CAO second round likely to disappoint many
THE second round of CAO offers will hold little joy for many hoping for a new offer.
The reduction has been mainly caused by the bumper level of take-up of offers from earlier rounds. This year 2,095 students are getting offers in the second round compared with almost 3,000 last year.
Some of those who will offers in the post today are being given higher preferences on their CAO forms while others are receiving offers for the first time.
They include people who had applied for vacant places. They also include people presenting GCE A level results which were issued later than usual in the UK this year.
Hitch
In addition, those getting offers today include a number of applicants to the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology who, because of a technical hitch, did not get offers of places in the college on the first round.
It is understood that the scores from their portfolios were not added to their Leaving Certificate initially but the mistake has since been rectified.
This year, a record 73,982 people applied to the CAO.
The total included more school-leavers than last year but also a much bigger number of adults, many of whom have either lost their jobs or expect to in the near future.
At the end of round two, 56,199 have been made offers -- again a new record -- and some 42,917 accepted their offers at the end of round one.
As disclosed in the Irish Independent yesterday, this is 3,000 up on last year, and is actually higher than the total number of acceptances at the end of the offer 'season' last year.
As a result, points dropped on fewer courses this year. A total of 84 honours degree courses saw drops this year, compared with 102 at the same time last year.
This includes a number of courses where there were insufficient qualified candidates and which offered vacant places.
Bounce
Science, which had bounced back in the popularity stakes with applicants this year, in general remains largely unchanged in the second round.
But architecture and construction-related subjects, which dipped in popularity this year, came in at lower points than for the past few years and have eased further in the second round.
Nursing also saw some drops on the second round.
For instance, intellectual disability nursing in St Angela's, Sligo dropped from 370 to 345.
Meanwhile, midwifery in NUI Galway dropped from 425 to 415.
Your full second-round CAO points supplement: Pages 4-9
- John Walshe Education Editor
