Leaving Cert helpdesk: points needed for various courses

Below is a compilation of helpdesk questions. They have been asked online by students and parents and answered by guidance counsellors Brian Howard and Deirdre Garrett

I got 525 points. Should this be enough to get me into clinical or international law in UCC?

Nobody will know this for definite until Monday. As you know course points can vary each year. Well done and the best of luck.

I have 330 points but the lowest course I have down on my CAO is 350 in Maynooth. What are my options now? Can I still get into Maynooth? Or any courses this year?

First of all, you don’t know what the points are for this year yet, so don’t jump the gun. Points can change from year to year both up and down. If next Monday you don’t get any offers then you could still look at the vacant-places list on cao.ie and see if there are any courses there that you would like to apply to. These are the only courses that you can add to your application at this stage. The list goes live on Thursday and might be worth a look. Other courses will be added to this list as the days go on so keep an eye on the site.

I missed my course by 10 points, could I still get an offer?

I presume you are talking about last year’s points when you say you missed a course by 10 points. Remember this year’s points could be different and you may not have missed the course at all. Last year’s points are only a guide to this year’s points. Also, if you do not get the points for your first preference you may be offered your second or third preference.

Points for politics and media in DCU are unavailable. Is that in St Pat’s or DCU?

Politics and Media (DC265) was in the CAO system last year and the cut-off point for this course in DCU was 395. This course has been changed to course DC295 in DCU this year which is Joint Honours – Politics, which has more options. As this is essentially a new course we won’t know what the points are going to be until Monday. They may not be in line with the old course DC265.

Can you tell me what the points were for Arts in Maynooth last year (MH101) and if there are any indications yet that the points have increased?

Points last year were 350 and so far there are no real indications that this will rise significantly.

My daughter got 290 points, will this qualify her for any college course?

Yes, there are many good courses available to students who achieved these points. Many of them will be in Institutes of Technology which are excellent colleges that allow students to progress through different levels right up to honours degrees. Check out qualifix.ie to search for different courses. Also check out cao.ie for courses with vacant places which may be available at these points.

I got 420. I was looking for 440 for journalism in DCU, any chance it can come down?

This course has steadily increased over the last few years from 410 in 2012 to 440 last year. While there is no way of knowing for definite until Monday I think it is unlikely to drop this year to 420.

How many points are needed for medicine?

These were the points needed last year.

UCD #730*

UCC #722*

NUIG #720*

RCSI #724*

TCD #731*

My daughter was hoping to get medicine. She got 565 points. We are considering getting four A2 subjects rechecked and she got a 153 HPat score. Could she be in with a chance to get her first choice? Any views on points for medicine coming down this year?

Well done on such a great Leaving Cert. I have worked out that she has a 710 score. It’s unlikely that medicine will drop that much but nobody will know for definite until Monday. I hope that it works out for your daughter.

Any feel for how occupational therapy in Trinity will go this year? I got 515.

I would be confident with having 15 points above last year’s entry, but nobody will know for definite until Monday.

I’m short five points for biosciences in Carlow; any idea if this might go down?

It is probably unlikely to go down, the level 8 course has been climbing steadily for the last few years. The level 7 is there also at lower points and you can transfer to the level 8 after this.

My son wants to do English and French in TCD. Is it likely to go up this year?

There are no direct indications to show the points for this course will go up. II’m afraid it is a waiting game until round-one offers. You could try ringing the admissions office in TCD to check out application numbers for the course this year but this will not definitely translate to points increases or decreases.

I’m 35 points off my course. Is there any chance that it could drop by that much? My course is nursing.

Points do vary but I would be surprised if they dropped by 35 points as nursing has remained popular. Enjoy your success and best of luck.