Although CAO's procedures change very little from year to year, each year brings its own crop of applicants to whom it is all a new experience.
The answers to most of the questions that applicants ask can be found in the CAO handbook, which all applicants will have received with their application pack.
Because the CAO office is coping with applications of over 60,000 people, it is very difficult to get through to them at this time of year. So consult your handbook to look for the answer to your query before you waste time trying to get through to CAO, or check its website where you will find many of your questions answered.
There are some questions that are so frequently asked that it may be worthwhile to give some answers here.
Q.I have enough points for the course I applied for, but I failed maths, which is a requirement for the course. Is there any chance that I will be offered a place on it?
A. Unfortunately, there is no chance of being offered a place on a course when you fail to meet the course requirements. Points are the final selection procedure and only come into play when an applicant has satisfied all other requirements for the course.
Q.I have been offered my second preference course on my CAO list of Level 8 (honours degree) choices. I am only five points away from my first preference.
Should I turn this offer down in the hope that I will get my first preference course in the second round?
A. No. It is always advisable to treat your first round offer as the only one that you may get and respond accordingly. If you fail to accept your offer within the time limit in this round, that offer will lapse. There is no guarantee that there will be any further offers in your higher preference course in the next round.
The points may not drop at all. So you could end up empty-handed if you do not accept this one.
If you accept the offer you have in this round, you will still be offered any higher preference offer to which you may be entitled in a later round, and you may accept it, or hold on to this one if you prefer to do so. However, if you do not want this offer, and do not accept it, you will still be offered any higher preference offers to which you are entitled.
Q. My offer notice just lists the course code, and I cannot remember what course it stands for.
A. Applicants who view their offers online will see both the code and the title of the course. Your CAO handbook contains the list of all course codes and you can match the code to the course there. You will also find the complete list of codes on today's CAO table on Pages 8 and 9 of this supplement.
Q. My daughter is away for two weeks and she is not certain if she will be able to get on the Internet to view her offer online. If she cannot access the Internet, how do we accept her offer?
A. CAO has posted offer notices to every applicant receiving an offer, and they should arrive in today's post.
There is nothing to stop an applicant, or someone acting on their behalf, returning the appropriate part of the offer notice when it arrives by post.
Do check with your daughter whether or not she has accepted online, because CAO requires applicants to reply by post or online, but not both ways. Check also which offer she wants you to accept, in the event that she receives an offer from both the Level 8 and Level 7/Level 6 list.
The course codes can be identified from the CAO handbook, from the CAO table in this newspaper, or on the CAO website. Return the relevant part of the offer notice to CAO by the reply date printed on the notice, which is 5.15pm on Tuesday August 28 in respect of this first round.
Q. Do I have to pay a fee when returning my acceptance to CAO?
A. No payment is required when returning the acceptance to CAO.
Q. I have received an offer of my second preference course, but now I believe I would prefer my third preference course, for which I have more than enough points. Is there any chance that I can change my application now?
A. CAO's ruling is very clear. Once an applicant is made an offer of the highest preference course to which their results entitle them, they are automatically excluded from further consideration for any course that is lower in their order of preference than the one they have been offered.
(The only exception to this is if an applicant wants to apply for a course on which there are vacant places and for which there are no more applicants on the waiting list).
Q. I believe that my points are incorrect on my offer notice. Is it possible that CAO has made a mistake?
A. It is not likely that CAO has done so. There could be a number of explanations. Are you counting more than six subjects? Have you counted your LCVP points correctly? Points are not always awarded for Foundation Level maths and Irish.
Q. Why do some people get two offers, while other people get none? It does not seem fair.
A. The whole principle behind the CAO application procedure is that applicants are entitled to the highest preference course to which their results entitle them from each list to which they apply. CAO cannot assume that applicants want their Level 8 honours degree offer more than their Level 7/Level 6 ordinary degree/higher certificate offer.
So they will offer each applicant the highest preference offer to which they are entitled from both lists. An applicant may only accept one offer, and any unaccepted places on a course are offered to the next applicants on the waiting list in the next round.
Q. How do I refuse an offer?
A. You do not need to take any action. If CAO does not receive a response from you by the reply date specified, the offer lapses. (This highlights how important it is to reply in time if you mean to accept an offer.)
