CAO: Nearly 57,000 applicants offered college place as more than half secure first choice course
There were a total of 83,543 applicants to the CAO this year
![CAO: Nearly 57,000 applicants offered college place as more than half secure first choice course](https://europe.easybranches.com/uploads/news/2024/08/6735058.jpg)
Nearly 57,000 anxious students received an offer of a college place from the CAO this afternoon.
These consist of 51,934 Level 8 offers and 31,435 Level 6/7 offers, with many applicants receiving offers at both levels.
Some 56 per cent of Level 8 offers are for the applicant's first preference course, while 83 per cent of Level 8 offers are for a course in the applicant's top three preferences.
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The CSO also revealed ninety-two percent of Level 6/7 offers are for the applicant's first preference course while 99 per cent are one of their top three preferences.
First round offers must be accepted by 3pm on Tuesday, while second round offers will be available at 2pm on September 9.
There were a total of 83,543 applicants to the CAO this year, including 7,365 mature applicants.
It means 67.7 per cent of all applicants were offered some course in the first round of offers.
![Students from Belvedere College secondary school Dublin doing the English paper in the Leaving Cert. (file photo)](https://i2-prod.irishmirror.ie/incoming/article28851276.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/2_LEAVING-CERT-EXAM-STOCK-GENERIC.jpg)
CAO Head of Communications Eileen Keleghan said: "One of the common queries that we receive at the offers stage is around order of preference.
"Applicants who receive a lower preference offer can accept this offer, and it will not prevent them from receiving an offer of a course higher up on their courses list in a later round should a place become available and they are deemed eligible.
She added: "Those who have received an offer in this round should also consider the current offer carefully as it may be the only one they will receive.”
The CSO said they had to use random selection on 19 Level 8. This is used when enough students have the points but there are not enough places.
This is normally used for courses such as Pharmacy, Medicine and Physiotherapy.
Meanwhile, points have risen for nursing courses across Ireland. UCD’s course saw a jump of 7 points, UCC’s went up by 16, UL by 7 and DCU by 22.
The only expectation was Trinity where their main nursing course fell by 8 points.
![Close-up of caregiver holding senior client hand. Support from nurse to patient, taking care of elderly man in hospital. Emotional support and care in healthcare, hospice care.](https://i2-prod.irishmirror.ie/incoming/article33556312.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_GettyImages-1810941394.jpg)
Primary teaching courses also saw small points drops.
The course at St Patrick's DCU was down by 7 points, and at Mary Immaculate College, was down by 9 points.
In addition, The Department of Further and Higher Education said that 40 extra places were also coming for medicine courses as part of an expansion plan that began in 2022.
It comes as a total of 5,370 applicants already received an offer from the CAO in an earlier restricted round, known as round zero.
The CAO said out of the Level 6/7 offers more than nine out of ten were offered their top choice course.
Students who complete a Level 6 course will graduate with higher certificates and their course will usually take two years to complete.
Those studying a Level 7 course will usually have an ordinary degree after three years.
While a Level 8 is known as an honours degree and normally takes four or more years to do.
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