THERE are just 3,000 places offered in the CAO/CAS Round Two which are being delivered by post to applicants' homes today. This is 1,000 fewer than last year, almost certainly because of the increased number of places offered on the first round and also, of course, because of the high acceptance rate of first round offers. Roughly 1,200 of the offers are on degree courses and 1,800 in diploma/certificates.
But while 3,000 places were offered, only 660 new individuals are being added to the offers list; the remainder are accounted for by students who already have an offer getting their higher preference. This will have a ripple effect, with the first round places of these students being offered out again in Round Three and so on.
As reported on Saturday, the take up rate of first round offers has been very high. It means that, even before today's Round Two, almost 33,000 students have accepted places in college in a system where it had been officially estimated that there would be around 31,500 places available this year. Last year, when the Department of Education was estimating 29,500 places, the colleges actually got 32,191 acceptances. Clearly, some colleges were very crowded last year and undoubtedly they will be again this year.
But there is usually a fall off in registrations from the number who accept. The Department estimates that 30,700 students actually ended up registered last year from 32,191 acceptances; so the 32,768 students who have returned acceptances may not all turn up to register come late September.
The CAO reports that the interest in places on courses which registered vacancies on Round One has been very high. "These places are now being snapped up in Round Two and in many cases by people with high points levels. In one Letterkenny RTC course, for example, an applicant for one of the courses had 445 points. This trend is also obvious in other colleges", according to a CAO spokesman.
It should be emphasised that some courses, such as PE teaching in UL and clinical speech in Trinity, are making their first offers in this round (because of additional assessments carried out in the interim); and the CAO also points out that in many courses where offers were made, the numbers of places offered were literally one or two.
. ACCEPTING ROUND TWO
THE closing date for accepting the second round offers is Monday, September 9th, at 5.15 p.m. And would everyone interested in accepting an offer please take note of this? This column was simply inundated with tearful parents, students and even - grandparents who had missed - the acceptance date, forgotten to post it or sent the wrong one. The deadline is vital and the number of people who miss it each year is quite amazing.
This year we have had an unusually large number of people who accepted the wrong offer! Most people get two offers in each round, a degree place and a diploma/certificate place, but you can only accept one. Incredibly, quite a few accepted diploma offers in RTCs or the DIT when they had really intended to accept a place in a university degree course.
If that has happened to you, you effectively do not have a leg to stand on; you have no right to the place you "intended" to accept. Our best advice is to go to the admissions offices of the college you want to enrol in not the CAO and have as dramatic a nervous breakdown as you can manage right there in front of them. It might work.
. ROUND THREE
ANY remaining places after acceptances from Round Two come back will be posted out in Round Three on Wednesday, September 11th, to arrive in the post the following day. But don't hold your breath for any great movement in the third round. If you have not got an acceptable offer by today, Points Race would recommend that you seriously consider the PLC sector or the repeat Leaving Cert.
. POINTS
THE fall in points in a number of university degree courses is as much a reflection of the numbers of Northern Ireland A level applicants turning down places as it is of non acceptance among Leaving Cert students. Some universities have found this quite a problem. Under EU regulations - not to mention the fact that they are Irish - Northern students with A levels must be treated in the same manner as local applicants - just as applicants from the Republic are so treated in the North and in the UK.
But the proportion of high grades is going up all the time in A levels, thus upping the competition for Leaving Cert students.
. VACANCIES
DESPITE the huge take up on Round One, it is still possible to apply for some vacant places in a number of RTCs, evening degrees at UCD and a small number of music/speech and drama courses at the DIT.
The DIT courses are: DIT602 Music; DIT603 Speech and Drama; and at degree level, FT601 Music Performance. Contact the DIT admissions office for details.
. Dun Laoghaire Art: The art and design college can take a few applicants for the TV/Video Production course which is a new course, but a portfolio is necessary.
Still registering some vacancies are:
. Sligo RTC: Business studies or European business with either German or Spanish; mechanical and electronic engineering, construction studies and analytical chemistry/quality control.
. Letterkenny RTC: Mechanical, civil and electronic engineering, industrial design, graphics accounting and business/languages.
. Limerick RTC: Marketing management and accounting.
. Dundalk RTC: Electronics and accounting.
. Athlone RTC: Mineral engineering and accountancy and some business courses in their Cavan and Greendale, Dublin, outreach centres.
. REPEATS
WITH Round Two out, the time to pursue a repeat Leaving Cert place has arrived for disappointed applicants. Most repeat colleges are interviewing and registering this week. There is a detailed list in the Round Two offers pull out in the E & L supplement.
. Dun Laoghaire Community College (01-2809676): Seeing applicants from 10.00 a.m. today. They charge a £110 course fee plus £75 for "facilities and materials". As in all repeats there will be a £125 repeat exam fee payable later. Turn up at the college with your details and a cheque.
. Rathmines Senior College (01 4975334): Repeat places are moving fast, but they still have vacancies. They also have vacancies on PLC courses in business/ secretarial and in marketing and accounting.
. EVENING DEGREES
APPLICANTS for places on the evening degrees advertised through the CAO system in Trinity and UCD have been getting a shock when they realise the free fees does not apply and they are liable for fees in the region of £1,800. There are, of course, evening degrees in other colleges, but they take applications directly to the colleges and not through the CAO. Colleges such as the RTC in Tallaght also have evening degrees; but evening degrees - and evening diplomas and certificates - are regarded as part time and therefore do not come under the free fees schemes.
The evening law degree at UCC also comes into this category, and Points Race has had complaints from students who managed to get a transfer into this course from a legal studies diploma in Waterford or Letterkenny RTCs. Such students find themselves going from paying no fees - and qualifying for a maintenance grant - to a situation where they are charged fees and get no financial support at all even though they are full time students.
These courses are mainly intended for people who are working during the day and who study at night. Tax relief on fees at the standard 27 per cent rate is available for people who are working, which is some improvement on previous years.