Online blitz sees 17,000 accept college places

MORE than 17,000 students accepted college places in a hectic eight hours of activity on the Central Applications Office (CAO) website yesterday.

The facility opened at 6am as almost 47,000 were offered courses in third-level colleges, with Leaving Certificate points rising in arts, science, nursing and teaching degrees. While many applicants for programmes under those category headings were left disappointed, falling demand prompted a sharp slide in points for many courses in engineering, technology, architecture, and law.

The selection of medicine students based on results in the Leaving Certificate and an aptitude test taken in February has had mixed results, with male applicants improving their share of places and more first-time Leaving Certificate students qualifying. But those offered places in medical school yesterday all had at least 520 out of a maximum 600 points, meaning access is still restricted to around the top 6% of school-leavers.