Going back to College comes with its uncertainties even before Covid, that’s for sure!
This year we too were unsure of what to expect for the coming semester for our new set of freshers going back to college after covid.
We now have a list of some promising updates:
Some colleges have delayed entry of first year students by a week, following confirmation that leaving cert results and CAO offers wouldn’t be released until September.
Leaving cert results will be issued on September 7th – they are delayed by three weeks.
CAO round one offers will be out on September 11th.
– Students will have until September 16 to accept their offers. –
Second rounds will be issued on September 23rd
The turn around time this year between results and starting on courses is very short and will have a major impact when it comes to securing your accommodation.
5,800 mature students received their offers on July 18th and have had a head start in securing accommodation.
So where does this leave the 70,000 plus students planning on going to college this September?
‘Where a physical presence is an integral requirement of a course in disciplines such as the physical sciences, medicine, paramedical programmes, nursing, engineering, architecture etc, students may end up attending college in rotation, in small groups or pods, to limit the transmission of infection and facilitate contact tracing where a virus case is identified.
Given this reality, it is inconceivable that many students will want to incur the costs of on campus accommodation, when physical attendance will only be required sporadically. Commuting to your college, or overnighting occasionally when required, may become the norm for most third-level students.
Whatever this new normal is, it is not the university experience that students have enjoyed for over a thousand years.’
Overshadowing all of this uncertainty is the reality that jobs to raise money for college will be very hard to secure this year. Furthermore, if aspiring students decide to put off attending college in 2020, in the hope of finding a job for the year, the opportunities to secure employment in the present environment may be very poor.
Having come through the past three stressful months, the aspiring first year undergraduates of 2020, now have a few short weeks to consider all of the options outlined above before they finalise their course choices in the weeks ahead.
Whatever choices they now make, prior to their CAO course choice deadline on July 1st, they can reconsider their options in August/September when the choices become real. Hopefully, by then we will be far clearer as to what life will be like for all of us in the autumn.” IRISH TIMES; Tue June 9th.
Switching Rooms provides a viable, flexible financial solution that will not require commitment to rental contracts or loss of deposits if students are not required full time or if they see further disruptions to lectures due to Covid in the coming academic year.
A once off fee sign-up can provide a solution to students and families prepared to swap rooms as required in the coming academic year, indeed this will take the pressure off students that seek to work part time to cover accommodation costs and are now finding that no part time jobs are available as the more traditional, bar and café work has seriously diminished.
Register your interest today here .
