAO guide for mature applicants

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your next step

Advice on how to navigate the CAO application process.

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## What is a ‘mature applicant’?

A Mature Applicant is

normally 23 years old on

or before 1st of January

of the year of admission.

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## What are the entry requirements for mature applicants?

Before you start your CAO application, you should take some time to review the prospectuses and websites of the institutions that you are interested in applying to for more information – these documents will outline the minimum entry requirements.

If you have questions, contact the Admissions Officers of the individual institutions and ask them to explain the entry requirements and if a quota of places applies.

See the CAO Handbook for advice on whether to apply through CAO or directly.



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## When do I apply?

<div style="text-align: center;">Apply before 5pm on January 20 and you will avail of the discounted application fee of €35 (normal fee €50)</div>


<div style="text-align: center;">Most HEIs will not consider you on mature grounds if you apply using the ‘Late Application’ or ‘Change of Mind’ facilities.</div>


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Further Education and Training & Apprenticeship

It is extremely important that Mature Applicants have registered on the CAO system before 1 February at 5pm. To view all of the important dates click on the ‘Important Dates’ link on our homepage. www.cao.ie

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## How do I apply?

Go to www.cao.ie and click on 'Apply'.

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In order to register on the system and get your CAO Application Number, you must enter your personal details

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## What Qualifications and Assessments do I mention?

You will be asked to tick the sections of the 'Qualifications and Assessments' section that are relevant to you – you may select more than one section if relevant.


<table border=1 style='margin: auto; word-wrap: break-word;'><tr><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Do you wish to receive sms text messages from CAO?</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>○Yes○No</td></tr><tr><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Do you wish to receive sms text messages from the HEIs you apply to?</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>○Yes○No</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">[F3]</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">Qualifications &amp; Assessment Summary :Please tick the qualification/assessment categories that are relevant to you.You may tick more than one box, if necessary.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">1. ☐ Irish Leaving Certificate Exams (1985-2026) Help?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">2. ☐ QQI FET/FETAC Level 5/6 Exams (2002-2026) Help? (Including Post-Leaving Certificate Courses leading to QQI FET/FETAC level 5 or 6 awards)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">3. ☐ GCE A/AS Levels/GCSE (2006-2026) Help? (England, Wales, Northern Ireland Exams, and International GCE/GCSE Exams under CAIE, PEARSON, AQA, OCR Boards)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">4. ☐ Other School Leaving Exams Help? (e.g. School Leaving Exams outside of UK &amp; Ireland, Baccalaureate, Scottish Exams, pre-1985 Irish &amp; UK exams, Leaving Cert Applied, Level 3 BTEC, GNVQs, VCEs, Irish Matric Exams, GCE/GCSE pre-2006, etc. - see &quot;Help?&quot; link for further information)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">5. ☐ Other Further Education Help? (Any other Further Education courses that you have undertaken that do not fall into one of the other categories on this application form. See &quot;Help?&quot; link for further information.)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">6. ☐ Third-Level Higher Education Help? (required regardless of whether you passed, failed, or did not take examinations)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">7. ☐ Mature Applicants Help? (those 23 years of age on or before the 1st of January 2026)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">Please note: You must supply additional information about your upcoming examinations or existing</td></tr></table>

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Mature Applicants

can also be considered on the basis of school leaving exams, but applicants must indicate this by ticking the relevant section(s) and providing the information required in the sections provided.

===== PAGE 7 =====
## Final steps to obtain a CAO application number

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## Managing your application?

This is also where you will add your Level 7/6 and Level 8 courses. You can also use this facility to make changes to your application using the 'Change of Mind' facility, however, as a Mature Applicant restrictions apply.

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You can log in to your account to edit some personal Information. You cannot change your date of birth or name - you must contact CAO if you wish to make changes to this information.

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## 2 Applications in 1

There are 2 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.

## APPLICATION

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## APPLICATION

## NFQ levels Major Award-Types


<table border=1 style='margin: auto; word-wrap: break-word;'><tr><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Level 8</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Honours Bachelor Degree (HD)</td></tr><tr><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Level 7</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Ordinary Bachelor Degree (DG)</td></tr><tr><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Level 6</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Higher Certificate (HC)</td></tr></table>

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## What additional information will I need to provide as a mature applicant?

HEIs wish to carefully evaluate applications from mature applicants and, therefore, need certain additional information (see the CAO Handbook for more information):

1. Highest Qualification to Date.

2. Current Studies

3. Post-secondary

4. Second Level Education

5. Non-certificate Courses

6. Employment or Voluntary Work

7. English Language Proficiency (if applicable)



8. References

9. Statement of Interest

10. Hobbies/Interests

11. Additional Information

School leaving examinations and QQI FET/FETAC results presented by mature applicants are also considered in the normal competition for places at Round One and subsequent rounds.

