Our team of guidance counsellors staffing The Irish Times results help desk has been busy answering questions from concerned Leaving Cert students. The team – which includes guidance counsellors Brian Howard and Deirdre Garrett – is available over the coming days to answer your queries. Here are some of the main themes emerging so far:
Will CAO points requirements for my chosen course go up this year?
The factors that determine CAO points requirement for any course come down ultimately to supply and demand. Last year’s points for each course were determined by the last student to secure a place. This was determined by the profile of CAO scores of those seeking places on the programme and the number of places available on the course. In summary, it is impossible to say for sure until the offer is issued next Wednesday due to these factors.
If the pattern of grades is the same as in 2023 and 2022, surely CAO points won’t go up on Wednesday?
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It’s a case of supply and demand. The CAO publishes data in March and July showing the exact number of applicants for each discipline or area of study. Where there is a growing interest among applicants in a programme, this will push up the points requirements and vice versa. However, points may fall in some courses where additional places are being created this year (see below for more details).
Will points for medicine or therapy programmes go down due to extra places being added this year?
The Government has funded additional places in high-demand areas of study where there are skill shortages, such as medicine, nursing and midwifery.
Earlier this month, additional places were announced for speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and podiatric medicine programmes in University of Galway, physiotherapy in RCSI and a new undergraduate occupational therapy programme in University of Limerick.
Where these places are added, there is a chance that points may fall – but it will only become evident when the round-one offers are made to applicants next Wednesday.
I can’t find anywhere to rent. Should I defer my course or change my plans?
There is still huge anxiety among this year’s Leaving Certs in attempting to secure a place to live adjacent to the college they now expect to attend.
The nightmare scenario for many is getting an offer of their dream course next Wednesday and having to give it up by the cut-off date for acceptance of places due to not being able to find anywhere to live.
Unfortunately, under CAO rules, if you are offered your first-choice course in a level eight course and don’t accept it you can’t receive any other lower offer. Our advice is to contact the college where you’re hoping to study. They have a database of homeowners offering rooms to rent and may be able to support in other ways.
You can also apply to defer. In this case, contact the university or college as soon as your offer arrives. In most cases, your place will be held until next year. However, there is no guarantee the housing situation will be any better next year.
Am I entitled to concessionary points?
CAO applicants who qualify for access programmes such as Dare (for those with a designated disability), Hear (for economically disadvantaged) or having qualified for an elite scholarship programme can involve a potential reduction in points requirements.
In the case of any of these places, the decision is made according to the policy as applied by each individual college and, in many cases, individual faculty departments. The same applies to elite sports scholarships. There is no one-size-fits-all rule. What is clear is that the admissions officers of each college will communicate to the CAO before round-one offers (and each subsequent round) whom to offer a place on a programme to.
The Irish Times Leaving Cert results and CAO helpdesk, will be open at the following times over the coming days:
- Saturday, August 24th 10am to 5pm
- Sunday, August 25th 10am to 12pm
- Wednesday, August 28th 1pm to 8pm
- Thursday, August 29th 12pm to 8pm
- Friday, August 30th 10am to 1pm
