23/6/2020 – Content of page

1. General virtual Q&A’s , resources, important dates and information from CAO, SUSI.
2. Information from Europe/Eunicas
3. Information from colleges based on region – Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster.
4. Always check the college webpage for access to live chats, virtual offerings etc.
5. Below is updates onlive Q&A’s with various colleges, Eunicas and feedback from college admission officers with more detail. I will endeavor to keep this as up to date as possible but important PLEASE CHECK COLLEGE WEBSITES AND INSTAGRAM REGULARLY FOR UPDATES, alot are planning ongoing virtual events
6. NEW ADDITION: Camps you can access from abroad

Synergy careers – access to recordings of series of webinars to date, click here .

September##	Friday 11th	Results, Offers & Starting  (free)
September	Monday 7th	Career Planning & Research
September	Monday 14th	Preparation for Open Days/Career Exhibitions
September	Monday 21st	Careers in Accountancy & Finance
September	Monday 28th	Careers in Business & Administration
October	Monday 5th	Goal Setting, Study Skills & Exam Technique

Essential – For daily updates on careers and education news, please use this link and sign up to their newsletter. It is a good source of information delivered daily to your inbox:

https://careersnews.ie

SUSI – grant application facility opens late april on year of application. Classroom Guidance have created a 5 min video on “Student Grants in Ireland – How to Apply” for you to share with your students at home. Videos and advice also available on SUSI website. The priority processing dates are 11th June for renewal applications and 9th July for new applications. Applicants who submit their applications on or before these dates will receive priority assessment. The online application system will remain open until late autumn / early winter, after which late applications fulfilling the necessary criteria will be accepted. Please note: Students do not need to have their Leaving Cert results, or to have accepted a course in order to apply. They can simply supply the details of the course they hope to study and update their course choice online at a later date.

HPAT – Ireland results late June 2020

Classroom Guidance, Brian Comerford has also created some very useful videos around SUSI application, CAO, PLC courses, subject choice. Check out the following linkvideo guides pageClassroom Guidance has also created a 4 min video on “Successful transition to college / university 7 Top Tips”  https://youtu.be/ZL6QFcxEKqs We simply explain the 7 potential pit falls and give advice on how to overcome them and be better prepared.Please subscribe and then share at the end of the video, You could also check out the video guides page too: To sign in and avail of these resources – Username = Student Password = Student_20

https://classroomguidance.ie/videoguides/

Careersportal, Irelands online information on careers have also opened up access to all Leaving Certificate students to their online guidance program REACH+. Careersportal also gives very detailed up-to-date information via their newsletter/website COLLEGE NEWS.I

Donnchadh O’Mahony from @leavingcertguidance on Instagram

He has organised a series of Q&A’s with various colleges at 10.30am starting with Maynooth college, you can listen on IGTV for playback
April 7^th Tuesday – Carlow College –
April 8^th Wednesday – UL
April 9^th Thursday – Athlone IT
April 10^th Friday- LYIT
April 13th founder of 625Points + Doctor (Dr. Martina Feyzrakhmanova)
April 14th Tuesday – TU Dublin
April 15th Wednesday – Marino Institute
April 16th Thursday – GMIT
April 20th Monday – @fabulouspharmacist @10am, and Mary Immaculate College @10.30am
April 24th
@10.30am Sinn Fein Education spokesperson, Donnchadh O’Laoghaire @11.15 Senator Robbie Gallagher FF
April Monday 27th @10.30am NUIG 
April 30th Thursday UCD college of social science and law

May 5th – Dundalk College of Further Education Denis Leonard
May 6th – Johannes Mallow
May 7th – EUNICAS Guy Flouch
May 7th – Brian Mooney Irish Times Correspondance
May 12th Alison Moore IT Carlow
May 15th – Cait Noone GMIT Galway International Hotels school
May21st – Sandra O’Herlihy UCC
May 27th Michael Dowdican IT Sligo

June 18th – Dermot O’Donovan GMIT on NEW BEd in Art, Design and Graphics

Join in the conversation, send in questions and/or listen and learn

AHEAD Webinar

AHEAD and TCD Student Union have put together a webinar for incoming first year students with disabilities in any higher education college this September. It is taking place on Thursday 25th June.

The webinar will be facilitated by Hannah Kelly GetAHEAD co-ordinator, and 4 students with disabilities from different colleges will be speaking about their experiences and information about support they’ve received- this will cover both on campus and remote learning. There will also be an opportunity for the attendees to ask any questions they might have, peer- to-peer.

You can find more information about the event and a registration link at this webpage: https://ahead.ie/daretogo

Europe

Eunicas – Guy Flouch He has hosted a live chat with medical school from U Pavia, Italy and Irish vet students in Warsaw, irish studying internation law in Groningen, Physiotherapy in Eindhoven. So keep an eye on eunicas.ie and subscribe to newsletter. Please feel free to contact Guy with any questions you might have concerning Medicine, Denistry or Veterinary degrees in continental Europe.

Studying in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe www.eunicas.ie

CAO –May 15th update

1. Statement of Application Record – Changes

CAO will not be in a position to send a postal Statement of Application Record to applicants. Today (15 May) we will send email correspondence to all applicants who applied to CAO by the 1 February this year. This email is referred to as the Statement of Application Record email, and it replaces the traditional postal document which applicants would normally receive this month. Applicants who applied using the late application facility will receive an email later this month.