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## Mature entry to Nursing/Midwifery/Primary Teaching/Graduate programmes

Mature applicants to: - Nursing/Midwifery

- Primary teaching

- Graduate programmes

are not required to complete Mature Applicant Sections 1-11 UNLESS they are also applying for other courses and wish to be considered on the grounds of mature years for those courses.

Nursing/Midwifery: Applicants applying for entry to nursing/midwifery on the basis of mature years are ranked based on their score in the NMBI assessment process.

• Graduate Medicine: Qualified applicants are ranked solely on the basis of GAMSAT results.

To qualify, applicants must obtain a second-class honours grade one (2H1) or better in their first Level 8 Honours Degree.

===== PAGE 12 =====
## What documents do I need to supply to CAO to support my application?

Evidence of any qualifications that you have indicated in your online application (within 10 days of applying to CAO).

Supplementary information that you were unable to include in the space provided.

Any documentation required by each of the institutions to which you are applying - details of same are available from www.cao.ie/mature.

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of competency in the English language.

You can upload or post your documents to CAO. Do not do both. For more information go to  www.cao.ie/upload or www.cao.ie/post

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## Important Correspondence from CAO

## Statement of Application Record

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## JUNE 1st

CAO may communicate with applicants via post, email and SMS text (if this option is selected) throughout the application process. Check all CAO correspondence carefully.

Before the end of May, all applicants are sent a ‘Check and Confirm email’ as a final acknowledgement and to enable them to verify that all information has been recorded completely and correctly - if there is any error or omission inform CAO immediately.

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## The Offer Stage

The majority of successful Mature Applicants, including Mature Nursing/Midwifery Applicants, will receive their offer in early July (Round A).

In early August, additional Mature Applicants and Applicants presenting QQI FET/FETAC for consideration for entry to courses with a quota for QQI FET/FETAC Applicants may receive an offer (Round Zero).

Subsequent offers may be made throughout the offer season.

By mid-August (at Round One), if you have not yet been deemed eligible for an offer you will receive a 'Check and Confirm' email. You must check your account carefully to ensure that all of the information we have on file for you is correct – any errors or omissions should be notified to CAO immediately.

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## OFFER

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## The Offer Process

## OFFER

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

Offers can be accepted online.

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.

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## Common Pitfalls!

Applicants wishing to be considered on the basis of mature years must remember to tick the ‘Mature Applicant’ box on the ‘Qualifications and Assessments’ section of the application form. (Do not tick this box if you do not meet the minimum age requirements)

Do not forget to send in your supporting documents to CAO within 10 days of making an application. Listing qualifications on your application is not sufficient without supplementary evidence.

List ALL qualifications and relevant work/life experience on your application and do not forget to complete the personal statement.

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## Common Pitfalls (Part 2)!

Applicants should always check with the Admissions Office of the institution to discover if they need to apply through CAO or directly to the institution

Always remember to list your course choices in order of preference. Receiving a conditional offer from an institution does not guarantee you a place on that course if, for example, you receive an offer of a course higher up on your preference list.

Take note of restrictions when making changes to your CAO Application.

PLACE YOUR COURSE CHOICES IN GENUINE ORDER OF PREFERENCE!



 1; hline ✓ 2; hline ✓ 3; hline ✓ triangle 

To do otherwise is a grave mistake.

===== PAGE 18 =====
## Where can I find more information?

You can find all the information about the application process that you need in the CAO Handbook. To view and/or download the handbook go to www.cao.ie/handbook

You must read the CAO Handbook carefully, taking special note of the relevant sections for Mature Applicants.

A Demo Application facility is also available on the CAO website at www.cao.ie/demo

Dedicated web pages are available for Mature and QQI FET applicants at www.cao.ie/mature and www.cao.ie/qqi


<table border=1 style='margin: auto; word-wrap: break-word;'><tr><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Home</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>My Application</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Apply</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Courses</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Handbook</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Contact</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Thursday, 8 February 2018 15:30</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>As Gaelige</td><td style='text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;'>Print Page</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3">HEI contact detailsDownloadsPoints CalculatorImportant DatesStudent ResourcesAccess RoutesDARE / HEARRestrictionsMature ApplicantsInformation forParentsInformation forSchoolsMedia and StatisticsAbout CAOUseful LinksFAQContact Us</td><td colspan="5">Contact CAOPlease Note: Office contact hours are 09:30 to 13:00, and 14:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday.The best and most effective way of communicating with CAO is via the e-mail contact form.If you have a CAO Application Number please include it in all communication – this will allow us the opportunity to review your application and reply to your query, usually within one working day.e-mail CAO</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">If your query is in relation to eligibility, exemptions, restrictions and course-related requirements you should contact the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) directly. Click here for their contact details.For all media and press enquiries please click here.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">DARE / HEARApplicants, parents and Guidance Counsellors with questions about completing the HEAR or SIF/DARE form should consult the published guides and contact CAO if they cannot find answers to their questions. We will have staff trained in dealing with queries on completing these sections of the form.</td></tr></table>