CAO POINTS for places in most third-level science courses have surged after much stronger demand from students.
However, the class of 2009 have deserted property-related courses in their droves, resulting in a massive slump in points.
In a trend which will be welcomed by Government and industry, first-preference applications for a higher degree courses in science are up 28 per cent. As a result, the points requirement for many science courses have increased dramatically.
At UCD, the points for science have increased to 385, up 85 points on last year. This is the first time in over a decade that points for UCD science have exceeded those for UCD arts, which now requires 360 points.
In all, a higher degree course was the first choice for more than 7,000 students this year. Many appear to have deserted property-related courses, where first preferences are down by 26 per cent.
Points for virtually any degree course linked to construction have slumped. These include courses in quantity surveying, property management, architecture and civil engineering.
At the University of Limerick, architecture is down by 30 points to 460. Civil engineering is down 60 points at UCD to 410 points.
At Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) – the college most associated with the property boom – construction management is down by 55 points to 305. A whole range of courses linked to property at DIT all see a significant drop in points.
Degree courses in law – once thought immune from annual CAO trends – also see a fall-off in points. At UCD, law is down 30 points to 470. Overall, first-preference applications for law are down more than 10 per cent, reflecting concerns about the decline in conveyancing work. Points have increased for about two-thirds of all higher-level degree courses this year.
While the Government will welcome the increased uptake in science, the area is still much less popular than arts/social science areas which attracted more than 17,400 first preference applications. In all, arts and social science courses account for over 25 per cent of all higher degree applications.
This year, points for a range of broad-based arts courses have increased by between 10 and 25 points.
UCD arts, the largest undergraduate course in the State with more than 1,100 places, is up by 10 points to 360. At NUI Maynooth, arts is up 20 points to 375.
Another striking trend of this year’s CAO figures is the dramatic increase in points for nursing, an average increase of 40 points across the 13 colleges offering these courses. Nursing is up by 50 points to 390 at Dundalk IT, by 35 points to 390 at UCD, and by 35 points to 435 at UCC.
In medicine, this is the first year that the new HPAT system – combining an aptitude test with strong Leaving Cert scores – is in place. As a result, a “perfect” Leaving Cert of more than 550 points no longer guarantees a place in medicine.