The email instructs applicants to log in to their CAO account to verify that all of their personal details, examination information, supporting documents, course choices and exemptions (if any) are recorded correctly on their accounts.

If there are errors or omissions, applicants are given the opportunity to rectify this information (for no charge) via their online CAO Account (as opposed to writing the changes on the paper Statement of Application Record and returning it to CAO, as was the common practice in the past). Examination updates made before the end of May will be updated to applicant accounts in early June.

Click here for more information on the Statement of Application Record email.

Change of mind facility opens up next week, May 5th at 12 noon and closes July 1st, check out video from CAO Change of mind facility CAO are waiting for State Exam Commission to confirm dates of Leaving cert and will be in discussion with them re dates of results and offer rounds. The CAO offices are now closed as and from the 30th of March, until further notice. The latest information from them is as follows:

If you have an urgent query or an account access issue please email us via the Correspondence Section of your CAO Account (or the Contact section of the website). Please remain patient and allow our remote access team sufficient time to deal with your request. Make sure to include as much information as possible to assist us in handling your query. There is no telephone service available at this time.

Postal correspondence should not be sent to the CAO office from today, 30th March. Applicants who are required to supply documentation to support their application are asked to wait until the restrictions are lifted before posting such documents. Documents sent in recent days will be processed when the CAO office re-opens. Documents already in the postal system will be delivered to the office when the restrictions are lifted.

Online late applications are still being accepted up to 1st May at 17:15. To make a late application click on `Apply`.

The CAO Change of Mind facility will operate as usual, opening on the 5th May at noon and closing on the 1st July at 17:15.

Questions relating to COVID-19

Please Note: Office contact hours are 09:30 to 17:00, Monday to Friday.

Q:  I have made a late application and I need to submit supporting documents, what should I do?

A:   Applicants who are required to supply documentation to support their application are asked to wait until the restrictions are lifted before posting such documents. Documents sent in recent days will be processed when the CAO office re-opens. Documents already in the postal system will be delivered to the office when the restrictions are lifted.

Q:  I sent my documents to you just before the government restrictions were announced – do I need to re-send them?

A:  Documents sent in recent days will be processed when the CAO office re-opens. Documents already in the postal system will be delivered to the office when the restrictions are lifted.

Q:  I am a mature applicant and I need to send supporting documents, am I too late?

A:  Please wait until the current restrictions are lifted before posting supporting documents to CAO. As you are a mature applicant, please ask the HEI admissions offices if they will take account of documents sent at this stage (Documents were to be sent within 10 days of submitting an application). HEI contact details can be found here: https://www.cao.ie/index.php?page=hei&type=admissions

Q:  I am an EU citizen who applied using late application and I cannot post my supporting documents due to office closure

A:  Please send your documents once the restrictions in Ireland are lifted. HEIs will understand the position.

Q:  I am a GCE Applicant and I am concerned about how my results will be considered this year?

A:  The decision is a matter for the Higher Education Institutions, but we expect that grades issued by examining authorities will be treated as normal.

Q:  I am an ‘Other School Leaving Applicant’ and my exams have been rescheduled for end July/August – what happens now?

A:  There is much uncertainty at the moment. The best advice we can give is to send your results as soon as you receive them.

Q:  I am an ‘Other School Leaving Applicant’ and my examination structure may change this year. I am concerned about how my results will be considered.

A:  The decision is a matter for the Higher Education Institutions but we expect that grades issued by examining authorities will be treated as normal. Applicants will receive correspondence from CAO with further information as soon as it is available.

A:  Will the Change of Mind be cancelled/changed?

A:  CAO is continuing to operate to the schedule as published. In the event of any change to the CAO schedule (which would be a matter for CAO and HEIs to agree on) CAO will inform applicants.

Q:  What if Leaving Cert is postponed/cancelled?

A:  CAO is continuing to operate to the schedule as published. In the event of any change to the CAO schedule (which would be a matter for CAO and HEIs to agree on) CAO will inform applicants.

Questions asked by me of the admissions officers of colleges on CAO

1. Contact number to ring admissions officer if not at office number?
2. Details of live chats? Where to access them? Who is managing them? How quick is the response on average?
3. Any virtual open days planned? When and is pre registration necessary?
4. Any department Q&A’s ? I am aware there is one this aft by NUIG business and law from 2-4pm – how is this working is there a presentation and then Q&A? seems along time for LC to be on. The 30 minute focused Q &A seems good . Maybe if NUIG could let us know how last weeks Q&A’s went, what worked, what didn’t work?
5. With restricted courses, what guidelines are you giving students re submissions eg portfolio for product design? I am aware some deadlines are still in place , some extended, clarity on homepage of college websites would benefit students

Munster Colleges

Limerick Colleges- MIC response

1. We would encourage any student with a query to email admissions@mic.ul.ie and they will receive a reply in due course. We also have a Q and A platform called Pubble on all of the programme pages on the MIC website so students can alternatively use that.

2. As mentioned above we will probably do a Q and A with Donnchadh in due course. 

3. No virtual open days planned.

4. Instagram Live Schedule of events (Instagram Handle @miclimerick)

Each session will be hosted by Dr Patrick Cosgrove, MIC Student Recruitment Officer.

