Bealaclugga or Bell Harbour, Co Clare, is not one of the biggest places on earth. In fact, it contains a church, a post office, a pub-cum-shop, and a few holiday homes. It was there, however, that I found myself sitting on a wall, receiving my Leaving Certificate results.

I had travelled down from Carran, where the mobile phone reception was almost non-existent, to Bealaclugga, home of a great big Esat mast.

I sat on a wall, set up my hands-free kit and waited for the voice in my ear to give me those magic words: "You've passed." In the end, I got 20 points more than I would have needed last year . . . but what about this year? Well, it's always hard to be sure, but I'm quietly confident that my place in Trinity law is secure.

Then again, the points system depends on the number of places available and the number of students who apply. (Here's hoping that all the other budding law students decided to do something else instead!)

As I've mentioned in previous articles, I think that the points system is more or less the fairest way to allocate college places. The Leaving Cert itself is in need of some reform, I suppose, but as I wait for my offer this morning, I know that my application will have been dealt with blindly; that is, without any favours sought or granted. It doesn't matter who your parents are or where you live: the CAO computer doesn't recognise such subjective distinctions.

If I don't get the place I want, it will be as a result of my own actions. Not anyone else's. Virtually all the students in my class will be receiving some kind of offer in the post this morning, or this evening in the case of those fortunate enough to live in rural Wicklow. Some lucky boys and girls, however, will already have places in PLC, CERT or British colleges, so the long wait won't be laced with as much anticipation or worry as the rest of us have.

I had also applied to study law at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, but the advantages of staying at home for the first year (and of course the natural beauty of Dublin's fair city) tipped the scales against west Wales. (When heading for Clare, I brought a mountain of paperwork related to UCAS and Wales with me, just in case I needed them.) I'm not out of the water yet as regards paperwork. The CAO and my chosen college will require forms, forms, and then maybe some more forms. They won't be in Welsh, however. What a pity.

Staying at home also means that I don't get to join in the fun of looking for accommodation, or at least a clean box to sleep in. Last week, while in Galway, I came across a queue of maybe 200 or 300 students, snaking its way through the streets of the City of the Tribes.

What were they queuing for? Tickets for a concert? The new Harry Potter book? Britney Spears live? No. They were waiting for the weekly list of available flats and digs from a local paper. I almost expected to see Paddy O'Gorman and his microphone, interviewing the desperate students as they considered paying their entire grant cheque as a deposit for a broom closet in the suburbs. Next year, this will be my game. For the moment, Ill stay at home and continue to give fiscal support to CIE.

After two years of participation in the grand scheme of the Leaving, its time is nearly up. The exam season is almost over - dead and buried, for me at least. Of course, there will be further offers, and then Freshers Week, Christmas exams, long nights in the library, longer nights in Temple Bar, end-ofyear exams, summer work or summer travel, semesters in Europe, graduations, postgraduate studies, theses, doctorates, and then, maybe some time in the next decade, real work. Will I be ready for it? Probably not, but I'm sure I'll get through it one way or another.