Students snapping up college places

Students have been snapping up college places after almost 50,000 received an offer on a third-level course yesterday.

By 3pm, nine hours after offers went live on the CAO website, 20,000 offers had been accepted, the same number taken up for the entire first day of Round 1 offers a year ago. The number had risen to over 22,100 by teatime.

With most of the offers made to people in areas like medicine, teaching, art and design, and engineering — being those students’ first-choice course — there was little to think about.

Half of those offered a level 8 (honours degree) course got their first choice, and over three quarters got one of their top three preferences, with the number rising to 80% of first preferences for those offered a level 6 or 7 course.

With 49,837 people offered at least one course yesterday, and more than 7,000 places already filled in earlier rounds, there are still almost 18,500 CAO applicants yet to receive an offer.

After this round closes for acceptances next Monday, around 2,000 of these can expect to get a place in the second round offers on Thursday week, Aug 29.

With 41% of all CAO courses needing higher points than last year, many of the biggest increases are in areas such as science, computing, engineering, and business with languages.

The Institute of Guidance Counsellors said the requirements of some courses for minimum grades in specific subjects need serious attention, as well as the understandable focus on the overall points for courses.

Institute president Gerry Flynn said: “The committee established to examine how third level institutions might broaden entry routes into higher education, might usefully look at this issue as we believe that certain specific subject requirements for entry may convey a misleading impression of the degree of difficulty of the course content.”

For disappointed students, it is not too late to apply for some third-level courses. Dozens of programmes that have vacant places are likely to open up for applications on the CAO website at noon today, from existing CAO applicants and from anybody who wishes to apply for the first time.

Many are courses that did not have enough demand to fill all places, or for which not enough applicants met basic requirements like a minimum grade in a specific Leaving Certificate subject.

They usually involve a wide mix of certificate, ordinary bachelor degrees and honours bachelor degrees, at private college, institutes of technology and universities.

All first-time CAO applicants must pay a €40 fee to apply, but there is no charge for anybody who made an application already this year.

* Members of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors will handle CAO and other queries on the National Parents’ Council-Post Primary helpline (1800 265165) from 8am-7pm today, and until 1pm tomorrow. Advice and support also available from the Cork Youth Information Centre, 10am-5pm, at 021 4270187.