• Tuesday 16 June (7pm): BA in Contemporary & Applied Theatre Studies with Dr Carole Quigley, Department of Drama & Theatre Studies
• Wednesday 17 June (7pm): MIC Thurles Post-Primary Teacher Education Degrees with Dr Finn Ó Murchú, Head of the School of Education (Post-Primary)
• Thursday 18 June (7pm): Student Support Services with Dr Geraldine Brosnan, Director of Student Life
• Tuesday 23 June (7pm): BA in Early Childhood Care & Education with Dr Lisha O’Sullivan, Head of the Department of Reflective Pedagogy & Early Childhood Studies
• Thursday 25 June (7pm): Bachelor of Arts  with Professor Michael Breen, Dean of the Faculty of Arts
• Tuesday 30 June (7pm): Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching), Bachelor of Education (International)& B Ed in Education & Psychology  with Dr Claire Griffin, Department of Educational Psychology, Inclusive & Special Education

MIC Instagram – @miclimerick

 

MIC Instagram Handle – @miclimerick

We will be adding additional sessions so please visit www.mic.ie regularly for updates.

Griffith College Limerick

1. Anthony Brosnan – 087 373 4067 Contact number to ring admissions officer if not at office number 061 310031. During the crisis the mobile number is best to ring for an immediate answer to any CAO queries
2. Direct contact can be made via 087 373 4067 or anthony.brosnan@griffith.ie
3. 6th of May 2020 there will be a virtual open day hosted via Zoom.
4. With restricted courses, what guidelines are you giving students re submissions eg portfolio for product design? I am aware some deadlines are still in place , some extended, clarity on homepage of college websites would benefit students
   
   

Griffith College Limerick does not offer any programme that require portfolio’s or product design.

Griffith College Limerick Campus O’Connell Avenue, Limerick City, V94 DK23, Ireland 

Full & Part Time Courses: https://www.griffith.ie/locations/limerick

LIT

Over the last few years during May, we have run Revision Seminars for Leaving Cert students in Maths, French, etc. Obviously at the moment until we know what’s happening with the Leaving Cert, these are under review but in the event that the Leaving Cert goes ahead, we will hopefully be able to make provision for these to run online. 

In the meantime, all our staff are working remotely & are available to answer any questions students may have about courses at LIT.

Our Web Chat option is easily accessible on all individual course pages for students with queries about any course. There is a pop up “ASK” chat box in the lower right corner of each course page :- https://lit.ie/en-IE/coursesThere also a series of Instagram live Q&A’s with departments and other virtual events taking place from May 12th (IT Department is scheduled on May 22^nd) . More details will be posted next week.
A full schedule of the virtual events, beginning on Tuesday 12th May and running until Friday, 15th June, is available at: www.lit.ie/virtual-open-days

In addition, our Schools Liaison Team are available to answer any questions about our undergraduate courses, student supports, etc. Simply email: schools@lit.ie and a member of the team will be happy to assist further. 

Ann McBride,
Admissions Officer

UL

We hope you and your family are keeping well. If you have a 6th year student considering joining us in September 2020 we want to make sure you’re fully informed and up to date with the range of UL’s available support for any questions and queries you may have.

While we are busy getting ready to welcome our students, we just wanted to touch base with you to let you know we are doing everything we can to ensure students get the UL student experience, albeit, a little different this year. We are considering carefully that students get a campus experience with the combination of a blended model of online and face-to-face learning, while also ensuring to keep student safety at the forefront of our planning.

We will be in touch as soon as we have updates for this.

We invite you to join our next online event, our Undergraduate Programme Talks on the 23rd – 25th of June from each of our faculties. Our lecturers will be there speaking about our suite of programmes available at UL and give you great insights into life at UL. The presenter will be on hand at the end of each talk to answer any queries. You can have a look here at our full schedule of talks, along with the links for each.

Please ensure you have Microsoft Teams on your device to ensure you don’t miss out

Before the CAO closes on the 1^st of July we will be hosting our annual Q & A event. For 3 days, on the 29^th, 30^th of June and the 1^st of July our Study at UL Team along with our student ambassadors will be on hand to answer any further questions you might have before students begin their journey at UL.

Ask us anything from anywhere! Our team will be on hand to offer advice and answer any questions you might have – DM us, email us or catch us on Live Chat…whatever suits you. Give us a ring on 061-202015 or livechat with us here

If you have any questions in the mean time, have a look at our CAO Admissions FAQ page.

We are doing a Q&A with @leavingcertguidance on Wednesday 8 ^th at 10.30am

The Recruitment and Admissions Office, Academic Registry, are business as usual and are here to help and support applicants in anyway we can. Supports are in place, our phones are being manned remotely, we are on live chat on our website and are answering emails, as well as planning for assessment, offers and orientation over the summer period. Please feel free to contact course directors, their emails will be on each course page on the prospectus. Alternatively, any time you visit our website www.ul.ie , you will see a chat box pop up in the bottom left hand corner. This can be used for any questions you may have about our programmes, entry requirements, application deadlines etc. It is the University’s Admissions Team that is answering all of these questions, so they will be able to help you out with these queries. You can visit here https://ulsites.ul.ie/admissions/node/103111 for any FAQs. If this doesn’t answer your questions you can also submit an enquiry following this link https://www.ul.ie/admissions-askus/. Or you can give them a ring on 061-202015.

We do not have a virtual open day set up as our open day took place in January, as it has every year.

