Do you have to take your first choice on the CAO?

slemons

Any idea's?
I cant get a definite answer, but im probably not searching enough...

Thanks guys...
John

p1akuw47h5r3it

slemons wrote: »

Any idea's?
I cant get a definite answer, but im probably not searching enough...

Thanks guys...
John

No... But I'm not so sure if u are guarenteed your secound choice if u decline your first choice

Creamy Goodness

afaik it's take your first choice or don't go to college at all, you ain't allowed skip down your list of choices.

Basically, no - if you're feeling brave. If you decline your first choice, you have to wait and see if they will re-offer you your second choice. You don't know, perhaps your second choice became full with first round offers. It's too risky in my opinion - if you want to do your second choice, put it first. Simple as that.

SmellySockies

Put your cao in order of preference. If you decline your first choice I think you have to wait and pray you get your second in the second round offers.

dragonfly!

Hi OP
If you are offered your first choice of course you dont have to take it - but YOU decide the order you put your choices in and with the change of mind facility open until July 1st, so your first choice should be the one you really really want. However if you are offered your first choice you will NOT be offered anything lower. This is why your order of preferance if soooo important.:)
If you are offered your second place, you may be offered your first choice in the second round if someone who got offered a place on that course decides they dont want it for whatever reason, but please dont count on this happening as it is only for a few courses.
Level 8 courses are treated separatley to your level 7/6s this is why some people get 2 offers. In this case you can accept either your level 8 or level7/6 course.
Hope that helps some what:)

p1akuw47h5r3it

If you don't get your first choice , how likely are you to get your secound choice. My 2nd choice would be science in UCD, so how likely would I get it in 2nd round offers??

JC 2K3

If you don't get your first choice, you're in exactly the same position as someone who put the course that's your second choice first on their CAO, i.e. you'd get offered it in first round offers, not second.

challengemaster

Yes you have to take your first choice. It's the way the CAO system works.

It's designed in order of preference, and works on a system of logic - If you get enough points for your #1, then it's logical to assume you wouldn't want your 2nd choice. The CAO system then cancels every other choice and you only get your first. You have to take it, or wait til next year.

Same thing - if you get enough points for 3rd choice (as eg.) - choices 4-10 are null.

So put whatever you most want to get, 1st.

p1akuw47h5r3it

JC 2K3 wrote: »

If you don't get your first choice, you're in exactly the same position as someone who put the course that's your second choice first on their CAO, i.e. you'd get offered it in first round offers, not second.

So commerce is 450 and 1st choice

Science is 350 and 2nd choice

I get 400 so I get offered science offered to me in round 1 offers and NOT round 2, and would it continue like this ie my 3rd would be offered in 1st round if I don't get enough pts for secound??????

Just want to make sure

cocoa

When you're given an offer from the CAO, all lower preference choices are erased from the system. You will never be offered a choice lower than the choice you were offered in the first round.

Submit your CAO in order of preference!

dragonfly!

you would get offered science in the first round and then you MIGHT get offered your first choice in the second round but its a big might, if you accept your second choice and the points do fall in the second round you could still be offered your first choice as you had it up higher on your list

themetallifan

If you get the required points for your first choice then, you'll have to take it. You could decline and wait till second round, but by then all the places for anywhere half decent are gone.

Put them in order of choice (i.e. what you'd like)....not by points, because college is hard enough without disliking the subject

seamus

cocoa wrote: »

When you're given an offer from the CAO, all lower preference choices are erased from the system. You will never be offered a choice lower than the choice you were offered in the first round.

Correct. It's been like this for years and I'm still staggered by the number of people who don't get this and put down medicine and the like "Just in case".

Here it is plain and simple:
If you turn down your first preference, you're not going to college this year

You will only be offered a course in a subsequent round if it is *higher* in the list, and if you haven't accepted any offers already made to you.

p1akuw47h5r3it

dragonfly! wrote: »

you would get offered science in the first round and then you MIGHT get offered your first choice in the second round but its a big might, if you accept your second choice and the points do fall in the second round you could still be offered your first choice as you had it up higher on your list

Alri thanks... It's just I don't really expect to get 450 so I just wanted to make sure

JC 2K3

Nadia CoolS Jig wrote: »

So commerce is 450 and 1st choice

Science is 350 and 2nd choice

I get 400 so I get offered science offered to me in round 1 offers and NOT round 2, and would it continue like this ie my 3rd would be offered in 1st round if I don't get enough pts for secound??????

Just want to make sure

Yup, that's right. And once you're offered Science, all your choices below that are erased. Unless you discover you really don't want to do Science, you should accept this straight away. In the second round offers, there's the possibility of you being offered Commerce if enough people decline the course and the points drop to within your range (although, in your example, it's unlikely, since that's a 50 point gap). The fact you've accepted Science means nothing in this case, and you can accept Commerce without a problem.

Basically it works like this:
First round: Everyone is offered the course which is highest in their order of preference that they have the points for.

Second round: Points drop in some courses due to people not accepting their first round offer, and thus, if applicable, people are offered a course which is higher on their order of preference to the one they were offered in the first round.

Third Round: Places are freed up in some courses due to some people accepting different courses than the one they initially accepted, as well as people just rejecting their second round offers, and thus points drop in certain courses and places are offered to others as in round 2.

dragonfly!

