Should I defer my college place? Your Leaving Cert and CAO questions answered

Our team of guidance counsellors staffing The Irish Times helpdesk has been busy answering questions from concerned Leaving Cert students. The team is available over the coming days to answer queries. Here are some of the main themes emerging:

Will CAO points requirements for my chosen course go up this year?

The factors that determine CAO points requirement for any course come down ultimately to supply and demand. Last year’s points for each course were determined by the last student to secure a place. This in itself was determined by the profile of CAO scores of those seeking places on the programme and the number of places available on the course. In summary, it is impossible to say for sure until the offer is issued next Wednesday.

If grades are the same as in 2022 and 2021, surely CAO points won’t go up?

It’s a case of supply and demand. The CAO publishes data in March and July showing the exact number of applicants for each discipline or area of study. Where there is a growing interest among applicants in a programme, this will push up the points requirements and vice versa. However, points may fall in some courses where additional places are being created this year (see below for more details).

Will points for medicine go down due to extra places being added this year?

Just more than 1,000 additional places were being added to high-demand courses in 2022. A further 462 places were added this year including 60 extra medical places across the five undergraduate schools and postgraduate programmes.

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There is a chance that points may fall — but it will only become evident when the round-one offers are made to applicants next Wednesday.

I can’t find anywhere to live. Should I defer my course or change my plans?

There is huge anxiety among this year’s Leaving Certs in attempting to secure a place to live adjacent to the college they now expect to attend.

Our helpdesk received a number of queries from students in Europe who have applied to the CAO in growing numbers since Brexit effectively locked them out of the UK college market. They, too, are finding it impossible to book accommodation.

The nightmare scenario for many is getting an offer of their dream course next Wednesday and having to give it up by the cut-off date for acceptance of places due to not being able to find anywhere to live. Unfortunately, under the CAO rules if you are offered your first-choice course in level eight and don’t accept it you can’t receive any other lower offer.

Our advice is to contact the college where you’re hoping to study. They have a database of homeowners offering rooms to rent and may be able to support in other ways. You can also apply to defer. In this case, contact the university or college as soon as your offer arrives. In most cases, your place will be held until next year. However, there is no guarantee the housing situation will be any better next year.

Am I entitled to concessionary points?

CAO applicants who qualify for access programmes such as Dare (for those with a designated disability), Hear (for economically disadvantaged) or having qualified for an elite scholarship programme can involve a potential reduction in CAO points requirements.

In the case of any of these places, the decision is made according to the policy as applied by each individual college and, in many cases, individual faculty departments. The same applies to elite sports scholarships. There is no one-size-fits-all rule. What is clear is that the admissions officers of each college will communicate to the CAO before round-one offers (and each subsequent round) whom to offer a place on a programme to.

What will happen with Leaving Cert grades next year?

Minister for Education Norma Foley said on Friday that the unique circumstances of each year group will be taken into consideration when deciding how each subsequent year group will be graded.

All we can state at this stage is that Foley is determined that there will be no “cliff edge” for any specific year group of Leaving Cert students.