We emailed all applicants of restricted courses informing them of the requirements and deadlines on Thursday 12th March. This was then followed with a text message to these applicants. We will be making further correspondence with change of mind applicants once that process has closed.
Laura Moloney, Head of Admissions

ICHAS

1. Contact number to ring admissions officer 061 216288 info@ichas.ie
2. Details of live chats? Online open/info sessions see https://ichas.ie/events/
3. Enquirers can register their interest and request a log in link at info@ichas.ie managed by the Programme Coordinators, response on average between 2 and 12 hours
4. Virtual open day planned May 6^th 2020 from 6.00 – 7.30pm  https://ichas.ie/event/online-information-evening-may-2020/ – you can register your interest and request a log in link at info@ichas.ie

Dolores McMahon, Placement Coordinator

Central College Limerick will be hosting virtual interviews over the next number of weeks. If any of your students are interested, please feel free to share our attached prospectus and encourage them to contact us at, www.centralcollegelimerick.ie or call (061) 410390. In light of the unprecedented uncertainty at this time, students are understandably anxious. As a consequence having a secured option in place for next September, may put students minds at ease.

Some of the many positives of completing a QQI level 5 or 6 qualification with us include: No Points required, Excellent Progression Opportunities, Direct progression links with Limerick Institute of Technology Newly Refurbished College Highly Experienced Staff Full-time Guidance Counselling Service Employer links and and excellent work experience placements Support for Learners with Disabilities SUSI Grant Applicable BTEA No fees (accept government levy of €200) One of the largest and longest running voluntary further education colleges in the country

UCC: https://www.ucc.ie/en/emt/covid19/prospective-faq/For a wide range of information on UCC, you can also search our course pages, CAO Handbook, and ASK.UCC.ie UCC have created a short about how to cope in the present pandemic as a LC student video One-to-One Digital Session are available if any students are looking for some assistance. If they are considering applying for one of UCC’s degree programmes and have a burning question or doubt that needs to be addressed. UCC staff are available for one-to-one virtual sessions Monday to Friday, 10-11.30am and 2.30-3.30pm to answer questions on our programmes, CAO applications, student life and so on. Booking is easy, go to www.ucc.ie/undergrad/allapplicants and click ‘Book a one-to-one Digital Session’

The BComm Convention was originally scheduled to take place on UCC Campus on Wednesday 22nd April. Although the event had to be cancelled, UCC want to share some of the key messages from the incredible line-up of speakers, so have transitioned the event to an on-line webinar. Watch the first episode here https://youtu.be/nJ-nYkCclxA. Further episodes will become available over the coming weeks. To register to receive these videos please email Anne Wallace (a.wallace@ucc.ie).

UPCOMING EVENTS Live Q&A Webinar or Tuesday 12th May @2pm-4pm IST for all CAO Applicants. During this session, participants will be able to ask questions pertinent to the CAO application process, any timelines known at that point, ask about specific courses, requirements, etc. Specific details on how to log in on the day or how to access it at a later stage will be shared with all CAO applicants in the upcoming days.

UCC have uploaded a couple of new course videos, which may be of interest to our prospective students. You will be able to see Arts (CK101) and Physics (CK408) & Industrial Physics (CK409) in a new fun and informative way. UCC are also launching Nurturing Bright Futures later in the year, this will be an online course to prepare 6th years for the transition to 3rd level.

CORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Will host a number of Question and Answer video sessions online on Instagram Live for prospective CAO students over the coming weeks. The Instagram Live Q&A sessions started on Monday 27th April 2020 and will cover areas such as Business, Engineering, Science, Humanities, Computer Science, Art, Music & Maritime. These sessions will be particularly beneficial for students availing of the CAO Change of Mind facility which opens on 5th May. CIT have run 20 Instagram live sessions for students over the last 4 weeks and the recordings of these sessions can be found at www.cit.ie/cao/recordings Students are finding these recordings very beneficial.

Each session will last 30 minutes and will be based on a particular department’s courses and disciplinary area, covering topics such as course content, work placement and future job prospects. Sessions for CIT support services such as Access & Disabilities, Mature Students and HEAR / DARE programmes will also be organised. A full timetable of the virtual Q & A events is available on their website.

IT Tralee

www.ittralee.ie are hosting a number of webinars for CAO applicants as a last chance to meet with lecturers, current students and graduates before the CAO Change of Mind facility closes on July 1st at 5:15pm. Discover how IT Tralee can help you on your journey to an exciting career in Business, Computing, Culinary Arts, Creative Media & IT, Engineering, Event Management, Science, Health & Leisure & Social Sciences. Visit www.ittralee.ie/webinars for registration and for more information. June 15th 11am Wildlife Biology Agricultural Science Veterinary Bioscience Social Care & Early Childhood Care & Education Animation, VFX & Motion Design Culinary Arts & Event Management 1pm Pharmaceutical Science Pharmacy Technician 2pm Agricultural Engineering Agricultural Mechanisation Computing Health & Leisure Business 3pm Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering 4pm Civil Engineering TV Radio & New Media

Visit www.ittralee.ie/webinars for registration and for more information.

WIT – Waterford Institute of Technology

Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) has announced further supports for the CAO applicants of 2020 at a dedicated website www.wit.ie/cao.

Talks on Zoom

‘College, Courses and CAO choices’ part of the WIT Talks on Zoom runs from 7pm-8pm on Thursday, 25 June 2020 and us CAO applicants and their parents the opportunity to ask those all important questions before the CAO Change of Mind deadline on 1 July 2020.

