Leaving Cert Results and CAO Offers - Everything You Need To Know

Getting your Leaving Results/The CAO Offers Process

About two months should have passed by now since you’ve done your Leaving Cert, can you even remember it? If you’re like me, you won’t. It’ll seem like years ago since you went through all that worry and stress. Now, there might be a new type of worry on your mind; what will my results be? Will I get my course?

Whatever happens, don’t lose sleep over it in the nights leading up to results. There’s nothing you can do about it at this stage, so try to stay positive and hopeful, chances are you did a lot better than you thought.  Below is all the info you need on the process.

Your Results

The Leaving Cert results for 2024 will be released on Friday the 23rd of August. The CAO offers then come out on Wednesday the 28th of August from 2pm. 

Accessing your results on results day can be done in two ways: you can access them via the online system or in your school (contact your school to see what arrangements they have in place).

You will need your exam number and CSSP password to access your results online. Make sure you log onto the CSSP ahead of results coming out in case you forgot your password or are yet to register - you don't want to be delayed on the day of results!

To calculate your points, I recommend using a tool like the careers portals calculator where your top 6 results will be calculated, or downloading the CAO points calculator. It makes it easy to count up your points instead of standing there trying to figure it out in your head in a tizzy.

Before you get your results, remember to stay calm. It’s out of your hands now. Whatever happens, happens, and if it doesn’t go the way you planned, it’s not the end of the world! 

Once you get your results, don’t feel pressured to share them. Many people may come up to you, asking what you got. It is no one else’s business what you got unless you are willing to share. The same goes for you, other people may not want to share their results with you, so don’t push people to tell you what they got. If someone is disappointed, you don’t want to make it worse for them!

If They Didn't Go as Planned

If you’re disappointed, try not to let it impact you too greatly. These exams will not define you. There are so many options for you to take if you don’t get what you were expecting. If you think you could have done better and want to prove that, you can repeat. If you know you won’t get your first choice, there are other ways in, by transferring, etc. The world will not stop and your life will go on. I’ve met plenty of people who didn’t get what they wanted in their Leaving Cert and they couldn’t be happier that they didn’t get their first choice because they loved their second or third choice. 

If you feel very down and out about it; you’re not alone. It can be difficult to talk to your friends about your disappointment if they’re delighted with their results. However, there is a helpline facility for students who are concerned or disappointed about their results. They give information and advice to students and their parents around results time. The number is 1800 265 165. Don’t be afraid to use it if you need it.

Viewing Scripts/Appealing an Exam

If you’re surprised/disappointed/shocked at a certain result in particular because you feel you deserved more, you can appeal it and have it rechecked. There is a fee for getting your scripts rechecked but if your grade goes up, the fee will be refunded to you.

If you'd like to view your scripts, you need to apply online via the Candidate Self-Service Portal. There is only a small window to do this, between 5 pm Tuesday, August 27th and closes at 8 pm on Wednesday, August 28th.

As most exams were corrected online this year, the scripts for these subjects will be available to view online, so you can check them in the comfort of your own home! 

If your subject was manually marked, you will be given a timed viewing session at your school on Saturday, the 31st of August: Session 1 9.30am-12.30pm, or Session 2 2pm-5pm

When viewing your scripts, I recommend you ask a teacher you trust to view the scripts with you. They can give you an expert view on whether you would get a higher mark or not.

The CAO Offers

As I said, the CAO offers (Round One) come out on Wednesday, the 28th of August. They come out at 2pm online, so if you’re very eager to see whether you’ve got your course or not, you can check it then on CAO.ie using your personal Application Number. 

Otherwise, if you’ve been offered a place in a course, the CAO will email and text you at some stage in the afternoon telling you which course you’ve been offered and where. In most people's cases, you should accept it (there will be a link in the email or on the site). Even if you think you'll get a better offer in round two, accepting your first offer will not affect you getting that better offer and you can still change.

A letter should also come in the post for you that day or the day after, telling you of the course you’ve been offered. You may also accept your offer by sending a portion of this letter back to the CAO with your details on it. You can only accept the offer this way if you haven’t accepted it online, however. **Please note: only accept via one of the above methods, post or internet, not both.**

If you’ve only now realised that your second or third choice on your CAO is the one for you, unfortunately there are very little ways of changing what course you get after your first one. If you get enough points for your first course, you will immediately be offered this course and the other options are essentially deleted from your application. You cannot move down on your CAO, only up. The only way you could get into your second or third choice course is if it’s on the vacant places list on the CAO website. This means that the college didn’t get enough applicants to fill the course and there are spare places left. Therefore you could transfer over to that course via that entryway. Unfortunately, the only other option is to apply again next year with your preferred course as your first choice.

If you don’t get an offer in Round One, don’t lose heart. There’s always Round Two and Round Two (After). I know people who didn't get a Round One or Two offer but who accepted their Round Two (after) offers and absolutely adore their course now. Things always work out in the end.

Once you accept an offer, you’ll start getting emails and letters from the CAO and your chosen institute. Read these carefully to make sure everything is in order and that you’ve done everything that’s necessary for you to do. 

Some colleges will ask you to confirm or decline accommodation offers on the day the offers come out, so look out for those too and be sure to answer swiftly.

Key Dates

So, in summary, here are the key dates you need to know:

Finally

If you want to keep up to date on more key dates as they are released, you can follow the Leaving Cert Guidance Instagram page. 

Well done on making it this far, we here at Studyclix hope you get the high mark you deserve. Good luck in your future academic life!