Over 51,000 young people get an offer of a college place this week, not really a daunting task to choose

Over 51,000 young people will have gotten an offer this week from the CAO for a college place for September 2025.

For many more students who have just received their Leaving Cert results, starting straight into a four-year degree may seem like a daunting task, especially if they have missed out on their first choice, or aren’t sure what they want to do.

Maria Mann is the outgoing Student Council President at the Ballyfermot Southwest Campus, City of Dublin FET College, who has just completed a three-year Bachelor’s in Media Production Management.

She chose to study at the FET College Ballyfermot Road (formerly known as Ballyfermot College of Education) after she struggled with health issues during her Leaving Cert.

“I wasn’t sure where I would have been when I started college, and I didn’t want to start into a really intense four-year course, and trying to decide what I wanted to do in the future,” she told The Echo.

She found the atmosphere at Ballyfermot to be very welcoming and accessible, especially when engaging with lecturers, compared to the experiences of friends who had pursued degrees at more traditional third-level institutions.

“I think for most people, you don’t know a huge amount about the area you’re getting into, you just know the basics,” Maria added.

“I found with the FET college, it was much more hands-on. It was like you were working in the field, but you were learning everything, and so you got to understand what it would be like working in the industry to a certain degree,” she said.

FET College Ballyfermot Road offers up to 80 courses across three different faculties: Art, Humanities and Creative Media, Business Administration and Law, and Health, Welfare, and Education.

Dr. Denis Murray, deputy principal at the Ballyfermot campus, said that studying a Post Leaving Certificate course can offer a more mindful transition for students moving from second to third level education.

“It can be a little bit overwhelming in the numbers of people, that change,” he said.

“When you come in here, it’s not like second level either, it’s smaller, it’s easier to communicate, and the students are really well supported.”

The college also offers a number of tertiary degrees, where students study for two years at Ballyfermot and then complete their final two years in either TUD or IADT.

Fees for all Level 5 and 6 PLC courses and traineeships at FET College Ballyfermot Road, are only €50. Some courses require a refundable deposit of €100, which, if applicable to your course, is refundable at the end of the academic year when you complete your award and receive certification.

Another advantage highlighted by Dr Murray is that completing a PLC course offers an alternative route through the CAO if students don’t get enough points on their first try, with many third-level institutions offering progression links straight into second year if you’ve completed an appropriate PLC course.

“It depends on what level of course you’ve finished, if you’ve done a Level 5, you may well progress to the second year,” he explained.

City of Dublin FET College Ballyfermot Road are currently accepting applications for their new autumn term, with classes due to start in mid-September.

Students can check out courses on offer at BCFE, or at the next Open Day on Monday, September 1, from 10am to 1pm at the Ballyfermot Road campus.