What college might look like:

Health and safety

• Safe environment
• Hand sanitisation stations
• Social distancing and face mask wearing protocol in line with Government guidelines
• Lab laboratory and skills-based courses will be run with appropriate PPE and guidance on social distancing/hygiene mechanisms.

Social aspect

• Orientation and ice breakers for first years to get to know classmates
• Exploration of multiple ways to maintain face to face contact
• Initiatives to build sense of community and peer relationships
• Social and cultural aspect of college will be preserved

Lectures and classes

• Timetables are expected to run as normal
• Students are likely to be on campus a number of days rather than all their classes in one block
• A mix of online and on-campus classes will be the new way of learning
• There will be improved IT infrastructure and facilities to allow students to learn online while on campus

Accommodation

• WIT Accommodation already full and will be operated in line with Government guidelines
• WIT is well served by student accommodation and WIT StudentPad will advertise rooms and accommodation for rent to students
• Waterford city boasts strong connectivity through national primary road routes and public transport connections.

Students may also need to consider

• Access to broadband and laptop/devices for study
• Following hygiene protocol on campus, when socialising and at home
• Follow advice on recommended/required wearing of facemasks e.g. on public transport
• Accessing grants and other funds in place to support them

For more information on this event please  follow @wit_careers_centre  on Instagram

Two members of the institute’s outreach team John Power and Claire Holden will be on hand for more detailed queries via the Virtual Drop-In. These pre-booked session will give applicants or their parents the opportunity to have a private discussion about individual scenarios.

For full details visit www.wit.ie/cao and follow Waterford Institute of Technology for updates on social media.

Virtual Open Day on 1 July for adult learners will be feature two 1-hour Zoom sessions, lunchtime and evening, and will feature talks from academic experts and the Springboard Team who will explain the application process. Details will be available on the WIT website and on social media ahead of the day. See www.wit.ie and www.wit.ie/parttime.

“Every autumn adults turn to part-time learning and this year we are expecting a surge of applications as people look to re-skill or upskill. Our 1 July Virtual Open Day for adult learners will allow people to ask questions they may have about returning to study, fees, and areas they are interested in,” Quinlan says.

The list of WIT Springboard and Part-time courses for 2020/21 will be launched at the Virtual Open Day. Quinlan says courses will be available in a wide variety of areas including business and management, construction engineering, biopharmachem sciences, biomedical engineering, fintech, computing and data analytics, childcare, hospitality and more. Courses may be 1-year courses to add to existing qualifications or it’s also possible for adult learners to do a variety of full degree qualifications part-time.

Among these will be free or highly-subsidised Springboard+ higher-education courses from WIT which are open to both employed and unemployed people.

“Springboard+ courses are designed to allow people to re-boot their career through significant upskilling within one-year of less.  Courses are fully-funded for the unemployed, previously self-employed and people returning to the workplace. For employed people level 6 Springboard Courses are 100% – funded and Level 7 – 9 Springboard courses are 90% – funded,” concludes Quinlan.

Springboard+ is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Social Fund as part of the ESF programme or Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020.

Leinster Colleges

Maynooth + St. Patricks College

1. June Open day – 27th from 10-2pm
2. Maynooth University – Engineering Maths Exam Registration Now Open. Applications can sign up here:

https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/study-maynooth/undergraduate-studies/how-apply/engineering-mathematics-examMaynooth University’s ‘Live Chat with our Students’  continues this Thursday, 18th June. This series is aimed at helping prospective applicants get a better insight into the Maynooth College experience. This week’s details are below:

Maynooth University – Live Chat with our Students When? Tuesday 23rd June 2pm – 5pm (submit questions now!)

Maynooth University will be hosting Live Chats with current students to help prospective applicants get a better insight of the Maynooth Experience .

This will give prospective students the opportunity to ask students in their desired courses any queries that they might have.

This week, the following students will be live from 2pm- 5pm:

Beth –  MH209 BSc Psychology

Gráinne – MH501 LLB Law

You can add your questions now before they go live on Tuesday 23rd June here:  

maynoothuniversity.ie/ask-a-student

Registration is now live for the Summer Virtual Open Day on mu.ie/opendays

2. Contact number to ring admissions officer if not at office number? contact us by e-mail admissions@mu.ie, on webchat at www.mu.ie/level8 or by calling 01-7083822. Social media channels,  Twitter (@MaynoothCAO), Facebook and Instagram (@MaynoothUni) We also encourage you to let parents and students know that we are here to answer any queries they may have about Maynooth University via these channels.

Ruth Daly, School Liaison Officer did a live chat with Donnchadh O’Mahony at 10.30am on Monday 6^th April, this can still be accessed online on IGTV. We are also doing our own Instagram live event on Wednesday 8^th April at 9pm, involving two of our student ambassadors plus Ruth. Our handle is @stpatrickscollegemaynooth. Barbara and Ruth manage these and endeavour to respond asap to all enquiries, as far as possible

upcoming virtual open day on Saturday, June 27th, registration is now live here : https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/study-maynooth/undergraduate-studies/open-daysMore information available next week

15/04/2020 Visiting the following web page and under ”Admissions Office” section  https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/coronavirusFollowing our twitter account @ MaynoothCAO. Visiting our FAQ section  https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/study-maynooth/undergraduate-studies/frequently-asked-questions

Information for UG & PG Student applications in light of COVID-19 up on the header of our websites home page: www.maynoothcollege.ie

UCD: 

UCD will be hosting virtual summer school in early June for 5th years, follow link to apply https://ucdsummerschool.ie/

https://www.ucd.ie/registry/prospectivestudents/adviceforprospectiveirisheueeastudents/

UCD SUMMER SCHOOL 2020

Event Date: 02 June 2020  – 05 June 2020 in Virtual summer schoolUCD Belfield.

