Points race pressure as college demand surges
:: ‘Covid effect’ now driving chase for medicine and health sciences
HUGE increases in demand across a range of study areas will drive up CAO points for many college courses.
A ‘Covid effect’ is visible in the massive interest in medicine and other health sciences at the heart of the battle against the coronavirus.
But there is a big surge too for many other disciplines, which includes architecture and construction, social and behavioural sciences, journalism and environment.
Interest in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) remains strong and there is also a “green wave”.
The extraordinary increases are revealed in a CAO breakdown of applications for college entry in September.
A record 79,176 CAO applications, combined with a version of Leaving Cert calculated grades for a second consecutive year, are creating the big swells.
Trinity College Dublin is enjoying a 38pc jump in applicants, bringing it to a record high of 10,253. The country’s largest university, University College Dublin (UCD), where applicant numbers have risen 16pc to 9,981, is showing increases across the board in 33 of 38 degree programmes.
Nationally, first preferences for medicine are up 25pc, pharmacy (26pc), nursing (21pc), biological and related sciences (21pc), architecture and construction (19pc), social and behavioural sciences (27pc).
Record CAO application numbers and the particularly heavy demand for some disciplines presents the Government with an exacting task.
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has set up a working group to see how to accommodate the demand, over and above the 4,100 extra college places already agreed for 2021.
He said the group would report to him by Easter and he would then bring a proposal to Cabinet.
HUGE increases in demand across a range of study areas will drive up CAO points for many college courses A ‘Covid effect’ is visible in the massive interest in medicine and other health sciences at the heart of the battle against the coronavirus.
But there is a big surge too for many other disciplines, including architecture/construction, social and behavioural sciences, journalism and environment.
The extraordinary increases are revealed in a CAO breakdown of applications for college entry in September, by area of study. Overall, applicant numbers are up 9pc, but demand for many disciplines is running well ahead of average and, in a few cases, around double the 2020 level.
A record, 79,176, CAO applications – most for honours degree (Level 8) courses – combined with a version of Leaving Cert calculated grades for a second year, are creating the big swells.
Calculated grades lifted Leaving Cert results by an average 4pc in 2020 and grade inflation is inevitable in 2021.
Leaving Cert candidates have been given a choice of accredited grades – similar to calculated grades – and/or sitting the exams. If they do both, they will be credited with the better result in each subject.
Similar to last year, the Government has committed to opening more college places to soak up as much demand as possible, injecting a certain optimism in students that they can achieve their dream course. Creating places helps to ease the points pressure.
Trinity College Dublin is enjoying a 38pc jump in applicants, bringing it to a record high of 10,253.
The country’s largest university, University College Dublin (UCD), where applications have risen 16pc to 9,981, is showing increases across the board in 33 of 38 degree programmes
Nationally, first preferences are up for medicine (25pc), pharmacy (26pc), nursing (21pc), biological/related sciences (21pc) architecture/ construction (19pc), social and behavioural sciences (27pc).
But averages don’t tell the full story, with a 58pc rise in applications for medicine in Trinity an example of the extreme pressure for places on particular courses.
Covid will leave a legacy of indelible images of the heroic burden carried by nurses, and despite, or because of that, first preferences for general nursing are up by about 40pc in Trinity, UCD and Dublin City University (DCU), while UCD’s mental health nursing has seen an 86pc jump.
There’s a ‘green wave’ evident too, with demand for environment-related programmes up by 70pc. Within that, UCD’s sustainability programme has seen a whopping 124pc rise in applications.
The attraction to STEM (science, maths, engineering and technology) remains strong, with several programmes at Maynooth University providing a flavour: computer science (up 46pc), engineering (39pc) biotechnology (35pc). At DCU, computer science is up 55pc and computing for business is up 45pc.
On the flip side, overall interest in business is lagging, with an average increase of 6pc, while applications for second-level teaching are down by 8pc and law has dropped 5pc.
But national figures can be misleading: Trinity’s business economic and social studies (BESS) course has seen a 40pc bounce and, in what may be another effect of Covid, DCU has experienced a 43pc increase for global business, specifically where there are opportunities to spend significant periods of study in the USA and Canada.
Perhaps the latter is driven by students keen to broaden horizons after more than a year of lockdown.
Similarly, against an overall decline in first preferences for law, applications for the Trinity programme are up 40pc.
Arts remains steady, with applications up 11pc on average, although Trinity has seen a 90pc rise for history.
NUI Galway is reporting higher demand across almost all areas with courses in science, engineering, arts and
Trinity College Dublin is enjoying a 38pc jump in applications
medicine experiencing significant increases.
Another feature of the figures is an 11pc drop, to 5,729, in applicants who register by February 1, but don’t enter their course choices. A factor in the decline may be the extra 1,500 mature student applicants.
Candidates have a further opportunity to indicate their choices, and also to add or delete courses. The record CAO application numbers and the particularly heavy demand for some disciplines presents the Government with an exacting task.
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has set up a working group to see how to accommodate the demand, over and above the 4,100 extra college places that have already been agreed for 2021.
He said the group would report to him by Easter.
The provision of extra places in medicine and other health courses was being explored as part of that work,
While it is relatively easy to add extra students to an arts course, the requirement for clinical placements for medical and other health students is a complicating factor
Mr Harris said he did not want to over-promise but “this could be the chance to try and make sure we are training enough speech and language therapists, doctors, nurses for Sláintecare”.
Traditionally, 50pc of honours degree applicants get their top CAO choice and 80pc get one of their top three, and he said he would “like to see that ratio maintained this year”.
“The sheer scale of first-preference applications for some courses makes achieving that challenging.”