CAO POINTS for most college courses are set to increase this year because of a surge in demand for third-level college places.
A tighter jobs market has driven up competition for places, with final CAO figures showing a 4 per cent increase in applications for level 8 or higher degree courses.
There has also been a sharp increase in demand for places in medicine and related areas.
With Leaving Certificate students set to get their results on Wednesday, career experts predict a significant increase in points for all medical related courses.
Details of this year’s CAO points requirements will be published next Monday. They are expected to show a slight increase in points for arts; a marginal increase for most science and engineering courses; no major change from last year for business courses; a dramatic fall off for property and construction courses; points will increase again for nursing; and no major change is expected in the requirement for teaching.
Overall, college applications for higher level courses have reached record levels, and are up from 64,774 to 67,640. This reflects a huge surge in interest among mature learners because of the economic downturn. The closing off of apprenticeship schemes and the embargo on public service recruitment is also driving demand for college places.
In medicine, applications are up by over 10 per cent while demand for dentistry is up 14 per cent.
Overall demand for courses listed by the CAO as “other healthcare” – such as occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, rehabilitation and athletic therapy and social care – has risen by over 25 per cent.
Physiotherapy, where student interest fell back last year, has bounced back with a 21 per cent increase in applications.
The new figures also show a 5.5 per cent increase in applications for arts and social science courses.
After years of falling back, points for arts increased last year. A further modest increase in points is expected this year for most arts courses – including arts at University College Dublin, the largest undergraduate course in the State.
Students can also expect a similar trend for business courses where applications are also up by 5 per cent. Business courses boomed during the Celtic Tiger years but student demand has slowed in the past three years.
In nursing, points increased last year after the Health Service Executive moved to cut the number of training places. Points are expected to rise again this year after a 4 per cent increase in applications.
This year’s CAO figures are also expected to show an increase in points for science courses with some 540 additional students seeking places on science and related courses. After years of decline, points for science have increased dramatically as parents and students see it as an area with strong employment potential. Last year, points for science in UCD rose from 305 to 385.
As expected, student demand for courses linked to the construction industry has fallen away significantly. Overall, applications for courses grouped by the CAO as the “built environment” are down by close to 23 per cent. Only 317 students chose courses in this area as their first college preference.
Demand for courses in architecture also slow with only 750 applications. Negative publicity about unemployed solicitors is also feeding into CAO choices. Demand for law courses is down by over 4 per cent.
Publicity about decreased margins and mark-ups for pharmacies has had an impact as demand for pharmacy courses is down 21 per cent.
Surprisingly, demand for courses in teaching and education has increased only marginally, despite the Government’s commitment to recruit extra teachers and maintain class size at current levels. Points are expected to be broadly similar to last year’s levels for teaching.
A similar pattern is expected for courses in agriculture and art and design where demand for places has increased marginally.