Student anguish as points surge leaves university just out of reach
‘Higher grades are of little comfort’
‘Half of students got their top choice’
IT WAS a day of disappointment for many CAO applicants yesterday, as the number of points needed to get into third-level courses soared.
The results of the Leaving Certificate calculated grades process, released on Monday, were more than 4% higher than the previous year – which led to an unprecedented boost in points required for many courses.
The Government said it had created thousands of additional places on courses in an attempt to ease a spike in the points system, but Gary Gannon TD, the Social Democrats’ education spokesman, said that this year’s grade inflation will be ‘of little comfort’ to students who lost out on their course choice.
He said the effect of the inflated grades on students who had deferred their college start and were applying to college with marks gained in 2019, still had to be assessed.
Ellen O’Leary, 19, was one of the students left disheartened when the points for her first choice of primary teaching in Dublin City University shot up by more than 20 points yesterday – leaving the course just out of her reach.
She has instead been forced to settle for her fifth choice.
‘It is just the fact that we had no warning, while we were filling in the CAO we weren’t really told that this would have happened, so I think a lot of people have missed out on courses because of that or even got no offers as a result,’ she said.
Third level courses in the health sector, such as nursing, appeared to have enjoyed a Covid bounce. The course at Trinity College Dublin is up 36 points to 430, at DCU it is up by 40 points, and University College Dublin is up by 31.
Points have also climbed in dentistry, physio therapy and veterinary medicine at many institutions, while primary teaching courses have risen by 26 points in DCU and eight points at Maynooth University.
There was a 66-point increase to do Computer Science at University College Cork, 42 points at TCD and 22 points at UCD.
Meanwhile, law degree courses are up by 31 points at TCD, 41 points at Maynooth University, and 31 points at UCC.
The CAO confirmed it had issued 78,950 round one offers to 53,815 CAO applicants. These offers consist of 47,162 level eight course offers and 31,788 level six and seven course offers.
However, over half of students still secured their first choice of college or university.
Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, chairman of the CAO board, said: ‘We haven’t done any kind of averaging across all of the courses. What I can say is that in some courses the points have gone up, probably by a reasonable chunk.
‘For the year that is in it there has been increased interest in everything to do with health, and demand has gone up there.
Round two offers will be available to view on the CAO website from 10am on Wednesday, September 23.
In a video message to students posted on social media, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said: ‘Many of you will get offers and you will be happy, some of you won’t and to those of you who won’t, I understand your disappointment.
‘Please know this doesn’t define you and please know that there are many ways of getting where you want to.’
The seven universities represented by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) said that over 1,350 of the additional 2,225 places have been made available by the universities as part of a coordinated response to the exceptional circumstances this year.
These additional places have been fully funded by the Government, in addition to a further 4,100 places that had already been planned.
Director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals Clive Byrne congratulated all the Leaving Cert students who received CAO first-round offers yesterday.
‘In an unprecedented year, our Leaving Cert class of 2020 has shown great reserve and determination. Today is an important milestone in the transition from secondary to third level.’
Any student in need of advice over the coming days can contact the Department of Education helpline on 1800 265 165.