Learn, explore, and experience University College Dublin by attending our 2020 Virtual Summer School.  If you are considering UCD for 2020 or 2021, join us online from 2 – 5 June for some information packed, interactive webinars. Meet our lecturers and student ambassadors, ask questions and find out more about your chosen subject area.

Registration will open on 18th May 2020. If you wish to be kept informed and added to our notification list please fill out the form on their website.

National college of art and design – postgraduates applications are now invited. Applicants should visit www.ncad.ie and follow the website links.

Trinity College Dublin has a dedicated email address for those students hoping to attend this year.  Any queries can be forwarded to them at the following address:  academic.registry@tcd.ie.

NCI – 15/04/2020 they are hosting a live Q&A with the student liaison officer of @ncirl. Leaving Certificate students are welcome to contact the Admissions Office with any questions or concerns they may have. The Admissions Office can contacted by email at admissions@ncirl.ie or by phone on 1850 221 721 (this phone line is manned despite the college closure). We currently do not have any lived chats directed at Leaving Certificate students planned. NCI’s full-time open days were held in November and January, and no later open days are scheduled. There are currently no department Q&As planned, but Leaving Certificate students are welcome to send any questions they have to admissions@ncirl.ie and we will forward these to the relevant faculty members.

TU Dublin – Frank Costelloe, head of admissions TUD just did a live instagram chat 14/04/2020 on @leavingcertguidance, catch up and watch on IGTV. Check out their contact page to get phone number/email contacts for any course of interest. On their website TUD have a very quick response with students available to do live chat.
We will be running a number of online events in May, we are currently finalising the dates and the format which will be published online shortly. We will also publish them on a variety of websites such as careers portal/qualifax etc and we will do a social media advertising campaign.

TU Dublin Virtual Open Days

Undergrad Live Event June 24th and 25th starting at 11am

Register now at

https://www.tudublin.ie/undergradlive/

Carlow College, St Patrick’s

CAO Virtual Q&A with Carlow College, St. Patrick’s

Carlow College, St. Patrick’s will host a change of mind virtual Q&A on Thursday 25th June from 2 to 5pm

Talk to our admissions and student recruitment teams about the CAO change of mind process. We’re here to answer your questions about what steps you should take and give you options for your future at Carlow College, St. Patrick’s.

This is a simple Q&A format with no registration required. You can simply join the conversation and see the questions other CAO applicants have on www.CarlowCollege.ie

AIT – to contact via Facebook or Instagram more radid response or by email askus@ait.ie. The open day scheduled for April 25th is cancelled but they will be offering approximately 25 Q&A’s across the 10 departments. To find out about these virtual events go to ait.ie/cao-hub . You can also access via pobal, instagram, podcasts with graduates, students and lecturers. Today 14/04/2020 Sean Lyons from AIT Engineering talked with student recruitment officer Daniel Seery, on courses available, facilities available, partnership links, progression routes from level 6/7, keep an eye on future instagram lives https://ait.ie/virtualevents

Marino Institute live chat on instagram 15/04/2020 with @leavingcertguidance . For any questions on courses, accommodation, fees, direct query to admissions@mie.ie and they will forward to the appropriate personnel.

IADT have provided a Digital Portfolio Submission Platform for our applicants this year. We are very mindful of the fact that this is a particularly difficult time for many Leaving Certificate students and have decided to extend the deadline for submission to Midnight on Wednesday 30th April for any remaining students who wish to apply.

To access the Digital Submission Platform and for further details please visit https://www.iadt.ie/study/portfolio-guidelines We will be running a series of Q&A’s and webinars over the next couple of weeks.

Monday 15th June – https://www.iadt.ie/future/film-media – 2pm to 3pm (Film+Media)

Tuesday 16th June – https://www.iadt.ie/future/psychology – 1pm – 2pm (Pscychology)

Tuesday 16th June – https://www.iadt.ie/future/technology – 2pm – 3pm (Technology)

Tuesday 16th June – https://www.iadt.ie/future/art-design – 3pm – 4pm (Art + Design)

Wednesday 17th June – https://www.iadt.ie/future/business – 1pm -2pm (Business + Entrepreneurship)

Wednesday 17th June – https://www.iadt.ie/future/humanities – 2pm – 3pm (Humanities)

Thursday 18th June – https://www.iadt.ie/future/admissions 1pm – 2pm (Admissions / Fees+Grants)

Friday 19th June – https://www.iadt.ie/future/admissions 1pm – 2pm (Support Services)

Thursday 25th June – https://www.iadt.ie/news/webinar-film-media-postgraduate-courses – 1pm – 2pm

DCU – message from DCU President for incoming 1st years https://youtu.be/Jhpsj3ZuZtI

DCU Live Virtual Open Day

(Friday 19th June 10.00am-4.00pm)

DCU’s final Live Virtual Open Day event happens today (Friday 19th June).

