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Thinking of going to college

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  • 09-06-2014 11:45am
    #1
    Atavan-Halen
    Registered Users Posts: 15,183 ✭✭✭✭


    Hi, just wondering if anyone has any advice.

    I'm considering going to college next year (2015) but I'm not sure what to do. I did my leaving cert in 2011 and got offered a course but deferred it for a year. I started working that year and chose not to take up that place so didn't go back. I just turned 22 this May and was looking at going to college as a mature student but from what I can see you have to be 23 on or before the 1st of Jan of the year you start so if I were going to college say next year, I'd be 22 at the start of the year but turn 23 in May and then start in say September. Would I qualify as a mature student?

    Also, if I didn't qualify as a mature student and applied for next year would it just be my leaving cert results taken into account?

    I got 270 points in my leaving and the courses I'm looking at are around the 350 mark so I'm wondering would I be better off going as a mature student? I know it probably depends on the course or college but if I were going as a mature student, is te leaving cert/education taken into account or is it moreso work experience and the interview?

    Any advice appreciated!


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    #2
    Drezden
    Registered Users Posts: 51 ✭✭Drezden


    No you wouldn't qualify as a mature student for the year 2015 as you won't be 23 or older on the 1st January of the year of application. Sorry you would have to wait another year. Yes it would be just your leaving cert points that would be taken into account if you applied to the CAO in 2015, january.

    If there is a gap that big in terms of points, yes I would say go for the mature route. It's highly unlikely that any course would drop around 80 points in a single year. It's all taken into account, most mature students will bring either life experience or work experience to the table with their application. Obviously the more relevant the work experience to the course your applying for, the more effective it will be as a selling point for your interview.

    Personally I had some work experience but not overly relevant to the courses I was applying for. I wasn't working the year I applied (this year), so I spent the time studying up on everything I could find out about the courses I applied for and even went so far as beginning to study some of things from the course. Most people won't go that far, but I do believe this helped my application since I was able to demonstrate how interested I was in the courses and also showed I'm capable of independent study, an important factor in any college course. As a result of a strong personal statement and being able to back up what I said in the personal statement, in the interview, I got my first preference. :)

    Any other questions feel free to ask, good luck with your studies!


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