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Find the right course. In Ireland or abroad.
Answer a short quiz about you. We match you to real CAO courses, explain why each one suits you, and show what each one needs.
Checked against 1,402 CAO 2026 courses · About 50 minutes · Results you can revisit and share
One-time payment
Emily sits beside your results and answers questions about them, any time of day.
Why was Business in UL recommended to me?
Emily
Your answers showed strong Enterprising interests, you enjoy leading group work, and you picked Limerick as a preferred location. UL's Business degree also includes a paid work placement, which fits your wish for hands-on experience.
Example conversation. Emily's answers are based on your own results.
Included with Course Compass, PLC Compass and Apprenticeship Compass results.
Explore CAO courses, PLC options and apprenticeships in one package.
€49.99
One-time payment
A few of the things the test looks at to shape your matches.
The activities and topics you like.
Short puzzles that show your natural strengths.
For example, helping others, earning well or security.
So we can show what each course asks for.
Your preferred colleges, counties and distance from home.
We keep those areas out of your results.
At the colleges you choose, each with clear reasons why it could suit you.
Other courses we think suit you, in universities and colleges nationwide.
Questions about your own shortlist to sharpen your results. You can skip it.
To read with a parent or guidance counsellor.
Choose this at the end to see courses abroad that fit your interests. Each one shows the cost (tuition fees), accommodation where the university publishes it, what you need to apply, and a link to the official university page.
Course Compass · Sample
A fictional student's real Course Compass results: first as they appear on the platform, then the downloadable report.
The same result cards a student sees after the test, one course at a time.
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Real feedback from families who've used this assessment
"I genuinely didn't realise how lost I was until I did the Course Compass test. It broke everything down in a way that actually made sense and gave me a clear direction for the first time. I finally feel confident filling out my CAO and I'm just hoping I get the points now."
Jason Kelly
6th Year Student
"This should honestly be given to every 6th Year. Course Compass helped me narrow down what I actually suit instead of what everyone else was telling me to do. It gave me real clarity and took a lot of stress off me going into the Leaving Cert."
Martina Byrne
6th Year Student
"My son thought the test was very good and found it extremely helpful. It made picking his CAO courses much easier and gave him a clear direction instead of guessing. From my point of view, it saved me at least €300 on private career guidance, and the results were just as good, if not better."
Bébhinn Morrow
Parent of a 6th Year Student
"I was referred to Course Compass by a friend and, to be honest, I was shocked by the price at first. I actually thought it might be poor quality, but I decided to give it a go for my son because he genuinely had no idea what he wanted to do. I could not have been more wrong. The test was incredibly detailed and it opened his eyes to courses he did not even know existed. One of the courses that came up was Speech and Language Therapy in UCC, something he had never considered before."
Derval Carey
Parent of a 6th Year Student
Our assessment combines multiple validated psychological models to create the most comprehensive course matching system available for Irish students.
The gold standard for career and educational guidance. Identifies your primary interest types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. Research shows strong correlations between interest types and career satisfaction.
Measures Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability. These traits predict academic success, workplace performance, and job satisfaction across cultures.
Identifies what matters most to you in education and career: achievement, independence, recognition, relationships, support, and working conditions. Values alignment leads to greater satisfaction and persistence.
Evaluates your preferred learning approaches and natural abilities across verbal, numerical, spatial, and abstract reasoning domains to ensure course content matches your strengths.
This assessment is designed in accordance with Irish Department of Education Circular 0035/2017 guidelines for guidance provision in post-primary schools. It is intended as an educational guidance tool to support career exploration, not as a definitive career decision-making instrument. Results should be discussed with qualified guidance counsellors.
Explore our methodology, see sample results, and understand how we help Irish students
Take the assessment today and receive your personalized insights