Last Updated: October 12, 2021
What is CAO/Central Applications Office?
The CAO or the Central Applications Office is a centralized system that lets students process their undergraduate course applications in Irish Higher Education Institutions. The organization was formed in the year 1976 and was created to process applications from all candidates efficiently without having them apply individually for every college or university they have chosen.
The undergraduate courses that candidates can apply to by using the CAO include Higher Certification-Level 6 programs, Bachelor’s Degree- Level 7, and Bachelor’s Degree Honors- Level 8. The CAO publishes a handbook that lists all the courses that are offered and acts as a guide to the application process. Candidates will be allowed to submit only one application in a year. If they end up applying more than once, a penalty fee of € 10 will be charged by the CAO.
Deadlines and Cost for Applying to CAO
The cost of applying on CAO for undergraduate admissions are-
| Service | Fee | Closing Date |
|---|
| Early Online Application | € 30 | 20 Jan, 2022 |
| Normal Online Application | € 45 | 1 Feb, 2022 |
| Late Online Application | € 60 | 1 May, 2022 |
| Change of Mind | Free | 1 July, 2022 |
| Exceptional Online Late Application | € 60 | 22 July, 2022 |
| Vacant/Available Place | € 45 | |
| Paper Application Form | €45 | 1 Feb, 2022(Early)
1 May, 2022(Late) |
The modes of payment that candidates can choose include:
- paying via a credit/debit card
- paying in advance through a bank in the Republic of Ireland using the Application Fee Payment Form. The form can be procured by contacting CAO.
Application Process for International Students
Candidates who are applying from outside the EU will either have to use the CAO or apply directly to the Higher Education Institution. There has been no clear distinction made regarding the same and hence it is advised that candidates personally contact the admissions office of the respective colleges/universities to confirm which mode of application they have to use for applying.
If the candidate has resided outside the EU before or is currently residing outside the EU, they will have to apply directly to some HEIs. Candidates should ascertain this with every individual college they plan to apply to before the deadline. If the candidate is required to apply for the higher educational institution through CAO, they will be able to do so using the following steps.
Stages of the CAO Application Process
Candidates who are applying via CAO will be able to do so in a
paper format or
online. If they wish to apply through the paper format, they will be able to procure the application form by paying an amount of €45 or €90 depending on how early they request for it. Candidates will receive the paper application form via post and upon the submission of this paper application form, they will receive the Statement of Course Choices within 15 days of the submission deadline.
If they are applying online, they will have to take the following steps-
Step 1-Register on CAO website
To use the CAO system, candidates will have to initially register on the official website. Here, they will have to-
- Provide personal details
- Provide a valid email address which will be used for further communication
- Choose the relevant sections from qualifications and assessments
- Pay using an accessible payment method
- Return to application for completing the application process
- Create a password/Reset the password
- Click on the “Proceed with Application” button to receive CAO application number
Step 2- Edit Application using “My Application”
Candidates will be able to provide further details specific to their qualifications during this step. They will be able to choose more than one option among the categories of qualifications and assessments. The categories that are provided are-
- Irish Leaving Certificate Exams(1985-2011)
- QQI FET/FETAC Level 6/6 Exams(2002-2021)
- FETAC Level 5/6 (NCVA Level 2/3) Exams (2001 or Earlier)
- GCE/GCSE England, Wales, and Northern Ireland Exams (1996-2021)
- Other School Leaving Exams
- Further Education
- Third-Level Higher Education
- Mature Applicants
Step 3- Add Documents and Supplementary Information
After choosing the necessary categories regarding their qualifications, candidates will have to provide
supporting documents before they can proceed through the application process. The supporting documents include-
- Certificates/transcripts in their original language.
- Certificates/transcripts should NOT be originals.
- Certified English Translation of the certificates if they are not in English/Irish.
- Certified Copy of official name change if the documentation has a different name.
- Evidence of English language competence, if not a native speaker
Step 4- Add Level 6/7 and Level 8 Courses
After providing the necessary documents, candidates will be able to choose from the courses listed on the site. The courses will be classified based on the levels of the National Framework of Qualification which decides the achievement level of each course. Candidates will be able to choose 10 courses each from the Level 6/7 list and the Level 8 list. The different NFQ levels and the award types based on the courses are listed below:
| NFQ Level | Award-Type |
|---|
| Level 8 | Honors Bachelor Degree |
| Level 7 | Ordinary Bachelor Degree |
| Level 6 | Higher Certificate |
While choosing the courses on the list, candidates must ensure that it is in the order of their preference. This is because the offer of admission will be provided to the candidate based on the highest on the list that they are eligible for and not any course on the list the candidate is eligible for.
