‘I had an idea what I wanted to study but it sparked other interests, for sure’

When and why did you attend Higher Options?

I went when I was in sixth year in 2022. It was organised by my career guidance counsellor, so the whole year went. It was like a big day trip in town and we went to the RDS and had a non-uniform day. We went and looked around to see what courses there were.

Did it influence your decision on what and where to study?

I had an idea, but it definitely sparked other interests, for sure. I actually found another course that I put down on my CAO through it that I hadn’t known about before.

I had been looking at what I ended up doing, which is business with Spanish. But I had an interest in aviation as well at the time – my mam works in the airport − but I wasn’t sure what you could do in university with that. And through Higher Options, I remember I was looking through the business faculty book, talking to someone, and there was a course called aviation management with pilot studies. I ended up putting that down, fourth on my CAO. But I had never heard of it before.

What did you like about Higher Options?

All the stands are very welcoming. And there were obviously students, college students that were maybe in year one or two representing their courses or their college. And everyone was really helpful. You could obviously speak to them more in depth if they had some experience of the course that you were looking at.

And that there was a wide variety. The colleges’ representatives were from each course or faculty, so you weren’t stuck when it came to asking questions. And I guess it’s like it’s a big day out; there’s so many schools going, and I was a sixth year – it’s exciting. You’re thinking about this time next year, where you’ll be.

What would you like to have seen?

They did have specific talks based around people who had graduated from the course but I don’t think they were advertised as obviously as they could have been. They were panel talks and you could ask questions. They were organised at specific times, but I feel because the buzz around going to the stands is so big they almost faded away a bit in the background.

I ended up going to one or two but I know some of my friends didn’t, and only because they didn’t know where to go – they were too busy in the main area.

Any advice for any students who might be going this year?

Take the opportunity. Don’t be afraid to go up to people and ask questions. Obviously you might not know exactly what you want to do, but even just having a conversation with someone could spark something. It could end up being something you think about later on in the day.

Don’t go off with your friends. I went off a bit on my own because we all wanted to do different things. And if you end up going to a science talk when you’re into business, what’s the point?

People will have that thing of “Oh, it’s a day out,” and I definitely thought that as well. But at the end of the day, I feel I knew it was a good opportunity to get out there and try get an idea of what I could do.

It’s more about actually using the opportunity – you never get that. You have so many people in the room, who have so many different experiences, and they’re open to talking. Everyone that’s there has voluntarily decided “I want to help another student.” Everyone has been in their position, so it’s not scary to go up and talk to people.

Maybe make a little like timetable or plan: “Okay, I want to go to this business talk just as I get in, then go to through the stands of the colleges that I want to go to.”

I’m saying this now, after I’ve been. If you haven’t been there before, some students have no idea what they’re going into. And it is overwhelming – it’s a huge hall with so many people there.