50,000 offered a third-level study place

Almost 50,000 people have been offered the chance to study on a third-level college course.

For half of the 38,118 offered an honours (level 8) degree through the CAO, it was the course at the top of their list. Another 10,500, or 27% of those getting an offer, now have a place available to them based on their second or third preferences.

With the possibility of two offers from CAO, almost 35,000 offers have been made for entry to level 7 and 6 (ordinary degree and higher certificate) courses. All but 5% of those are the applicants’ first, second, or third preference, including 28,203 (80%) that were the first choice on the recipient’s list of level 6 and 7 courses.

The offers can be accepted up to the evening of Aug 26, with second-round offers due to be issued by the CAO on Aug 29.

However, the number of offers is likely to be closer to 3,000 at that point, leaving close to 18,000 of this year’s 76,000 CAO applicants without a college place.

More than 40 colleges accepted 46,000 new entrants last year, and data to date for 2013 suggest a similar intake between now and the end of the CAO process in October.

At this stage, 57,627 people have received at least one college offer from CAO. Some of them may be included in a number of applicant categories, but among them are:

* 8,064 mature applicants (aged 23 or over) out of 13,056 who applied;

* 52,637 with Leaving Certificate results from 2013 and previous years (65,528 applied);

* 11,013 with further education qualifications (15,578 applied);

* 5,849 who previously entered higher education (8,639 applied).

Ahead of this morning’s biggest round of offers, following last week’s Leaving Certificate results, more than 7,145 college places were already filled. As some applicants need to obtain visas to come to Ireland for study, the CAO makes offers to students in this category in July, while some mature applicants and those with further education qualifications whose chosen course reserves certain numbers of places for such applicants may also be among those with a place already taken up to early August.

At University College Dublin, for example, the numbers of students who have already accepted offers has increased four-fold, after a campaign to get more students to apply separately through further education entry routes.

“These routes provide alternative opportunities for students who don’t succeed in getting a place in UCD this year because points have climbed,” said deputy president Prof Mark Rogers.

Many colleges now also accept students through a widening range of access programmes, including the Higher Education Access Route scheme for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and Disability Access Route to Education, which both allow some applicants entry to courses with lower CAO points than others offered places.

* The National Parents’ Council helpline — 1800 265 165 — operated by Institute of Guidance Counsellors members is open from 8am to 7pm today and tomorrow, and until 1pm on Wednesday.