Thousands of Leaving Certificate students will find out today if they secured enough marks for their chosen college course.
The Central Applications Office (CAO) published this year's points results at 6am. Just under 54,000 pupils received their Leaving Certificate results on Wednesday, with 41,087 of those hoping their grades in the State examination will get them into higher education.
The figures indicate that points for two of the top three most popular courses in the State - Arts at UCD (1,194 places) and Arts at UCC (929 places) - have fallen back a further five points to 345 and 340 respectively.
Almost 1,130 courses are available in 43 third-level institutions across the country. The CAO said it received more than 65,000 applicants this year, almost 3,000 more than last year.
The figure includes 56,745 current and past Leaving Certificate students, 8,805 mature students, and around 2,000 applicants from Northern Ireland and Great Britain with A-levels.
Last year more than 85 per cent of acceptances were recorded online, with 19,000 acceptances recorded on round one. Applicants are warned not to miss the deadline for accepting an offer, or it will be offered to another applicant, and not to accept an offer both online and in the post as they could end up on the wrong course.
Those who are unsuccessful in securing their preferred choice, or any choice at all, are reminded that a range of other options available including places on courses in round two, private college, and PLC and Fás courses.