‘Students should not worry about points spike’

STUDENTS should not be fearful of a significant rise in points for most college courses when offers are made by the Central Applications Office (CAO) on Monday, according to the head of the country’s guidance counsellors.

While demand across all colleges is up 4% on last year to a record 77,628, a similar rise in applications last year was offset by increased places at most third-level colleges and the Leaving Certificate points needed for most Level 8 degrees were unchanged or lower than in 2008.

“There have been some small increases on some courses despite the colleges crying out for funding.