Nadia CoolS Jig wrote: »

Alri thanks... It's just I don't really expect to get 450 so I just wanted to make sure

you dont know what the points are gonna be for any course, or what you are gonna get - I was thinking I might get around the 380 mark maybe 400 if i was lucky (this was before the exams) following the exams being convinced i had messed up my home ec paper i was resigned to the fact that 360 would be more realisitic and i ended up getting 415:eek:

now going by 07 points i should have got my first choice at 410 but that went to 425, so even though i got way more than i thought i was gonna get, I didnt get my first choice. or second.

So please please please! put your choices down in order of preference and not on expectations of your performance in exams or on how many other people put down that course

timmywex

IGNORE THE POINTS, DO NOT LIST YOUR CHOICES VIA POINTS

USE PREFERENCE, WHAT YOU WANT TO DO

It isnt unknown for a course to change by over 100 points in a year!

whadabouchasir

Also if you don't get your first choice in the 1st round but the points drop then you wil automatically be offered it in the second round. The CAO always tries to give you the highest course on your list to which you are entitled. That's why order of preference is so important.

p1akuw47h5r3it

whadabouchasir wrote: »

Also if you don't get your first choice in the 1st round but the points drop then you wil automatically be offered it in the second round. The CAO always tries to give you the highest course on your list to which you are entitled. That's why order of preference is so important.

Even if you've accepted ur 2nd choice already in the first round????

implausible

Submit your CAO in order of preference!
Submit your CAO in order of preference!
Submit your CAO in order of preference!
Submit your CAO in order of preference!
Submit your CAO in order of preference!
Submit your CAO in order of preference!
Submit your CAO in order of preference!
Submit your CAO in order of preference!

Do not waste a year of your life because you cannot fill in a form properly.

cocoa

for anyone who is unsure about the CAO, please please please, read the CAO handbook.

Every single question asked in this thread is answered in the handbook and, unlike this thread, you can rely on the CAO handbook to give genuine factual answers, as opposed to, as is often the case, the kind of speculation and argument you can get on boards.

eg, in response to the last question, on page 18 of the handbook it states:

Later offers for higher preference
If you are being offered a place in a course which is not
your first preference, you may subsequently be offered a
place in a course of higher preference if such a place
becomes available.
This applies whether or not the earlier offer has been
accepted. It is NOT necessary to accept an offer in order to
be considered for a higher preference if it becomes
available later. There is no guarantee, of course, that a
higher preference will become available.

p1akuw47h5r3it

OK, sorry and thanks for the help

cocoa

Nadia CoolS Jig wrote: »

OK, sorry and thanks for the help

No need to say sorry it's just there's a lot of confusion on some things, but you can definitely trust an answer if you find it in the handbook

p1akuw47h5r3it

cocoa wrote: »

No need to say sorry it's just there's a lot of confusion on some things, but you can definitely trust an answer if you find it in the handbook

Yeah... if only I could find it!!;)

Piste

it's also available online on the cao website: http://www2.cao.ie/handbook/handbook/index.php

Davidius

So...

Highest points first, yeah?

cocoa

Davidius wrote: »

So...

Highest points first, yeah?

ermm, what? If you mean the people with the highest points get match with course first, I suppose you would be right...

But if you meant you should fill in your CAO highest points first... well i just hope you were joking if that's what you meant...

whadabouchasir

Nadia CoolS Jig wrote: »

Even if you've accepted ur 2nd choice already in the first round????

Yes. Even if you only get the points for your 10th course you will automatically be offered your 1st choice in th 2nd round if the points come down enough.You cannot turn down your 1st choice to do a lower choice however.

Dubs

cocoa wrote: »

ermm, what? If you mean the people with the highest points get match with course first, I suppose you would be right...

But if you meant you should fill in your CAO highest points first... well i just hope you were joking if that's what you meant...

i think he was joking :rolleyes:

Davidius

Dubs wrote: »

i think he was joking :rolleyes:

Yep.

JSK 252

cocoa wrote: »

for anyone who is unsure about the CAO, please please please, read the CAO handbook.

Every single question asked in this thread is answered in the handbook and, unlike this thread, you can rely on the CAO handbook to give genuine factual answers, as opposed to, as is often the case, the kind of speculation and argument you can get on boards.

eg, in response to the last question, on page 18 of the handbook it states:

The language in the cao handbook is very precise. Lsit your course in order of preferance. Not on examination results.

Jammyc

seamus wrote: »

CI'm still staggered by the number of people who don't get this and put down medicine and the like "Just in case".

Im sorry. I dont understand what you meant by that. Could you explain please?

Jammyc

Jammyc wrote: »

Im sorry. I dont understand what you meant by that. Could you explain please?

I think he meant that many people put medicine and similar high points courses down on their CAO just incase they get the points.

He was refering to people who place the choices on their CAO in order of points, opposed to order of preference, which is the correct way of doing it.

(Correct me if I'm wrong Seamus:pac:)

slemons

Thanks for the help guys...
Im a mature student studying for the GAMSAT, grad med entry.
I suppose its the same scenario...

At the minute i have UCD down 1st, as i just presumed that it would have a better course than UL which just started last year, and UCD has been doing medicene for ages...

Now im not so sure, as im from Limerick and with the fee's and recessionary times i might have to go for UL.
Hopefully it wont count against me later on...

Look at me, getting ahead of myself. I havent even sat the Gamsat yet lol.

Any advice appreciated.
UL Grad Med vs Grad Med UCD vs UCC...

I might start a new thread for that.

Thanks again...
And good luck guys.

John