Page 13 - 2021 Education Book

14. How do you apply to go to University in Ireland?
Level 7 & 8 - Undergraduate degrees
There are two very important things you have to do:-
(1) You need to get an offer of a course in the University/College of your choice. To do this you need to apply through the Central Applications Office (CAO) – below we explain how to do that.
(2) You need to figure out what funding you are eligible for.
(a) you might be eligible for State/Other funding – see pages 15-18
(b) if not you can apply for a University/College Scholarship – see pages 20-64
(CAO) Central Applications Office (for Levels 7 & 8 only)
• The Universities, Technological Universities and Institutes of Technology (ITs) in Ireland have delegated to the CAO the task of processing centrally applications to their undergraduate courses.
• Online application opens in November for courses starting the following September.
• If you apply before 20th January the application fee is €30.
• If you apply between 21st January and 1st February the application fee is €45.
• 1st February is the normal closing date.
• There is a late closing date of 1st May, the late application fee is €60.
• You really should try to apply before 1st February because not all Universities or Colleges will
accept late applications.
• If you have missed the 1st February deadline it is worth calling the admissions office at your
preferred University/College to ask if you can apply prior to 1st May..
Level 9 - Post-graduate degrees
(1) You should contact the school in the college/university of your choice to ask if you should apply to them directly or through the Postgraduate Application Centre.
(2) Then check pages 49-57 as some universities offer scholarships to their postgrad (level 9) programmes.
Level 10 - Doctorate/PhD (see page 57)
All information is for guidance only, it is not complete and any errors are unintentional. Please consult the relevant websites for accurate information
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