The long wait for Leaving Cert results is almost over as results are released on Friday, August 22.
It is important to know what to expect over the coming weeks, so here is a useful guide to getting your results, checking your papers, navigating the CAO offers rounds, understanding how available places work, as well as a timely reminder that there are many worthwhile alternatives to the CAO.
Accessing your results
On Friday August 22 from 10am students can access their results on the Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP).
To log into your CSSP, you will need your CSSP password, Leaving Cert exam number and PPSN. Many students registered earlier in the year but don’t worry if you haven’t.
Just make sure to do so now here. For those who have already registered, now is a good time to check if your username and password work.
10am on the 22nd is not a good time to be doing that!
You will also receive your results by email and text message if you selected this option.
Interpreting your results
Most students sit exams in seven Leaving Cert subjects, but to calculate your points you only count your best six.
Use the above infographic to add up your points, making sure not to mix up Higher (H) and Ordinary (O) level papers.
If you did the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) and your score for the module is better than your lowest of the six scores, you can include the LCVP instead.
If you scored H6 or above in Higher level Maths, add on the 25 bonus points.
This official CAO Points Calculator is a great tool.
Most students are aware of what the points requirements for 2024 were.
It is important to remember though that in any given year, points can either drop, increase or remain steady.
This is simply based on supply and demand for courses. Keep in mind nobody will know the points for any course until the offers are released.
Accessing exam data, viewing scripts and making appeals
From 12 noon on Tuesday August 26 you can access your exam data for each subject by logging on to your CSSP. Here you will be able to see your exam marks, both component and final.
If you wish to view your scripts you must apply via the CSSP between 5pm that day, August 26, and 8pm the next day, Wednesday August 27.
Scripts marked online may be viewed online during a 24 hour window from 9am on Saturday August 30 to 9am on Sunday August 31.
Scripts marked manually may be viewed in schools on Saturday August 30 at a specific time allocated to you during one of these two sessions – 9.30 am to 12.30pm or 2pm to 5pm.
If you wish to appeal any result, you must apply to do so through the CSSP between 10 am on Sunday August 31 to 5pm on Monday September 1. Results of appeals will be issued at 11am on Friday September 26.
Please note: The facility to view exam scripts is free of charge, but the fee to appeal a result is €40 per subject.
If an appeal is successful the fee is refunded. Tips on how best to view your script can be found here.
Navigating the CAO offers system
There are many key dates to be aware of. As with any CAO deadlines encountered during the year, there is no room for manoeuvre, so make sure to stick to them.
CAO Round 1 Offers are available on Wednesday August 27 from 2pm.
Offers are accessed by logging on to your CAO account, using your CAO number, date of birth and password. Offers are also issued by email and SMS text.
If you have not received an offer you will receive a statement of application email. See table below for offer and reply dates for all CAO rounds.
If you receive your first choice offer, simply accept by the closing date. Once you accept, you won’t receive any further offers in future rounds.
If you receive a lower-choice offer, accept this offer by the closing date. You can still be offered a higher preference in a later round if a place becomes available.
It is important to remember that once you are offered a course, everything below it disappears. You won’t be offered any lower choices in later rounds, even if you get more points or if places open up.
If you applied for Level 6/7 courses as well as Level 8 courses you may receive an offer from both lists. You can only accept one offer (per offer round).
If you accept a Level 8 offer, your Level 6/7 offer disappears. If you accept a Level 6/7 offer, you still remain in the running for a Level 8 course in later rounds.
See here for a short CAO video guide on accepting offers.
CAO Available Places
Additional course places become available, for example, where a new course may have opened after the CAO Change of Mind deadline such as Pharmacy at ATU Sligo, AU975, or Nursing at Maynooth, MH701; or where all the places on a particular course have not been filled after CAO offers are made.
Once the waiting list of CAO applicants who meet the minimum entry requirements for that course have been worked through, these additional vacancies are then advertised and will be made available here for application.
This year the Available Places facility opens on Thursday August 28 at 12 noon.
It is open for existing and new CAO applicants – even those already holding an offer, to add additional course choices for remaining vacancies.
You can insert these choices above your current offer, giving you a strategic way to improve your outcome.
If you have already made a CAO application there is no additional charge for adding in available places. New candidates pay a fee of €45.
See here for a short CAO video guide on Available Places.
What happens once you accept an offer
- Usually within a week of acceptance, your chosen college will email details about registering, orientation, and fees.
- During orientation week, typically in early/mid-September, you will meet lecturers, get timetables, and learn how the campus works.
- Lectures typically begin the week after orientation.
What to do if you want to defer a course
If you want to defer an offer of a place you do not accept your offer. Instead, you must email the Admissions Office of the relevant college immediately.
You must give your name as it appears on your CAO application, quote your CAO application number and the course code of the offer you wish to defer, and give the reason(s) for your request.
You must mark “DEFERRED ENTRY” clearly in the subject line of the email. You can also check the website of the relevant college to see if they have a deferral policy available online that you can refer to.
The email must arrive in the Admissions Office of the institution at least two days before the reply date shown on the Offer Notice. The college will communicate their decision to you directly.
If the deferral is not granted, you may then accept the offer for the current year, providing you accept the offer by the reply date.
You must send all communications about deferrals to the appropriate Admissions Office and not to CAO.
The following year, if your deferred course is still the course you want, you reapply through the CAO, listing the deferred course as your only preference. That course offer will then be made in Round A in early July.
It is important to note that you are not obliged to take up the place that you defer.
If, for any reason, you change your mind in the intervening year, you can apply for the new course(s) you are interested in through a new CAO application, and forego your deferred place.
Final thoughts
This is a big week. Well done on getting through the Leaving Cert, and all the years of school that went before it.
Stay calm, be prepared, take your time to explore all options, but be sure not to miss deadlines.
With strategy and attention to deadlines, you will be well positioned to make the most of your results. Whether that is securing a college course or exploring an alternative pathway, you have so many options.
Take a look at these Alternative Pathways articles PLCs, Apprenticeships, Traineeships, and at Tertiary Degrees.
And remember, you don’t have to figure it all out alone. Talk to your parents, teachers, or Guidance Counsellor. You can also reach out to me at Gold Star Careers.
Martina Mulhall, Gold Star Careers offers one-to-one or small group career advice, in-person or online, to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.
Follow on Instagram for updates and reminders about all things careers, or head over to the website to book a personalised guidance session.
