Q: I'VE been looking at the 1998 points in the January supplement with much more interest this year. My son is applying to CAO and I wonder if he has made the right choices? Some courses, which seem the same to me, have much higher points than others and some seemed to have cleared everything in the first round of offers. What does all this mean?

- Dublin father

A: The 1998 points charts are history now, useful only as a guide to the 1999 situation. Nobody knows what the 1999 points will be until late August when the number of applicants are ranked by their preferences and Leaving Cert results for the number of places available in each course.

First of all, some of the courses may look the same but I hope your son has researched using college prospectuses. What may be offered as, say, science in UCD under DN008 may be totally different to what is offered in some other college under science, say, TCD's TR071.

The number of students taken on the course will be different because of places available and, therefore, the points will be different. Choice of first-year subjects and combinations for later years will be different.

Then, again, science in UCC may be denominated and have no omnibus science course entry, unlike NUI Galway which has both denominated and omnibus entry.

All of this means that, if a college has a vast array of courses in one faculty, there will be more demand generally on these specialised options which in themselves have a smaller number of places often thereby driving points up.

This sometimes is not the best choice for a student because he or she may not know what precisely all these options mean. Often it's better to go for a broad course in year one and branch out later.

In some colleges, such as engineering at UCD, at the end of first year, students are ranked by choice and grade and have to compete for these options for year two, whereas in other courses, such as TCD's engineering, you don't have to choose until the end of year two and the college tries to facilitate the students' choice from year three on.

This also happens to popular choices such as psychology, in arts, or computer science. I think there is by far too much proliferation of courses with small numbers of places available being offered by colleges so that points look good for that particular college and, in the process, the real choices available to students are reduced.

You also ask why some colleges cleared everything in Round 1. Perhaps it's because the admissions officers are "guesstimating" very accurately. Admissions officers know from long experience what the likely take-up will be and, so, offer accordingly but it's fairly unusual to get it all exactly right in Round 1 and I would think even more unusual to have so few offers in Round II and subsequent rounds. But I hope they have filled all the available places or have they?

Another reason why points tend to be high on these denominated courses is that very often quite specific subject and grade requirements are built in which naturally narrows the choice available, especially to students from smaller, rural schools where subject choice can be quite limited.

Why is it necessary to have such specific requirements - is it to ease the load for staff teaching first years or will it expedite the learning process so much that students will qualify with super-duper degrees or is it to have a more exclusive first year cohort with high points - it can't possibly be to give students a better choice.

Any guidance counsellor will tell you that there are very few students who know precisely what they want at Leaving Cert level. Maybe, if we knew the drop-out rate for all these courses, it would help to clarify the situation.

Then, some students have very little choice because often the less well-off have to opt for the three-year versus the four-year degree or the national cert versus the national diploma because they have to get on with life and get out and start earning.

Anyway, I hope he has made the right choices. I would advise him to let the points look after themselves.

Q: I'd like to become a children's nurse but I don't see it listed in the advertisement for nursing courses generally. Where can I get information on this? What kind of Leaving Cert will I need?

- Cork student

A: There is no specific entry route to children's nursing through the Irish system such as there is for general nursing (RGN), psychiatric nursing (RPN), mental handicap nursing (RMHN). Successful completion of a three-year programme in any one of these leads to registration with An Bord Altranais and the award of a diploma in nursing from a linked third-level institution.

Once you have registered, you may undertake a post-registration programme leading to registration in another division of the Register such as registered sick children's nurse (RSCN). Again, successful completion leads to registration as an RSCN and the award of a higher diploma from a linked third-level institution.

Many nurses are now pursuing degrees once they have completed the registration/ diploma programme. These courses are offered on a part-time or full-time basis usually over one or two years in many third-level institutions. Specific entry requirements are in place for these colleges.

So, you should apply for admission to either general and psychiatric nursing to the Nursing Careers Centre, PO Box 6703, Dublin 2 - or, for mental handicap nursing, to National Application Centre, POI Box 3017, Dublin 15. You can then apply for children's nursing after you finish the diploma or degree.

All of these programmes usually start on the last Monday of September of each year. To qualify, you must meet the Bord Altranais minimum requirements and be at least 17 years old on June 1st of the year of application. You must have six subjects in Leaving Cert to include two higher-level Cs and four ordinary/ higher Ds in English or Irish, maths, a lab science (biology, physics, chemistry, physics with chemistry or agricultural science) and three other subjects. You must also meet the minimum educational requirements of the linked third-level college.

Queries can be answered only through this column and not by phone or post. Write to Sile Sheehy, Education & Living, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 - or by email to education@irish-times.ie