What’s on and how to join the event?

A full list of the ‘Live’ event is available here. To join the event at any time during the open day, please visit DCU.ie/CAO and click the ‘Join’ link located in the yellow box.

Taster sessions – The digital classroom!

Our taster sessions will provide you with the digital classroom experience. They will highlight how you can connect with fellow classmates and engage with your lecturers. If your course is not listed, don’t worry! We have lots of course videos on our webpages detailing more specific content here, but please do join us for a taster session to sample our digital experience!

DCU App

You might find it helpful to download our new app. The Virtual Open Day schedule is available and you can set reminders for the sessions you are most interested in attending over the three days. Our app is available to download from Google Play store and Apple’s app store: DCU#ForYou

We would be delighted to help you if you have any further questions – simply email studenthelp@dcu.ie

Our student ambassadors are answering questions daily from 2-3pm if your students have any course related questions they would like answered. https://www.dcu.ie/studentrecruitment/askusaquestion.shtml. Taster lectures, course talks, student experience Virtual Change of Mind Open Days on June 17, 18 & 19 – register at dcu.ie/cao

Your students told us they would love a chance to experience a university lecture, to hear from our current students and we hope to do just that with our first ever Virtual Open Days! Your students can sit in on a taster lecture to get a feel for what lies in store during their studies, hear from students on their experience and learn more about student life at DCU. This event is an absolute must to get your students excited for DCU. Register by clicking here: https://www.dcu.ie/caovirtualopenday

2.           A video from Director of the National Institute of Digital Learning

Did you know that DCU has over 25 years’ experience in digital teaching? We are excited about our students blended learning experience with us, and will be ensuring that the outstanding DCU student experience that we are known for, is something that your students can still look forward to. Director of our National Institute of Digital Learning in DCU, Prof Mark Brown, alongside student ambassadors Aisha Siwar and Mark Barry, this week, wanted to tell you about what your students digital learning experience will be like in DCU. Click here to watch the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqircyUoJHw&feature=youtu.be

3.           DCU will offer highly flexible accommodation

DCU was the first University to adjust our on campus accommodation model to reflect the needs of students for the new academic year. We have taken the decision to offer our students flexible on-campus accommodation arrangements for the upcoming academic year. This will make things so much easier for students this September. For full information click here:

https://www.dcuaccommodation.ie/.

We would be delighted to help you, so if you have any further questions please email Colette, Margaret and Jonny at: Student.help@dcu.ie

IT Carlow Virtual Open Day on Monday 29th June 10am – 2pm. 

Institute of Technology Carlow are holding a Virtual Open Day on Monday 29th June 10am – 2pm.

The day will give students an opportunity to gather information and ask those important questions before the Change of Mind deadline.

Students can virtually visit our campuses, hear our students tell their stories, discuss the fees, grants and supports available, find out about the different scholarships, participate in live Q&A sessions with a team of experts, and get the best advice and tips on applying to IT Carlow.

Please see the link below, the site will go live the day of the event.

https://www.itcarlowvirtualopenday.ie/

Connacht Colleges

NUIG have planned a series of virtual events where you can have your questions answered live. For further information and a list of the scheduled events please go to nuigalway.ie/virtual-events/ . NUIG virtual open day on Thursday 7th May, 1 day event from 12-3pm – presentations from this day are still available on www.nuig/cao. Another virtual open day is planned for June 19th

NUI Galway is an award-winning university in the heart of Galway city. Ranked among the top 2% of universities in the world, our courses include business, law, medicine, arts, science, engineering and more, all built on a thriving campus centred around a strong campus community. This year, we mark 175 years of learning, so we’ve weathered storms in the past. Which means we know a thing or two about opportunity. On the 19th of June, NUIG offers students the chance to join their CAO Change of mind webinar. For further  information and to pre-register for this please go to:  www.nuig.ie and follow the link ‘CAO applicants’ or click on the link below.

https://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/dbeD1fqAs1

We have received a lot of queries regarding Covid-19 and how it will affect our part-time courses. We have compiled a list of FAQ’s that will hopefully answer any questions you may have. As the university remains closed all our staff are working remotely, however we are still available to answer queries and discuss options with you so please feel free to contact us. For any questions email caroline.duggan@nuigalway.ieIf you are seeking information in regard to Scholarships, please refer to our website:https://www.nuigalway.ie/undergraduate-scholarships/

Shannon College of Hotel Management (NUIG) SCHM are hosting a virtual open day on June 18th at 12noon.

Admissions office is closed so contact Sarah O Mahony – School Liaison Office Email: Sarah.omahony@nuigalway.ie Call : 0833131555 for any queries, responses within a few hours. I am happy to arrange online chats with students by request, using whatever platform the student is most comfortable. I have also been hosting online presentations , as well as Q&A Sessions using Zoom. These sessions were shared on our social media platforms ; Facebook and Instagram. We will be taking part in all the NUI Galway Virtual Events as well as college specific. Neither of our programmes are restricted however our application process does include an entrance interview. We are conducting the first round of interviews via skype at the ned of April and beginning of May. We always conduct a second round of interviews after the leaving cert and we are hoping it will be possible to conduct these interviews face to face as usual.

