IT Sligo’s Graduate Ambassadors have spent the last few months visiting secondary schools across the west and north-west of Ireland. With just days to go to the CAO application deadline of February 1st, they share their experiences of the CAO journey, and offer some sound advice for school leavers – and their parents.
Stephanie Mellett never planned to go to College. In 2011, her Leaving Certificate year, she had only one career ambition in mind.
“I wanted to be a guard,” the 23-year old native of Hollymount in County Mayo recalls. “My dad was in the guards – maybe it was in my blood. But, that year, the garda recruitment ban came in and I thought: ‘Oh oh…what am I going to do now?’. So, I filled out a CAO form, and eventually chose Health Science and Physiology at IT Sligo.”
Four years on, Stephanie is equipped with an honours degree, and is now one the Institute’s three Graduate Ambassadors who have been visiting close to 200 secondary schools across the west and north-west of Ireland over the past three months, providing first-hand experience and knowledge of what third level has to offer potential school leavers.
“I think when you’re in Leaving Cert year, all you are hearing about when it comes to career choices is 1st of February, 1st of February, 1st of February,” says Stephanie. “From guidance counsellors to teachers to parents, it’s the so-called big date on the horizon.”
The reality is that it is totally normal and rational to tell your guidance counsellor that you have no idea what you want to do. You are not deciding the rest of your life, just the next few years. But for many, the bewildering array of third level courses can be enough to overwhelm even the most focussed student.
Stephanie and her fellow graduate ambassadors, Susanne Kerins and Sandra Carey, are in complete agreement about what should be at the top of every student’s ‘To Do’ list ahead of February 1st:
Do your research.
“I remember that I left it until the last day to fill in my CAO form,” says Sandra, who is also a Health Science graduate from IT Sligo. “At the time, I had a mix of Social Care, Health Science and Business/Accounting courses on my CAO form. So I’d say anyone looking at it would have thought: ‘This girl doesn’t know what she wants to do,’ which I didn’t ,” she laughs.
“Looking back, I wish that I had spent more time examining what I’d actually be studying on the course, the modules/subjects I’d be doing and the sort of jobs you could progress to afterwards.”
“You have to research what it (the course) is,” agrees Stephanie. “Like, I remember I didn’t know the difference between Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science. Who does when they’re 16 or 17 years of age? But, today, we see friends of ours going into jobs in these areas because that’s where the jobs are.”
It’s not all about course choice
The Grad Ambassadors are also strong believers in researching the college environment beforehand.
“I began my third level education in NUI Galway, studying science,” says Susanne Kerins, who’s originally from Dundalk.
“The university had a terrific reputation but it wasn’t the right ‘fit’ for me,” Susanne says. “I was going into huge lecture halls and didn’t know the person sitting beside me. Sometimes, the hall was so full you ended up sitting on the steps.”
“I didn’t like the impersonal nature of it – not knowing your lecturer or the person sitting beside you.”
So, Susanne came to IT Sligo and studied Marketing (Level 6). Her progression saw her graduate last October with a Masters in the same discipline.
She has just started a new job as Marketing Coordinator with one of the region’s business success stories of recent years –LotusWorks. The Sligo-based specialist technical and engineering firm employs 570 people worldwide.
“There can be a perception amongst Leaving Cert students that a course which has lower points in one college, mustn’t be as good as a similar course in another college which has higher points,” says Susanne.
“Often, the reason for the points difference can be geographical. The further away it is, the lower the entry. But the quality of that course and the teaching is usually the same – and often higher.”
If filling in the CAO form is a stressful time for students, it’s far from a walk in the park for their parents too. The Graduate Ambassadors believe the guardians have a key role to play.
“I would definitely say to have your parents involved in the process as well,” says Sandra, who’s originally from Killucan in County Westmeath. “I was the first person in my family to go to third level. There were four siblings before me so my parents didn’t’ know about the CAO. I was just going on the information I had received at school.”
“We see parents coming on campus tours to IT Sligo and they are so interested,” she adds. “They want to know as much about the courses and facilities as the student does.”
“I think students and their parents should start researching their options in Transition Year,” argues Stephanie. “That’s when they have the time to go to Careers/Science Fairs and really see what’s out there. Then, they pick their subject choices,” she says
“They still have fifth year to go to Open Days but, in Leaving Cert year, students don’t have the time to go to all these events so schools will often pick and choose.”
“If you are really passionate about something, for example: Art, then follow your heart,” says Sandra. “But if you’re not entirely sure, do something general in that area, maybe a PLC course, to see if that’s what you really like. You have 20 spaces on the CAO form. And you should fill them all in. Give yourself as many options as possible.”
“We know several students who went ‘hell for leather’ into a specific Level 8 four-year course, only to discover after a couple of months that it wasn’t for them,” says Stephanie.
“You will always have the student who picks the wrong course,” agrees Sandra. “We had a guy with us on our own course (Health Science), who’s now doing Advanced Wood at the Institute and loving it,” she says.
“That’s why reading up and researching your options is so crucial. Going to the Open Days and the talks. Yes, it takes a bit of time but these events genuinely help you form decisions which will have an impact on the rest of your life.”
“When you fill out your CAO form, ask yourself: Where do you want to be in five years’ time?” says Stephanie. “Do you want to be walking into a job or to take a year out? You wouldn’t be inclined to think about these questions in Leaving Cert because you’re stressed and you just want get through it all. But they are questions, which are really worth thinking about.”
And as for Stephanie’s own dream of becoming a guard?
“It’s funny, I sometimes meet Gardaí at various Careers Fairs, and find myself quizzing about the job. The recruitment round for the Gardaí has opened again.
So, you never know!”
Photo caption:
IT Sligo’s Graduate Ambassadors Stephanie Mellett, Susanne Kerins and Sandra Carey.