Advice from a guidance counsellor...

Aoife Ward has been a Guidance Counsellor at Cavan Institute for the past twenty years. She spoke to the Celt to share her advice to those who may be unsure of their next steps...

Q:Tell us about your role at Cavan Institute. What supports do you provide to students?

A: I work alongside my colleague Sonia, and we provide a comprehensive Career Guidance Service to our students throughout the academic year. Our role covers all aspects of career planning and supporting students through the transition from their PLC course to higher education or to the world of work. We’re also there for the harder conversations: students dealing with personal issues, financial worries, stressful life situations with family or relationships, or feeling stuck or unsure about their next steps.

Q: What are the challenges that most students present to you with?

A: Not knowing what they want to do yet can be a big challenge for students, they can feel like they should have it all figured out or that the decisions being made now are permanent. A lot of students feel this pressure, however most decisions now are the first step, and their careers will evolve over time so we try to help students remove the overwhelming stress from the decision-making process. Other areas that can be challenging for students who have just completed their Leaving Certificate include the following:

Anxiety associated with CAO points — disappointment if they haven’t achieved the points for their dream course. Here we work with people to explore alternative routes and options like PLC progression links, direct entry courses like tertiary degrees, or using the ‘available places’ option on CAO or UCAS Clearing. There are also many options through apprenticeships or part-time studying.

Another challenge is the financial reality of higher education — accommodation shortages and costs, especially in cities like Dublin and Galway, are a genuine barrier and this can be very daunting for students and their parents. It can affect which courses students feel they can even consider.

Confidence and readiness to leave home can be challenging for some people — this gets less attention than points or money, but it’s a huge stumbling block for some students.

They have worked hard for two years and have been under a lot of pressure and stress; some don’t feel ready to move away yet and face the challenge of managing their own money, handling the social side of university, cooking and cleaning for themselves, or being fully responsible for their own routine.

For some students, this can be a bigger hurdle than the academic side.

Q: What is your advice to students who may be disappointed with their Leaving Cert results?

A: Give yourself a few days before making any big decisions. Disappointment is a completely normal reaction after all the Leaving Cert pressure — acknowledge it rather than pushing it aside. Try to hold both things at once: you can be upset or disappointed about certain grades that didn’t go your way or about your overall points, while also celebrating other grades and being proud of yourself for the hard work it took to get to this point.

Lean on your family and friends for support in the first few days, you don’t have to process everything all at once or immediately have a plan. Once you are ready to look at your options, there are many ways that you can achieve your goals:

- CAO offers - see what offer you receive and weigh up the options. There will be an available places list to check for courses with places still open, and there will be further rounds of offers from CAO

- If you are open to studying in the UK, or have already applied through UCAS, consider your offers and review UCAS Clearing to see if there are other options here

- Consider the PLC route — we have lots of courses here at Cavan Institute with brilliant progression links into university.

Your career goals are very rarely ruined because of the Leaving Cert results — It may mean a slight detour, a different entry point, or some compromise along the way, but with persistence and hard work, your goals are usually still very much achievable.

Q: While some may feel excited for the future, is it normal to feel worried or stressed? What would you say to young people who are feeling like this?

A: Absolutely, it’s completely normal to feel worried or stressed at this time. Big decisions need to be made, often for the first time, and that naturally brings pressure — so it’s important to take things at your own pace and lean on the people around you for support.

There is lots of help and support available to you - use the Leaving Cert Helpline, talk to your Guidance Counsellor, or discuss the options and your concerns with your parents or friends.