As student numbers rise, so do CAO points for popular courses

With the number of students sitting the Leaving Cert this year increasing by 2,000 to 55,000, points requirements for CAO courses are bound to rise. The extent and range of such increases is determined by the course choices made by this year's applicants.

Some 28 per cent of university places go to those seeking arts/humanities places each year and these applicants will be happy to know there has been no increase in the numbers seeking such places this year, which should see students who achieve 340-365 points securing places.

Applicants for honours science degree programmes, which account for 18 per cent of university places, have remained constant this year with 9,452 students listing science as their first choice, which should see points remaining in or about the 500 mark.

Real economy

Reflecting what is happening in the real economy, the biggest increase in demand for places this year – at 140 per cent – is in the area of construction. Points are due to increase substantially for these programmes this year, which may help to lower the 30 per cent first-year drop out rate identified recently by the Higher Education Authority.

The authority found that the highest drop out rates took place in institutes of technology programmes with low points requirements.

The fact that we added 6,000 children to our primary schools and 4,000 at second level in 2013-14 has not gone unnoticed by CAO applicants. Applications for places on teacher-training programmes in education are up 5.2 per cent this year, which will push up the high points requirements of 460 plus.

Veterinary medicine in UCD, which has the highest points requirements at 585, has 629 applicants chasing the 85 available places, some of which are reserved for students from the North. As only five Irish students secured places in veterinary medicine in the UK last year, aspiring vets who get less than 580 points are going in great numbers to universities in such places as Budapest and Warsaw.

One group of students who can look forward to an easing of points requirements are those seeking art and design places, which have seen a drop off in demand of 7 and 12 per cent respectively at level 8 and 7/6.

Those students who ignore current market sentiment and apply for programmes that interest them will reap the benefits of their choices after graduation.

CAO offers will be made to students on August 18th. In the meantime, Friday is the deadline for applications to the national student grant awarding body, Susi (Student Universal Support Ireland).

Susi is encouraging students to visit its website susi.ie to review information about the eligibility criteria for student grant funding.