Half of students applying to the CAO for college places have received their first choice, but then again, half of them did not!
Close to 80% were offered one of their top three choices as offers were made this afternoon to potential students.
Grade inflation and a high number of CAO applicants has resulted in an increase in the points required for college places this year.
Some courses in medicine and business now require over 600 points. The CAO received over 6,500 more applications this year than in 2020.
Almost 25,000 or 50% of level 8 offers are for the applicant’s first preference course while just under 40,000 or 79% of Level 8 offers were for one of their top three preferences.
Those who have received an offer today have until 3 pm on Monday to accept the offer.
In a press statement, Vice-Provost Orla Sheils said: “This year’s Leaving Certificate students have had a difficult year and we are conscious of the pressure that there has been on them and their families. We look forward to welcoming all students – new and existing – back in the coming weeks for a more in-person campus experience than last year allowed.
“This year we have added 195 places across a range of courses to help meet demand. Still the rise in points for many courses was inevitable and reflects increased demand for undergraduate places”, she said.
Eileen Keleghan, CAO Communications Officer, asks applicants to carefully consider any offers received in this round.
“One of the common queries that we receive at the offers stage is around order of preference. Applicants who receive a lower preference offer can accept this offer and it will not prevent them from receiving an offer of a course higher up on their courses list in a later round should a place become available and they are deemed eligible.
“Those who have received an offer in this round should also consider the current offer carefully as it may be the only one they will receive.
If an applicant has not received an offer they will receive a ‘Statement of Application’ email.
“It is important that applicants notify CAO immediately if there are any errors or omissions in their CAO account. They must make sure to do this as soon as possible to allow any corrections to be considered for subsequent rounds.
Applicants with queries or examination updates should first view the ‘Have a Question’ page, and if they cannot find the answer to their question they can contact CAO by sending an email from the Correspondence Section of their CAO account” she added.
