The Central Applications Office (CAO) portal will open at noon on Thursday, allowing students to apply for their preferred university courses.

The CAO processes college offers for undergraduate courses in Irish higher education institutions.

More than 1,400 college courses are available to choose from through the system.

The application fee is €35 for students who apply by January 20th, increasing to €50 after that date.

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Students are asked to fill in their personal details, before being given a unique CAO number.

Those sitting the Leaving Cert in 2027 can confirm that on the portal, while those applying who have already completed the State exam must enter their examination number and year.

Students do not have to finalise their course choices until after the 2027 Leaving Cert, with a deadline of 5pm on July 1st, 2027.

A full CAO Handbook guide for students is available on cao.ie.