Go Visit Your College!

If you have accepted your CAO or College invitation for a course, well done! You have taken the first step. While it is really great and efficient to do everything on line, it is also really useful to visit the College before your courses start.

I realise that if you are living in the country, this might mean an extra trip to the city, but it is well worth it! Each college will organise an "Orientation" or "Introduction day". These are really valuable days, so do attend them.

What happens?

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  You get shown around the college.



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  You will be told how to register and how to choose your major and minor electives.



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  Lecturers will be on hand to describe each subject and what it involves



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  Facilities such as the Library get explained to you. This can be invaluable later on as some systems are complex and would take a long time to figure out on your own.



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  Some colleges have students who took the subject last year in to talk. Chatting with former students can identify pitfalls and give you really handy hints for approaching your course.

Good luck and enjoy your college days

http://www.andreeharpur.com/

www.career-guidance-ireland.com

To Repeat or not to Repeat - that is the Question!

The words every student dreads to hear: “You need to repeat your Leaving!” No one does this willingly! Even the thought of a repeat Leaving makes most students sick. So why on earth would you do it?

Consider the following questions:

a) Do you think that the results you just got in your Leaving Cert reflect your true potential?
b) Are your current results stopping you from doing the course that you would really love to do?
c) In the future when anyone asks you about your Leaving Cert results will you try to avoid the question?

d) If you worked harder do you think you could get a much better result?

You are a serious contender for a repeat Leaving Certificate if you answer:
Question a): No. Question b): Yes. Question c): Yes Question d) Yes

People will tell you that it is not so bad to repeat your Leaving Cert. The Truth: it is!
They will tell you that it is a question of just a few months - the Truth: its not, it’s a year- a long year.
They will tell you that it is not as bad as school – the Truth: its not, it is far worse! It is Boot Camp. The people in repeat schools figure that you are giving over a year of your life to get the results you want – and they want to make sure you get them. You will have to attend all classes, study in the evening, study during holidays etc.
People will tell you that you can still see your friends – the Truth: you will hardly have time to see anybody!
Once you get the above reality clearly into your head, repeating the Leaving Certificate is not too bad at all!!

Only repeat your Leaving Certificate if:

· You now see that you are an adult and you want to take responsibility for your own life
· You know what you want to do and your are prepared to work for it
· You realise that this year will be the toughest one you have had so far, academically, but you are prepared to go through short term pain for long term gain.

Do not repeat your Leaving Cert if:

· You don’t see the point of repeating but your parents want you to do it and you want to get them off your back
· You don’t know what career you want and this course will put in the time (There are loads of other things to do which are far more fun – and cheaper!)
· Your friends are repeating and you want to doss around with them (Your friends will more than likely be studying hard. They will not have time to hang out with you and you will be bored stiff. You will also have wasted a year of your life and a lot of money)
You feel you worked really hard last year and you don't see your results getting any better.

No matter what the results of your Leaving Certificate are, you can still make them work for you.
Our book, coming out in September, will answer the above question and more. It is called Sorted! A Survival Guide for Parents of Students making a Career Choice. Andree Harpur and Mary Quirke. Published by Kite Publications.
Andree Harpur, Career Consultant, Email: info@andreeharpur.com. Web: http://www.andreeharpur.com/ Tel: 01-2788013

http://www.career-guidance-ireland.com/

I did not get any CAO offers!

At the moment I am getting many calls from worried parents and students to say that they did not get any CAO offers, what should they do?

It is important to remember that points can go down in the second round CAO offers so there is always a chance that you will get an offer at that stage.

Just in case research similar courses in the PLC system ( see last post) Also have a look at some private colleges, sometimes the entry points can be lower here. But dont forget, you will have to pay fees here.

Check http://www.cao.ie/ after Aug 26th as some colleges will advertise courses which are not filling up.

www.career-guidance-ireland.com

Support for Parents

As we all know the Leaving Certificate results came out on Wednesday. Since then I have received worried calls from parents. The majority of these were about students who did not do as well as they thought they would in their exams. Parents were wondering what should they do.

We read a lot in the media about points - how they go up and down. In reality none of us know what the points are going to do until the CAO offers come out next week. Points simply work on supply and demand. If there is a demand, the points go up, if not the points go down. We will not know the points until Monday so for the moment - relax!

If you want to create a safety net, go to http://www.codubvec.ie/index.cfm/do/plc_courses/

This site will tell you about the excellent courses in the PLC colleges. You apply directly to the colleges - do this now! Many courses can lead on the the Institutes of Technology.

Over the weekend if the mood is gloomy in your household, dont take it personally. This is so normal and there is not much a Mum or Dad can do. My advice always is to say it with food! This works superbly with the boys, at least!

Cook their favourite meal and serve with a reassuring smile!!

www.career-guidance-ireland.com