Dreams · €50
I’m a parent, or a student, choosing a course
Your points tell you where you can go. The Compass helps you discover where you’ll thrive.
Choosing a college course is one of the first genuinely big decisions a young person makes.
But most of the information available focuses on points, entry requirements and subjects.
The Compass asks a different question:
What kind of person is choosing the course?
It looks at their interests, strengths, working style and the environments in which they are most likely to thrive — then matches that profile to real courses in Ireland or the UK.
The result isn’t a verdict. It’s a much better starting point for the decision.
If you’re in the UK, the same fog shows up around UCAS, A-levels, and choosing a degree — not just Irish CAO points.
Sitting with CAO and still unsure? A calmer read for parents. Choosing when points are lying? How to choose a CAO course.
Here is everything inside the report
Eight parts. Written in full. Built for the kitchen table, not screenshotted and forgotten.
01
Your personal Compass profile
A detailed reading of what you’re naturally drawn to, how you prefer to work, where your strongest patterns appear and the conditions in which you’re most likely to flourish.
02
Five named strengths
Each with a name, a paragraph, and what it means for a course. Yours will be yours — specific enough to point at a real kind of work.
03
Five watch-outs
The environments, pressures and types of work most likely to drain you — so you know what to approach with caution.
04
10 real courses we think you should seriously consider
Real courses in Ireland or the UK, ranked according to your Compass results. For each one, we explain why it fits — and anything we think you should investigate before deciding.
05
Courses we’d approach with caution
A course can be excellent and still be wrong for you. We identify the options that appear to clash with your interests, working style or natural strengths — and explain why.
06
Lookalikes of number one
Same field. Some doors are more direct. Some are a longer path — including further education when that is the honest door. A longer path is not a lesser one, and a higher-entry course is still for you if you want to work toward it.
07
Three things to do this month
Visit the page. Go to an open day. Speak to a student already on it. Clear next steps you can take now.
08
Your complete personalised report
Everything is available on screen and in a beautifully presented PDF you can keep, revisit and discuss together.
From the kitchen table
Students, and the parents sitting with them.
“I was going to put business first because that is what everyone at school does. The report put Computer Science at number one and business on the caution list, with a reason I could not argue with. I changed my CAO. I am not sorry.”
“The lookalikes were the bit my parents needed. Same subject, from a more direct door to a longer path. Suddenly it was not all-or-nothing, and nobody had to pretend that a longer path was a lesser one.”
“I bought this because we were fighting about medicine. It did not tell him what to do. It showed us why that week would cost him more than it costs some of his friends. We could talk after that.”
The guarantee
If it is not worth it, you get your money back.
If you do not feel this report was worth it, email us within 14 days. We refund the lot. No argument, no form, no are-you-sure.
Here’s what we stand behind — what The Compass is, and isn’t.
Make the conversation about more than points.
Most families aren’t looking for a test to decide the course.
They want better information.
The Compass gives the table something concrete to discuss: strengths, potential paths, cautions and real course options — rather than another argument based on hunches.
It won’t make the decision for you.
It gives the table something better than an argument.
More on that in CAO for parents, and for the student side how to choose a CAO course.
Discover Your Dream Courses — €50Questions before you buy
- Is Dreams for CAO, or only for open exploration?
- Both. If the CAO form is due, you get a shortlist of real Irish courses with official names — and lookalikes of number one so it is not all-or-nothing. If you are earlier, the same report steadies the talk before points take over.
- Can a parent and a student use Dreams together?
- Yes. Sit with it together at the kitchen table — student, parent, or both. One Compass, one report to discuss. It will not win the argument. It gives the table something better than an argument.
- Does Dreams work for UCAS and A-levels, or only CAO?
- Both. In Ireland it’s often CAO and Leaving Cert pressure. In the UK it’s UCAS, A-levels, and choosing a degree. Same job: match real courses to how you work — without pretending the systems are identical.