There has been a fall of about 1,600 in the total number of applications for a third-level place made to the Central Applications Office (CAO).
While the number of applications from Leaving Certificate students is at expected levels, the drop is linked to a fall-off in the numbers of mature students applying for a third-level place, according to sources.
The buoyancy in the employment market is regarded as one reason why mature students have decided not to apply for a third-level place, the sources added. Most Leaving Certificate students apply to the CAO, even if they are not sure they want to continue to third-level. This is because they can change their minds later and turn down offers.
While there are still late applications to come, at this stage the 60,300 applications represent a "significant" drop on last year, said Mr John McAvoy, CAO manager, yesterday.
Most courses undertaken by mature students can only be accessed through the CAO which covers everything from private colleges to the seven universities. Thus the numbers applying to the CAO are a good indication of demand among mature students for third-level education.
The CAO also disclosed that almost 17 per cent of applicants at this stage had made an error in their CAO form. There were 10,127 applicants who made at least one error in their course choice, the figures showed. One of the surprising findings was that 8,359 applicants applied for non-existent courses. This usually involved putting down a code for a course which was not offered under the CAO system or not offered by anyone.
Some 2,821 applicants opted for courses which have been withdrawn by colleges. The CAO manual is published in September and from this period until late February colleges are entitled to withdraw courses. While this is brought to the attention of many students, some do not discover it before they fill out their form.
Another error made by applicants was putting down diploma/ certificate courses on the degree list and degree options on the diploma/certificate list. Some 3,188 applicants put diploma and certificate courses in the degree list, with 2,081 making the opposite mistake.
The CAO has notified mature applicants and those applying for restricted application courses that they should correct any mistakes in their applications now. This is because many of them will do "early assessment tests" and need to correct their papers before these tests take place. Ordinary applicants can correct their mistakes during May.