THE acceptance rate for Round One offers in the CAO/CAS colleges has been phenomenal and applicants have demonstrated a high rate of confidence in diploma/certificate courses with more accepting places on these courses than on degree courses.
When the CAO finalised the number of acceptances yesterday, 16,741 students had accepted diploma/certificate places and 16,027 had accepted degree places. This is the first year in which acceptance of diploma/certificate courses was higher than those for degrees, and it may reflect a higher number of places offered. But the interesting point is that it also reflects an increase of almost 2,000 in the number accepting a diploma/certificate offer compared to Round One last year he number of acceptances for degrees has gone up by 700.
The CAO told Points Race yesterday that 32,768 students have lodged an acceptance. This means that more have already accepted a place on Round One this year than had accepted at the very end of the season last year (32,191 acceptances in total in 1995). If one takes into account the fact that the Department of Education was estimating 31,500 places in total a few weeks ago, it is clear the colleges have already surpassed this figure in the number of places they are prepared to provide.
For those still waiting for an offer, the high take up on the first round is bad news as it would normally indicate that there will be very little on offer in the second round. Last year, with a lower take up in Round One, there were about 1,000 degree places and about 3,000 diploma/certificate places offered in Round Two; it could well be less when the second round comes out next Tuesday.
One thousand degree places may sound like a lot, but you have to consider that some courses such as Trinity's clinical speech and UL's PE teaching only make their first offers in Round Two. There is also a lot of "tidying up" in the second round, i.e. people who did not get an offer through mistakes or oversights on the first round.
Much of what happens at degree level in Round Two often does not relate to genuine "new" offers on lower points, but to people on or above the existing points level who should have got an offer on Round One if all their details had been in order. Some applicants with British exam board A levels (though not Northern Ireland board results) for example, will not get offers until Round Two because the CAO did not have their results in time for Round One.
In the case of some RTCs, offers to mature applicants and to applicants for the PLC reserved places will be made in Round Two, so that will account for quite a few places. Points Race would not recommend that anyone holds her breath for any sizeable drop in points in the second round.
. GRANTS
The closing date for applications for a maintenance grant was July 12th; this is an attempt to speed up the processing of grants and get the authorisation out to students earlier. But it is, of course, still possible for someone who has been unexpectedly offered a college place or belatedly realised that they may qualify for a grant, to do so. Grant authorities will all take late applications; but, not unreasonably, these will go to the bottom of the list and only get processed after those which came in on time.
It is vital all applicants remember to inform their grant authority when they have accepted a college place. The grant application can only be finally processed when they know you have accepted a place. The sooner you send this information in, the quicker your authorisation will come through.
It is also important to remember that the onus is on the applicant to provide any outstanding documentation required to back up the grant application such as P21 and P60, or a statement from the social welfare office in the case of welfare recipients. Do not expect them to keep reminding you of this, it is more likely that your application will simply sit there until you provide the full documentation.
The means test is fairly straightforward for a family with up to four children a full maintenance grant is payable on a income of up to £17,460, part grant up to £18,623 (for larger families there are higher income limits). Families with two children in higher education can add £2,000 on to these limits and another £2,000 if they happen to have three offspring in college simultaneously - and so on pro rata.
These are pretty low income levels and they go up in line with inflation each year. What is also very low is the actual amount of the grant £1,600 for a full grant living away from home and £637 living at home. Despite the abolition of fees - which is greatly appreciated by parents - Points Race has encountered many parents really struggling with the cost of college; and those who are dependent on a grant find it abysmally inadequate.
A sizeable number of Dublin people have complained to us that they would like to avail of RTC opportunities down the country but simply cannot afford it. And it does seem unfair that the same family income levels apply for grant eligibility regardless of whether the child is studying at home or away from home. Surely, it would be reasonable to add an extra few thousand pounds onto the income threshold in the case of students studying away from home? It is clearly considerably more expensive to live away. The actual amount of the grant recognises this, but the means test does not.
What Points Race particularly notices is the tiny amounts by which the maintenance grant is inching up. Compared to the £2,000 saving to parents who have benefitted from the abolition of fees, students dependent on grants have only got a few pounds of an increase.
The Department of Education has produced a very good booklet on grants, fees, etc. this year. All the schemes are clearly outlined and it has the telephone numbers of county councils and VECs for grant application purposes. It is available from the Higher Education Grants Section of the Department.
. FEES
It is amazing how quickly you [forget fees once they have gone; some of our callers cannot believe that up to two years ago they were faced with bills of £2,000 for fees in addition to maintenance costs. In retrospect, they wonder how they ever managed.
Others are pleasantly surprised; having paid fees of up to £2,000 a year for fee paying secondary schools for the past six years, they now cannot believe their luck that there are no university fees.
There are even people who had taken out insurance policies and saved through special schemes to provide for college fees and now find themselves with an unexpected bonus!
But while most people do not pay fees, the concept of fees has not disappeared. For example, a student who has to repeat a year will be charged fees. The ruling is that the State will pay for a student to do a year once, but not twice.
Some students are shocked to discover that they are charged fees for doing first year a second time even if it is a different course. Again, the ruling is clear, you can have one "go" at a college first year at State expense. If you want to have another "go" at something else, then you have to pay.
It does tend to have an inhibiting effect on students who realise they have made a wrong choice and want to change over and start again.
Students transferring from certificate/diploma courses to degrees can have their special circumstances taken into account depending on which year of the degree they are taken into.
. VACANCIES
Athlone RTC can take a few more applicants for its mineral engineering diploma (AL0114). This is a three year diploma course which leads to careers in the mining and mineral/geological area. It is an area Athlone is highly specialised in and for those who get a merit or distinction it provides for automatic transfer to two degree courses in the UK.
They can also take more applicants for business studies (AL002) on their Cavan outreach campus and office information systems (AL005) in their Greendale, Dublin, outreach centre.
UCD is prepared to accept applicants for the two adult evening arts degrees, DN022 which is the modular arts degree and DN 23 single subject arts. Minimum matriculation requirements of two higher Cs apply, and applicants need to be over 20.