Medicine, pharmacy and business top the list of preferences for CAO applicants

Health was the most popular field of study for first preferences with 14,728, followed by business and administration (8,735) and arts (7,036).

The Central Applications Office (CAO) has revealed that there was an increase in applications for college this year.

Some 79,176 applications were received by the CAO by the February 1 closing date – an increase of 6,203 applicants on the previous year.