At the beginning of May applicants will be able to register an online change of course choices, free of charge. If you change online an acknowledgement will be sent to the e-mail address you used at the application stage.
There is no fee for using the Change of Mind facility.
Making Changes:
- – subject to the exceptions and restrictions mentioned below, you may change course choices (without fee) as often as you wish, up to 17:15 on the 1st July;
- – if you submit a Change of Mind it cancels and supersedes all the previous course choices in any category in which changes are made. However, choices in the two categories (Level 8 and Level 7/6) are considered to be completely separate from each other for this purpose e.g. a change of Level 8 course choices will not affect Level 7/6 choices.
- – if you do not wish to change the courses in one category, do not submit a change. Your original courses in that category will remain unchanged.
- – do not mix courses from different categories (Level 8 and Level 7/6) and make sure to list all of your course choices for the particular category which you change.
- – except for Restricted Application Courses/Restricted Categories of applicant(see page 3 of the CAO handbook and below), you may enter on the form courses which did not appear on your original application.
Watch the `CAO Change of Mind` video for a step-by-step guide to the process.
Restrictions:
Restricted courses
You may not enter on a Change of Mind any restricted courses.
Exception: you may be permitted to introduce a restricted course which shares the exact same assessment procedures with a course you had applied for by 1st February at 17:15 – you should consult with the relevant HEI before introducing such a course.
Mature applicants
Individual admitting HEIs may impose restrictions on Change of Mind for mature applicants. These are generally the same as for late applications. Mature applicants should make enquiries from individual Admissions Offices before introducing new course choices after 1st February.
Change of Mind notifications
If you make a change of mind you will receive an e-mail to confirm your new course choices. You can also log in to your account via the My Application facility to confirm that all of your details are recorded completely and correctly.
It is very important that your course choices should be absolutely correct. Therefore, if you are going to be absent at the time when the revised statement is due, you must arrange for someone to check that it arrives and, when it arrives, that the contents are correct and accurately reflect your wishes.
Errors and Omissions
Do not wait until August to notify us of errors or omissions as it will be too late to do anything about them at that stage.
Paper applicants
If you applied to CAO using a paper application form, and you have not yet logged in to your CAO account online, you can do so by going to ‘My Application’, click on the forgotten password link and follow the steps to obtain a password. You can then log in with your CAO application number, your date of birth and your new password to use the online Change of Mind facility.
Paper applicants will receive a Statement of Course Choices in the post by 15th of February. This statement will show the CAO application number as well as the course choices which have been recorded. If you need to make changes to your courses you can do so online via the My Application facility; alternatively, you may return this statement with the changes recorded by post to CAO to arrive by 1st March at 17:15. An Additional Processing Fee of €10 must be paid in the form of a Bank Draft or Postal Order.
Paper Change of Mind forms are available by request. Change of Mind Forms may not be submitted by fax.
Change of Mind (Exception to Timetable):
Exceptional Closing Date : 22nd July (17:15)
Subject to the exclusions below, and subject to the usual conditions for Change of Mind, if you are currently an undergraduate student in any year in any one of the HEIs (and entered that HEI through the CAO system), you may submit a Change of Mind, in paper form only, to arrive in CAO not later than 17:15 on 22nd July.
The Change of Mind Form must be stamped by the Admissions Office of the HEI where you are a student.
(If you did NOT enter your current course through the CAO system you must first contact the Admissions Office of the HEI to which you wish to apply. That Admissions Office will inform you whether you may submit a Change of Mind.)
Exclusions:
- Such a Change of Mind may be made only for entry to a course (or courses) other than your existing course. If you wish to repeat the year in the same course, you must arrange this within your HEI and it is not a matter for application through CAO.
- Mary Immaculate College Limerick, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick, Maynooth University and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology have special procedures in place in the case of current or previous students who wish to apply for entry to another course in the same HEI. Such applicants must contact their Admissions Office to determine the application procedure
- However, if you are a student in another HEI and you wish to apply to any of the three HEIs in (b) above, you should submit your paper Change of Mind to CAO.
