Restricted-entry CAO courses: plan beyond the points.
A course can suit your interests and still need more preparation than a place on your CAO list. When an application involves an early assessment, the work starts before offer season.
Reviewed 8 September 2026. The dated examples below concern 2026 entry, whose application deadlines have passed. For a later intake, check that year’s CAO guidance and the institution’s instructions.
Start with the exact course code
CAO calls these Restricted-Application Courses. Their assessments can begin as early as February. Check the restricted designation in the official course listing rather than guessing from a subject name. The institution’s prospectus supplies the assessment details. CAO’s restricted-application guidance explains the designation.
Keep a separate note for each code you are considering. Two courses with similar names may ask for different evidence. A useful research note records the award, campus, assessment instructions and the admissions contact, with a link back to the source.
Give each deadline its own place in your calendar
For 2026, CAO required a restricted choice on the original application by 1 February, or added to an existing application by the errors-and-omissions deadline, normally 1 March. Restricted choices in late applications were invalid. The correction provision concerns an existing application; it is not an invitation to postpone a new one. See the official conditions.
An assessment submission can have a different deadline. For example, CAO’s 2026 assessment schedule listed 6 February for the NCAD AD202 portfolio. That is a historical example, not a date to reuse for your next application. Consult the CAO tests and interviews schedule and follow the college’s current instructions.
- Application: when the course must appear in your CAO account.
- Assessment: when work must be submitted or an assessment attended.
- Confirmation: where you can check that each required step was received.
Read the assessment brief before preparing your work
Build your preparation around the published brief. Note the requested format, any limits on submitted material and the method of submission. Save the instructions alongside your own working files so that you can check the final submission against them.
If a requirement is unclear, ask admissions a precise question: identify the code and intake, quote the short instruction you need explained, and describe the uncertainty. This is more useful than asking whether your entire application is “okay”. Keep the reply with your application records.
Do not treat Change of Mind as a second assessment window
CAO generally does not allow a new restricted course to be introduced through Change of Mind. A possible exception concerns a course using exactly the same assessment procedures as an eligible earlier choice; CAO says to consult the institution first. Similar subjects alone do not establish that exception. Read CAO’s Change of Mind rules.
When changing a list, include every choice you want to retain in that category: the replacement supersedes the earlier list. Level 8 and Level 7/6 lists are separate. Check both the saved account and the acknowledgement email after submitting changes.
Use points to ask better questions
A published number needs its admissions context. NCAD, for example, states that programmes requiring a portfolio do not use the standard Leaving Certificate points scheme. Its undergraduate admissions FAQs explain the distinction. Check the scoring method for your exact programme before comparing it with another course.
In this directory, retain the year, offer round and any symbol when reading a score. Then investigate what the institution requires beyond that number. Our sources and methodology guide explains how unavailable values and different score systems are handled.
Build a shortlist you can act on
For each option, finish with three answers: what you want to study, what you must submit, and when you must act. A shortlist with those answers is more useful than a longer list of course names with unresolved requirements.
Browse 58 restricted courses in our 2026 catalogue
The catalogue filter reflects recorded restricted status, not confirmation of eligibility or acceptance for a future intake. Follow the official course page for current programme-specific instructions.