Dear Katie: I don’t know what to put on my CAO Application

Dear Katie,
I’m currently a 6th Year student. I’ve been studying super hard and focusing so much on exams that I have no idea what to put on my CAO and the deadline is approaching. Please give me some advice!
Olivia
Dear Olivia,
First of all, DON’T PANIC! You have plenty of time to make up your mind and you can change your choices as often as you want until the first week of July.
If you haven’t already, talk to your school career/guidance counsellor as they’ll be able to steer you in the right direction. Sit down and make a list of your interests, you might be able to make a career out of one of them. If you already know which college or university you’d like to attend, have a look at the courses they provide, take the tour and possibly talk to some students attending that particular institution. Still not sure? Find the areas you’re interested in and see where provides those courses.
If you decide college or university isn’t for you, there are plenty of other options such as apprenticeships, internships and PLCs. You can also take a year out, go travelling or go straight into the workforce if that’s what will work best for you.
Right now the Leaving Cert seems like the biggest, scariest thing in the world but you can and you will get through it. And so what if you don’t get the first or second or even third choice on your CAO, you have so many options. Speaking from the experience of someone who didn’t get their first or second choice on the CAO, it will be okay. At the time, it felt like my whole world had turned upside down but two years later, I’m in a course that I love, I’ve made the most amazing friends and I get up every morning excited to go to class. As long as you work hard, whatever’s meant to be will be.
We also have a guide to making a successful CAO application here on missy.ie that should help you out as well.
Love,
Katie x
Do you know what you’re going to put on your CAO application yet?