Application Process

Application Procedures for 2022/2023 Academic Year:

All applications are online, once the online application form has been completed students will be asked to upload 4 documents:

Most Recent Exam Results (Mock Exam results will be enough)

• A Written Reference
  100–200 words personal statement outlining why they would like to study their chosen course and why the feel that DCFE is the right college for them (please see guidelines for students around Personal Statements below)
  

• A Recent Photograph
  Where students have already applied to DCFE and have not been interviewed, they can login and upload the above documents.
  

We can offer places to students based on the stated minimum requirements and their application forms.
Offers will be sent to students by email.

Information on all our courses, entry requirements and progression routes are available on our course pages.

We fully appreciate that this is a difficult time for students and teachers, if we can be of any support to you or answer questions for students, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Meabh Nimmo: [email protected]
Derek Ball:  [email protected]

Guidelines for Writing Your Personal Statement

As part of your application to study at Dunboyne College of Further Education (DCFE), you must complete a 100–200 words personal statement outlining why you would like to study your chosen course and why you feel that DCFE is the right college for you.

Here are guidelines/ideas to help you get started. Please use the below headings to help structure your statement and to make sure that all required information is included.

Preparation and Research

Look at the course description, found on our website  and identify the qualities, skills, and experience it requires – you can use these to help you decide what to write about.

Motivation and Commitment

Explain why you’re applying – you must state whether you are a new applicant, or if you have already studied in DCFE before and would like to apply again. Include your ambitions, as well as what interests you about the course, the college itself, and further education in general. Can you commit to a one-year full-time course?

Include any clubs or societies you belong to – sporting, creative, or musical, especially if applying for a course in the vocational area (i.e. sports, art/design, music performance etc.)

Aptitude and Suitability

Think about what makes you suitable – this could be relevant experience in this area, skills, or achievements you’ve gained from education, work, or other activities that relate to the course area, for example, subjects studied in school; skills that you’ve developed so far that you could apply throughout your studies.

Mention any relevant employment experience (part-time work, previous employment, transition year work experience) or volunteering you’ve done, such as community or social initiatives.

Personal and Professional Goals

Explain what your personal and professional goals are (e.g. gaining more experience in this area, goal to progress into higher education and/or future employment in this area). How will you hope to achieve your goals, what challenges do you think you’ll face and how will you overcome these?

Supports

If there are any personal circumstances, or additional educational needs that have affected your previous studies, outline them in your personal statement. For example, if you have ever accessed learning support or if this is something that you feel you would benefit from. Don’t worry, this doesn’t decide whether or not you get a place on your chosen course. It just means that the necessary supports/services can be put in place if your application is successful. For example, this might be something that impacted your attendance or previous qualifications- such as a learning need, physical or mental health condition or caring for a family member.

Final Points to Note

Make sure that you’ve researched the course for which you’re applying, that this statement reflects your ambitions and suitability and that you have proofread your statement for spelling, grammar and paragraphing before submitting it.