Education

Points remain steady but some will still miss out

Lottery system used for high-points courses such as medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine

It was widely expected that the class of 2022 would see a rise in CAO points or, at best, that most points might stay steady. Photograph: iStock

Peter McGuire
Fri Sep 9 2022 - 01:10

As night follows day, a rise in Leaving Certificate grades would normally be followed by a rise in CAO points.

This year the State Examinations Commission artificially inflated Leaving Cert grades to ensure they would not be lower than last year.

Last year grades were inflated because students had the choice of receiving an accredited grade from their school or choosing the grade they were awarded in the exam — a decision taken as a result of the many school weeks missed during the pandemic.

It was widely expected that the class of 2022 would see a rise in CAO points or, at best, that most points might stay steady.

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So how has it all panned out? We took a look at whether points are up or down in some key Level 8 courses.

Health science

The high number of top grades this year has led many universities to use lottery systems for high-points courses, particularly in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine, despite a move by the Government to add 1,000 college places.

This means that students who secured enough points to get into one of these courses will miss out due to random selection — a blow for some because there is little point repeating the Leaving Cert when you have already secured top marks.

There is some good news, however: points for most medicine courses have stayed largely steady. At UCD points remain at 743 to study medicine. The medicine course at the Royal College of Surgeons, meanwhile, has stayed steady at 741 points. UCC’s medicine course also remains at 738 points.

At Trinity they have fallen two points from 2021, down from 745 to 743.

Only at the University of Galway (formerly NUI Galway) are points up, from 736 to 737.

Many students who might have hoped to get into a medicine course in Ireland will have put pharmacy as their number two course. They may be somewhat relieved to see that the pharmacy courses at Trinity College, RCSI and UCC have all stayed at 613.

Nursing courses, meanwhile, have seen some slight point drops: at DCU general nursing is down from 456 points in 2021 to 447. At Trinity it is down from 462 to 434, and at Dundalk IT students need 415 points this year compared to 440 last year.

Physiotherapy courses also have a ray of hope, with points for the courses at RCSI, Trinity and UCD all staying at, respectively, 589, 590 and 601. There is better news for applicants to UL’s physiotherapy course, where points have fallen, not insignificantly, from 613 to 601.

Last year dental science was among the courses that left students devastated due to random selection.

In 2021 the dental science course at Trinity College and UCC required 625 points — the maximum points that can be awarded in the Leaving Certificate (any course with a points requirement above this involves some form of interview or pre-screening, including aptitude tests or portfolios). These are the only two places in the State offering dental science courses.

This year the bad news is that there is once again likely to be at least some students who miss out due to random selection, but the good news is that the points at Trinity are still at 625 and, at UCC, have fallen from 625 to 613.

For students who have missed out, this may not be the end. There are many health sciences courses available outside Ireland, with the Netherlands and Poland among the popular destinations for Irish health science students. The courses are offered through English and, in most cases, fees for EU students — as well as the cost of living — are lower than in Ireland. You can find more information on these courses at Eunicas.ie, Erudera.com or MedicalPoland.ie.

Veterinary medicine and agriculture

For veterinary medicine students, UCD is the only place offering a veterinary medicine course, and points for their veterinary medicine course have also stayed steady, at 601. But students hoping for a place on the UCD’s veterinary nursing course may be disappointed to see them rise from 500 in 2021 to 521 this year.

UCD’s agricultural science course is down to 400 points this year, a significant drop from 454 last year. At the southeast Technological University (Waterford campus), points for agricultural science stand at 401, a rise from 377 last year.

Science

Last year UCD’s general entry science course reached a record high of 566; this year they are up to another record high, reaching 577 points.

Points for the University of Galway’s science course are down, however, from 489 to 462. The University of Limerick’s biological and chemical sciences course stays steady at 498 points.

Points for most science courses at Trinity have either stayed steady or risen somewhat, with points for physical sciences up by one to 554 and biological and chemical sciences up two to 555.

DCU’s genetics and cell biology course has stayed steady at 543 points.

Engineering and computer science

Demand for engineering and computer science courses is largely up this year.

Points for the University of Limerick’s computer science course are up significantly, from 401 to 434, and also up significantly at UCD, rising from 554 in 2021 to 567 today. At Maynooth University computer science through arts requires 391 points, up from 381 last year.

At DCU points for engineering (common entry) stood at 511 in 2021 but, in 2022, have jumped to 534.

DCU’s biotechnology course, meanwhile, is down nine points to 521.

Unlucky for some: Trinity College’s engineering course is up 13 points, from 556 to 569.

Arts, humanities and law

This year points for some key arts have fallen or stayed steady.

UCD’s arts course has seen points climb in recent years but, in 2022, points have fallen from 400 to 381. It is a similar story for UCD’s humanities course, with points down from a high of 442 last year to 397 in 2022.

The University of Galway’s arts degrees slightly buck this trend, with points up from 327 last year to 336 today.

TU Dublin’s journalism course required 367 points in 2021; this year, students need 377 points. DCU’s journalism course, meanwhile, requires 432 points in 2022, down from 452 in 2021.

At UL points for Law Plus are at 521, down from 530 last year, while Munster Technological University’s four-year law programme requires 496 points, down from 507 last year. At UCC students need 539 points for the law (pathways) programme, a rise from 533 last year. UCD’s law programme, meanwhile, is down from 576 to 569. And, at Maynooth University, law requires 496 points in 2022, down from 507 last year.

Business

Points for some of the most popular business degree programmes have stayed reasonably steady. Trinity College’s highly sought business, economic and social studies course is up one point to 577, while UCD’s commerce programme — another popular option — has also risen by one point, from 554 to 555. Maynooth University’s business (options) programme is down from 441 to 443 points.

Architecture and construction

More architecture and construction graduates are needed to build and retrofit more houses, and students seem to have heard that message. Points for UCD’s architecture course have shot up from 510 to 566 this year, with similar rises at UCC and MTU’s joint programme (up 484 to 544 points) and at UL, from 498 to 532.

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