Central Applications Office (CAO) points requirements have experienced a “volatile” change for the majority of courses at several universities this year.
Despite a reduction in grade inflation and the addition of places on popular courses, some colleges have seen a rise in the points required for two-thirds of programmes.
There were 89,308 CAO applications made this year, a 7 per cent increase on the 83,169 made last year.
In the capital, points requirements at Trinity College Dublin have increased by 2.5 per cent, or just under 10 CAO points, on average.
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Amid an increase in applications, the points for two-thirds of its programmes have risen. However, the number of courses requiring more than 600 points has remained steady.
With a 9 per cent rise in application numbers, University College Dublin has seen points for 20 of its programmes increase, with all of its courses now requiring at least 400 points.
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Dublin is not an outlier, as the trend of rising point requirements is also seen elsewhere, including Cork and Galway, although the level varies between universities.
Two-thirds of courses at the University of Galway, for example, require higher points, while at the University of Limerick some programmes incurred a rise, but the majority have remained stable or have fallen.
Where universities have been able to maintain or reduce point requirements at 2024 levels, some have done so by increasing places on those courses where capacity allows.
Those who took the Leaving Cert this year have fewer H1s than 2024 candidates, which means courses requiring more than 600 points will largely stay steady.
However, for courses below 600 points, the effect of reducing enhanced grades is expected to be offset by the increase in CAO applicants and the presence of almost 20,000 who have sat their exams.
The majority of these applicants sat the Leaving Cert since 2020 and received a higher level of grade inflation.
While universities are making efforts to reduce the use of random selection, it is set to feature again this year, meaning that some students achieving the maximum 625 points may lose out on their first choice.
A third-level source in the south of the country described the points change this year as “volatile”.
However, they said such volatility was expected to some degree, due to rising demand, despite expectations among some that points would somewhat decrease or remain stable following the lowering of grade inflation.
About 52 per cent of grades were artificially inflated this year, down from 68 per cent in 2024 in the first stage of a gradual phasing out of post-marking adjustment.
The first round of CAO offers will be made at 2pm on Wednesday and, according to the latest data, health is the most popular area again this year, with 83,472 applications listing such degrees.
Dentistry, which includes dental nursing and hygiene, had the highest increase in applications, with first preferences rising by 64 per cent.
This was followed by pharmacy (+44 per cent) and physiotherapy (+36 per cent).
Transport services had the most significant reduction at -10 per cent, while secondary education was down 6 per cent.
