Didn't get First Choice CAO offer, What Now?

The first round of CAO offers (Round 1) were made available to applicants online on 28 August at 2pm.  Successful applicants will have received an email notification. This Round 1 offer will contain the highest choice, for which the applicant has achieved the required number of points and entry requirements, from their 1-10 CAO application lists.

If you received a Round 1 offer there is advice on how to accept here and defer here. 

  • Do not panic. If you have followed the CAO instructions you will not lose any place to which you are entitled.
  • When calculating points for the Leaving Certificate, remember that only your best 6 subjects are counted.
  • Ensure you have met all the criteria for your chosen course.
  • Read the CAO Handbook if you are unsure of anything.
  • Read all correspondence sent by CAO.
  • All email enquiries received from applicants are processed as fast as possible by the CAO. Enquiries should be made by using the Correspondence Section of your CAO account.

In some instances, Round 2 may offer an option from higher up a candidate's list of choices, but there is no guarantee that this will be the case. For example, if the points for a particular course drop in Round 2 and the applicant now meets this points requirement, they may get a higher offer.

However, what happens if you don't get your first choice or offer in Round 1?

There can be many reasons for this. Here are some sample scenarios and help: 

I received the points but not the offer

Remember, you need more than just points! Check if you have met the Minimum Entry Requirements e.g. two H5 grades for a Level 8 course. Were there any specific subject requirements? e.g. a H4 in Irish for Primary Teaching or a good Higher Level Maths grade for some Engineering courses.  If you have an exemption, e.g. Irish and/or a third language did you inform CAO of this? Is there an asterix (*) after the points? It may have been that random selection was used.

I have the points and the entry requirements met, but no offer

Have you received a statement of application record by email? If so check that everything is ok on this. If everything seems fine and you have no offer email the CAO to query what the problem may be.

If I don't get my first choice, what other CAO options are available to me?

Hopefully, you will be offered your first choice in the ROUND 1 offers but, if not, there are a number of additional CAO options available. These include:

  • Offer of another course choice further down the CAO list
  • Offer of a similar course from your other CAO list
  • Offer of your preferred course choice in ROUND 2 or subsequent rounds
  • The offer of your preferred course choice on the successful appeal of Leaving Cert Results. For information on this process click here
  • CAO Available Places which will be notified on CAO website. click here
  • Other options outside the CAO, click here

If a student has gotten no offer of a college place in the first CAO round, do they have any chance of a place this year through the CAO?

Students may still be offered a course in Round 2 or in subsequent rounds. 

Alternatively, they can check CAO for Available places. These are courses which have not yet filled all of their places. When checking through available places on the CAO site, it’s important to note that private colleges charge full tuition fees. 

A number of colleges offer Direct Entry courses. Students can contact the individual college for details of these courses. 

Use the CourseFinder to search for Direct Entry Courses.

Other non-CAO options can be explored from here.

For more information on CAO offers click here. For a guide to everything you need to know about Leaving Cert Results, CAO and College, click here for our Leaving Cert, What's Next Guide.