Fall in CAO applications means points for most courses do not rise

By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent

The fall in this year’s student applications has allowed colleges to offer fewer places without raising the points needed for most courses.

The 50,746 people getting Round 1 offer from the Central Applications Office (CAO) today is 1,628, or 3%, less than a year ago.

But this is less than the 4% reduction in overall numbers seeking places at 39 third-level colleges through the CAO this year, and matches the proportionate fall in Leaving Certificate applicants.

The main outcome of all these factors is that, despite moderate increases in the average CAO points achieved by this year’s school leavers, the minimum points needed for just under half of honours (level 8) degrees are lower than this time last year.

Applicants can check for an offer from 6am today on the CAO website, where the vast majority of offers each year are made.

With 28,500 acceptances made online on the day of Round 1 offers last year, the CAO expects its site to be very busy this morning.

But for those who are unsure about any offer received today, CAO communications officer Eileen Keleghan reminded applicants that the window in which to accept is shorter than in previous years, with the deadline three days earlier than normal on this coming Friday evening at 5.15pm.

“If an applicant accepts an offer in Round One, this will not prevent them from receiving an offer of a course higher up on their list in a later offer round, if a place becomes available and they are deemed eligible,” she said.

As applicants are allowed to submit lists of their preferred level 8 courses and of a combination of their level 6 or 7 choices, Ms Keleghan stressed that anyone with an offer from both lists can only ultimately accept one.

If someone does accept an offer from both lists, CAO will register only whichever acceptance is made last, and the other offer will lapse.

Out of around 820 level 8 courses for which comparisons can be made with 2017, Round 1 entry to 407 requires fewer points. And that drop is at least 10 points in the case of nearly two-thirds of those degrees.

There is no change in the Round 1 cut-off for around 80 more and, although points have risen for another 333 level 8 degrees, the increase is less than 10 points in the case of half of those courses.

For 22,095 (52%) of the 42,301 people offered a level 8 course today, it was their first preference from over 900 courses at that level. The offers represent one of the top three choices of 33,788, or 80% of those recipients.

With a more significant fall in college places being offered on courses leading to a level 6 or 7 qualification (higher certificate or ordinary degree), points increases might have been expected to affect those programmes more.

But close to half of the 420 directly comparable courses have lower Round 1 points than this time last year, 50 remain unchanged, and 128 — less than a third — command higher CAO points today than a year ago.

The 31,351 people offered a level 6 or 7 course are 2,200 less than a year ago, but 98% of them now have the chance to accept a place on one of their first three preferences. In the case of over 27,600 of them, or 88% of level 6/7 offer recipients, the course was their top choice on that list in their application.

Round 2 offers will be issued online only at 10am on Wednesday week, August 29, and must be accepted by Friday, August 31, at 5.15pm.

The 2018 and 2017 CAO Round 1 points for all courses are listed in the 12-page Choices for College supplement in today’s print edition of the Irish Examiner.