Higher Options is the foremost annual education expo for second level students in Ireland run by The Irish Times with support from the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. The event provides all the information second level students will need to make informed decisions about their further and higher level studies. Students can meet directly with representatives from universities, colleges and education institutions from Ireland, the UK, Europe and beyond. A full programme of talks with live Q&A sessions, offering students a unique opportunity to ask questions and retain intensive information, enabling them to begin making informed decisions for later in the year.
Information regarding a list of exhibitors, talk schedules and a map of the venue will be provided closer to the event on The Irish Times website here.
This event is of most interest to senior cycle students in Ireland, their parents, guidance counsellors and those interested in finding out about study, training and further education options after the Leaving Cert exams.
The event will run over three days – September 20th, 21st & 22nd, 2023. There will be two sessions on Wednesday & Thursday. They run from 9am to 12 noon and from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. The Friday session will run from 10.30am-1.30pm.
Admission to Higher Options is via an individual QR code that can be scanned from attendees’ phones on arrival or that can be printed from the 'My Account' section of the website.
QR codes will be sent to guidance counsellors when a booking is complete and payment made. Guidance Counsellors can distribute these by emailing them to students individual email addresses. The codes can also be printed and distributed. We would like to encourage Guidance Counsellors to forward tickets via email to enable better interaction for students with exhibitors at the event and to reduce the likelihood of loss of tickets. Both options are available.
Click here for a full PDF on how to share your Higher Options tickets with other attendees.
Click here to see over 100 universities, colleges and educational providers who will be at Higher Options.
Use this preparation sheet to be sure you get the best out of your time at Higher Options.
Popular days or sessions of Higher Options are often sold out. Please in as much as is possible only book for the number of students you think will be in your group so that as many tickets as possible are available for everyone who wishes to attend. Some extra tickets can be made available to schools for the sessions they have booked if they need to add to their booking at a later date. Any cancellations must be requested before 4pm on Friday, September 15th via the contact form. Any cancellations requested before that time will be refunded – a cancellation fee will be charged for this. We cannot issue a refund for any tickets cancelled after that date/time. As sales are online, tickets can be ordered right up to the event dates. If a student has missed buying a ticket with the school group they can go online and order one, subject to availability.