Nine of the CAO courses still on offer require 570 points or more

There are still nine courses filled by colleges through the CAO that require at least 570 Leaving Certificate points to get into this morning.

There is now, of course, a new maximum possible CAO tally of 625 points since the introduction last year of the 25-point bonus for any student who passes higher-level maths.

However, the number of courses doubles again to 18 if you count those with a cut-off of 560 points or higher — the equivalent of around an A2 grade or better in six higher-level subjects, with one of them being honours maths.

Dozens of others may have higher points scores, but they are based on a combination of exam results with other measures such as portfolio, interview or other assessment, so the range of Leaving Certificate points needed is unknown.

For University College Dublin’s common entry degree in science, which it says saw a 10% increase in first-preference applications, points only rose five to 505.

This is because it takes in around 380 students, making it a good demonstration of how demand is not the only factor influencing points fluctuations, as the large intake to this degree counteracts the apparent spike in applications.

It is common entry courses like this, where students go on to choose their specialist area of interest after first year, that Education Minister Ruairi Quinn wants to see more of.

Not alone should it mean far fewer leaps in points year-on-year for many courses, it could also lead to lower dropout rates as students get a better taste of the general subject before choosing the specific element that they would like to pursue in more depth.

DCU president Prof Brian McCraith welcomed increasing demand for common entry programmes at his college.

“As we move, along with our university partners, to take the heat out of the points race, there will be an increasing focus on broader entry routes which will reduce the pressure on students and provide enhanced flexibility for them.

The issue of points pressures is more tradition-ally associated with the university sector, and particularly some of the health profession degrees whose limited places are set by Government rather than by colleges themselves.

However, some of the courses with the biggest individual jumps in points today are from the shorter list of — mostly non-university — certificates and ordinary degrees.

However, most of those big increases only bring those programmes into the 250-to-450 points range.

More than 300 honours (level 8) degrees — out of more than 900 available this year — would be open to the average-performing Leaving Certificate student this year, who has around 340 points.

It is now possible to qualify for more than 100 such degrees with 270 points or less, the equivalent of just passing six subjects at higher level or a B1 in six ordinary-level exams.