Tips for students getting their 1st round offers from the CAO today from UCDSU's Welfare and Education officers, Rachel Breslin and Sam Geoghegan:

1. Be familiar with what happens next. You have a week to decide whether or not to accept your offer. It is impossible to predict whether you will receive a different offer in a later round. If you accept your offer, you still may be offered a higher preference in later rounds.
2. Don't rush into making a decision. You could be deciding your future here so consider your offer carefully before accepting/rejecting it. Consult with your family and your school guidance councillor.
3. If you didn't get the results you wanted stay calm and remember that you can still achieve what you want to achieve. Reassess your options whether it is taking an alternative course on your CAO, applying to a course through a different route or resitting the Leaving Cert.
4. Don't drown your sorrows or drink to excess to mark your success. Alcohol is a depressant, so if you received undesirable results you will feel even worse the next day. If you received the results you've been dreaming of then you really have no reason for drinking copious amounts of alcohol in order to celebrate. Always drink responsibly and in moderation.
5. Accepting your place. To accept your offer, log on to the CAO website or return the form sent to you by the CAO which has instructions on the back. If you do not wish to accept your offer, don't do a thing as your offer will lapse after a week.

For more information or queries, log on to http://www.ucd.ie/incomingstudents/help.html.

Feel free to contact the Students' Union officers at any time.

Welfare Education
Rachel Breslin Sam Geoghegan
(01)7163112 (01)7163111
welfare@ucdsu.ie education@ucdsu.ie