INFORMATION
SHEET
– OTHER SCHOOL
LEAVING APPLICANTS
IMPORTANT - Applicants presenting Other
School Leaving Examinations must read the
following carefully and in full.
What supporting documents do I need to
supply?
Applicants presenting Other School Leaving Examinations
must supply a certified photocopy of their final
examination results – by post to CAO – as soon as they are
available. Documents not printed in English must be
accompanied by an official translation. Only
certificates/statement of results produced by an examining
authority will suffice.
If you are a May 2024 IB candidate, please ask your IB
coordinator to list ‘Central Applications Office’ among the list of
institutions that will have permission to access your results. In
this way, when results are released, CAO will be able to access
your May 2024 results (only) online and add them to your
application file. We will then supply them to the Higher
Education Institutions that you have applied to for their
consideration.
What is a certified photocopy?
A certified photocopy means that you photocopy your
certificates/statements and then bring both the originals and
the photocopies to an acceptable person or body (School,
College, University, Police Station, Admissions Office, Notary)
where they will stamp the photocopy as being a true copy of
the original.
What is an official translation?
An official translation is one which is carried out by a
professional translation service provider.
What are Other School Leaving
Examinations?
The Other School Leaving Examinations
category includes (but is not limited to) the
following:
• School Leaving Exams outside of UK & Ireland
• Baccalaureate
• Scottish Exams
• Pre 1985 Irish Leaving Certificate
• Pre 2006 UK GCE/GCSEs
• Leaving Cert Applied
• Level 3 BTEC
• GNVQs
• VCEs
• Irish Matric Exams
• Non-Current year Pre-U
• ICCE, FSMQ, and Cambridge Technical Awards
• Qualifications not already included under
categories 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, or 7
What information do I need to supply on
the CAO application form?
Please provide details of Other School Leaving
exams and the years they were completed in the
Qualifications and Assessments section of your
CAO application. Describe the examinations
briefly, including details of the National or
European framework level where relevant.
How will my qualifications be
assessed?
Other School Leaving qualifications are assessed
directly by the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
Applicants will need to check with individual HEI
Admissions Offices for information on how their
qualifications will be assessed.
You will find HEI contact details at the link below:
Information on how HEIs carry out their assessment
and scoring can be found in the document linked
below:
Please note: Candidates born and fully educated
outside the Republic of Ireland who are presenting
qualifications other than the Leaving
Certificate for matriculation are
automatically exempt from Irish
and do not need to make
application to the NUI.
What is the deadline for submitting my
documents?
Applicants are advised to supply their supporting
documents to CAO as soon as possible. In respect of
examinations already taken, evidence should be
posted to CAO within 10 days of registering with
CAO. Evidence of the results of examinations which
are being taken in the current year must be sent to
CAO as soon as they are available to the applicant
and must be with CAO a minimum of 12 days before
the relevant offer round. HEIs may consider
documentation received after this date, but there is a
risk it may not be considered until a subsequent round.
NOTE: we will contact applicants by email. When we send emails, we send
them to the email address registered on your CAO application. Please ensure
you monitor this email address for messages from CAO. Failure to do so may
have serious consequences. A copy of all emails sent by CAO can be viewed
in the Correspondence section of your CAO account.
What evidence of English
language proficiency do I
need to supply?
Applicants may also be required to
provide evidence of English language
proficiency. For further information on
English Language proficiency please see
the document linked below or contact the
Admissions Office of the institution that
you wish to apply to for more information:
Where do I
send my
documents?
Documents must be sent by post to CAO,
Tower House, Eglinton Street, Galway,
H91 X25V, Ireland. Do not fax or email
copies of results to CAO. Faxed or
emailed documents are not considered
sufficient evidence of results, nor are
letters or printouts produced by your
school listing your results. For more
information on submitting supporting
documents, go to page 100 of the CAO
Handbook.
!
cao.ie/eueftaf
cao.ie/hei
cao.ie/eueftaf
When will I be notified of an
offer?
Applicants applying on the basis of Other
School Leaving qualifications (regardless
of year completed) are considered in
Round One and subsequent rounds.