Step 5- Choose “Change of Mind” facility, if required
After choosing the desired courses, candidates will be able to go back to the choices they made and alter them if need be. They should do this before the deadline and there will be no additional charges levied for this feature. Through this feature, candidates will be able to change, remove, reorder the courses they have previously chosen.
Step 6- Check “Statement of Application Record”
Once the application has been completed, it is ideal for candidates to go over the Statement of Application Record to verify all the information they have provided. The Statement of Application Record will be sent to the candidate as a final acknowledgment of the application. The main factors to check while going through this section is the course choice and course order, course codes, examination numbers, and personal details. If any of the details are not in order, they will have to contact CAO immediately.
Step 7- Accept Offer Before Deadline
Candidates will be provided with offers of admission in
three rounds: Round A(early July), Round Zero(early August), and Round One(mid-August). Each round will have a reply date after which the next round of offers will be provided to candidates who haven’t accepted offers yet.
Accepting an offer is done online. Candidates will be able to only accept one offer in any said round. They will be able to choose one either from Level 8 or from Level 6/7 and not one from both.
The Points System in CAO
CAO has a points system for candidates who have completed their secondary education. The student's points are based on the best score they have achieved in any of the 6 subjects they have taken in the year that are listed in their Leaving Certificate. The maximum score attainable is 625 where different subjects have different scores. A bonus of 25 points is awarded to the candidates if they clear the Math honors test. If a candidate has more than one Leaving Certificate, the one with the best performance will be considered by CAO. It is by using this score that candidates are provided admissions to colleges they have chosen.
Candidates will be graded on a scale of H1-H8 if they have taken higher-level subjects and on a scale of O1-O8 if they have taken ordinary-level subjects. The points they receive for each kind of subject will vary accordingly.
The scale for higher-level subjects is as follows
| Level | % Received | Points |
|---|
| H1 | 90-100 | 100 |
| H2 | 80-89 | 88 |
| H3 | 70-79 | 77 |
| H4 | 60-69 | 66 |
| H5 | 50-59 | 56 |
| H6 | 40-49 | 46 |
| H7 | 30-39 | 37 |
| H8 | 0-29 | 0 |
The scale for ordinary-level courses is as follows-
| Level | % Received | Points |
|---|
| O1 | 90-100 | 56 |
| O2 | 80-89 | 46 |
| O3 | 70-79 | 37 |
| O4 | 60-69 | 28 |
| O5 | 50-59 | 20 |
| O6 | 40-49 | 12 |
| O7 | 30-39 | 0 |
| O8 | 0-29 | 0 |
How to Reapply to CAO?
Candidates who have applied to CAO previously and would like to re-apply will have to create a new application. They will be able to proceed with the steps they did while applying earlier and generate a new CAO application number.
When to Apply Directly to HEI
Though most of the application procedures can be done through the CAO, there are instances where candidates will have to directly apply to the HEI/Higher Educational Institute. These instances are-
General
Candidates must apply directly to the HEI in question under the following events-
- Course is not mentioned in the handbook
- If the course entry is at a post-initial-year level
- If it is readmission to Mary Immaculate College, Trinity College, University of Limerick, Maynooth University, and Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.
- If it is a follow-on course at TU Dublin or Institutes of Technology.
- If the candidate is applying for postgraduate courses.
Mature Applicants
Mature applicants are those candidates who are above the age of 23. But some institutions might have a different age set for mature applicants which has to be verified by the said university. Candidates will be able to contact the Mature Students Officer of the HEI they plan to apply to in order to get answers to their queries. The HEIs that mature applicants should directly apply to are-
- National College of Ireland
- American College Dublin
- College of Computing Technology
- Dublin Business School
- Griffith College
- Irish College of Humanities and Applied Science
- Dorset College, Dublin
- ICD Business School
Apart from these colleges, candidates will be able to apply through the CAO.
Evening/Part-Time Courses
Part-time courses and Evening courses are not offered by CAO except a few. Just to be sure, candidates will have to go through the CAO handbook and if they cannot find their desired course in the list, they will have to apply directly to the HEI.
Independent Appeals Commission
Candidates who believe that the offers they received or didn’t receive are unfair will be able to appeal to the Independent Appeals Commission especially if their complaints have not been resolved by the CAO. The appeal given should be provided in writing and signed by the applicant and candidates must provide supporting documents to prove their claim. The appeal should be sent to-
The Secretary
CAO Independent Appeals Commission
c/o Tower House
Eglinton Street
Galway, Ireland.