GMIT check out @leavingcertguidance instagram live chats (playback available) held 16/04/2020 with Lauren Cunningham Student Liaison Officer from GMIT. Contact at slo@gmit.ie. From May 1st every friday from 2-4pm general Q&A sessions + virtual tour to be launched soon and will take place over a few days

They launched their own Virtual Open Day – live 24/7 www.openday.gmit.ieTo complement the Virtual Open Day they are also hosting Live CAO Q&A every Friday  in May and June between 2pm-4pm https://openday.gmit.ie/live-chat/

IT Sligo will host a number of virtual events, each focused on specific topics & range of programmes. These events will include live Q&A sessions where students get the opportunity any question they have about our programmes and career opportunities. Students will find out all they need to know about going to college in IT Sligo, our student supports and accommodation options. Keep an eye on our social media accounts for more details.

We will host our next Virtual Open Day on Wednesday 24^th June from 12-2pm – see www.itsligo.ie/CAO for more information

IT Sligo – Virtual Open Day

IT Sligo will host a Virtual Open Day for students this Wednesday 24th June 2020.

Join us live from 12-2 pm where we will answer any questions students have.

Check out our virtual campus tour and listen to videos & presentations about our courses on offer.

In addition, find out more about the range of support services available for our students.

www.itsligo.ie/caovirtualevents/

The schools liaison team remain contactable all summer so please feel free to share our contact details with your students.

• Whatsapp Hotline: 085 8049366
• Email: schoolsliaison@itsligo.ie

Find out all about IT Sligo, our programmes and supports and discover our suite of brand new Engineering Honours degrees (level 8) and our brand new Full Time Online programmes.

Ulster Colleges

LYIT

Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) will host a number of online CAO ‘Change of Mind’ events next Friday 26 June.

• From 2-4pm, Friday 26 June: CAO ‘Change of Mind’ Live Chat with Academic and Student Support Staff on openday.lyit.ie
• From 7-7.30pm, Friday 26 June: Facebook Live Q&A with LYIT Schools Engagement Officer, Fiona Kelly

During this time I created an ‘LYIT Guide for Teacher and Educators’ that provides an overview of all things LYIT which I have attached for your convenience. This helpful brochure provides a complete overview of LYIT – from details about our schools and departments; to details of scholarships available at LYIT; to information about our new CAO programmes and an update on all of the LYIT CAO programmes in 2020. This information provides information on progression options and graduate careers for prospective students following completion of our LYIT programmes. It has been designed to support Teachers/Guidance Counsellors during this time as it gives a complete overview of the CAO 2020 offering at LYIT. TBC.https://www.lyit.ie

I have listed below some of the updates recently sent to the Guidance Counsellors in our network – feel free to spread the word and share what we are doing at LYIT.

Fiona Kelly, Schools Engagement & RPL Officer,Letterkenny Institute of Technology,E: fiona.kelly@lyit.ie 

Ulster University

2020 fees guaranteed as of now , for entrants in 2021/2022 its a wait and see. There are fully funded courses in health (x7) and nursing, check out this link. It is worth noting HPAT Ulster is different to the south. Check out www.ulster.ac.uk/employability/events for excellent tips on creating a CV, writing a cover letter etc.

NEW ADDITION: Summer camps you can access

Virtual School Day: Nearly 200 free, live K-12 classes available all day long intended to help parents fill their children’s day with enriched learning. Some popular classes are “Intro to Spanish for Kids”, “Coolest Women in History”, “Java Programming Basics”, and “The Story of Your Favorite Fairy Tales”. We have received exceptional ratings from thousands of parents and students.

Virtual Summer Camps: Free half-day summer camps are a week long, with enrichment-based classes in subjects like foreign languages, chess, theater, coding, Minecraft, how to be a detective, photography and more. These live, interactive camps will be taught by expert instructors vetted through Varsity Tutors’ platform. We already have 300+ camps scheduled for the summer and 2,000 families per day signing up.

Adaptive Diagnostic Assessments: Measure a student’s proficiency and identify strengths and weaknesses in hundreds of subjects. Get an effective learning plan along with free tools to improve.

Varsity Learning Tools: More than 250,000 free practice problems in over 200 subjects. Also available as mobile applications.

All of these free resources can be found at https://www.varsitytutors.com/

Parent review “Hi- I would first like to start with a sincere THANK YOU to your organization for creating Virtual School Day (I learned about it through an AdAge article). It has been such a wonderful tool for me as a single working mother. My 6YO daughter is taking 3 classes currently. She has ADHD and some other learning challenges but it engaged her and is helping me to get work done while she is engaging with another adult.

I wanted to give a special acknowledgement to Mrs Mason. Her sight words class in the afternoon is our absolute favorite! Afternoon classes can be tough for my daughter but Mrs Mason is so delightful that it holds Evangeline’s attention. Mrs Mason is sure to engage in the chat, call out students names and stay extra minutes to ensure all questions are answered. She is by far the best tutor we have encountered. I wanted to be sure and acknowledge her as exceptional! Please thank her for being amazing to the 150+ kids that join her daily.”

College Summer Camps, Ireland: NCI

Discover University is a summer programme held in NCI every June that aims to give young people the opportunity to experience a taste of life at NCI and to see college as part of their future.

Discover University is aimed at students aged 14-17 years old and involves learning through fun and exciting projects and workshops. They will also have the opportunity to visit exciting and innovative companies in the Docklands area, to show how higher education translates into the working world.

This year, the programme will run ONLINE from Monday 22nd June – Friday 26th June 2020.