You'd just about managed to put the Leaving Cert exams out of your mind and now it seems you're back in the fray.

Today, thousands of students are thronging schools around the State, collecting their results and saying a final farewell to their alma mater. This year, you may also collect your results from a special phone line.

If you have opened that envelope or made that call, you should take a little time to congratulate yourself. You've done well to get this far.

And even if you didn't get as many points as you think you need for your first choice of course, this is a great year to be leaving second-level education. With a booming economy there are unprecedented opportunities awaiting you.

Of course, for most students the Leaving Cert is not the end of their years in education. Most will be looking towards further education or training in the form of third-level courses in institutes of technology, universities, Post Leaving Cert colleges, and private colleges, as well apprenticeships, CERT and Teagasc courses.

A small proportion will decide to repeat the Leaving Cert while some students will enter the labour market directly. The next few weeks can be a worrying time as students juggle offers and places.

So, what do you need to get a college offer? 500 points? 400 points? 300 points? In fact, many courses last year registered the acronym AQA as their final cut-off points. This means they took all qualified applicants.

In the case of some courses in the institutes of technology this means you needed the minimum entry requirement - five passes in the Leaving Certificate - to secure a college place. Five ordinary-level D3s amount to 25 points. Think about it.

Of course, you are probably already muttering to yourself "what use is a course if the cut-off points are so low?". The answer to that one is simple: cut-off points are a function of supply and demand. They have nothing to do with the quality of a course. It is you, the applicants who determine the cut-off points, not the colleges. The cut-off points are the points obtained by the last person who accepted a place on a course - it is conceivable that a course with a cut-off of 120 also has students with 360 or more points.

Of course, there are lots of options outside the courses on offer through the CAO. This is particularly important for the 2,800 students who did the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme. Students who complete this programme cannot proceed directly to third level but they are eligible to apply for places in the Post Leaving Certificate sector. where more than 20,000 first-year places will be available.

There is a route to progress from PLCs to third level with places reserved for PLC graduates. So, LCA students can find their way to third level via PLCs if they so wish. However, the main aim of PLC courses is to prepare students directly for the jobs market.

This supplement is designed to help students and parents through the next few weeks as college offers are made. Two rounds of offers will be made and, then, all subsequent vacancies will be offered on a continuous rolling basis. This supplement complements the daily College Places column in The Irish Times, which will keep students and parents up to date on points requirements, course vacancies and repeat opportunities.

In addition to points, many courses have particular subject requirements. Students should turn to the chart of essential subjects in this supplement. This comprehensive guide has been prepared by Sile Sheehy for The Irish Times and is not available in this form elsewhere.

You must fulfil these subject requirements to secure a place on your desired course. So, while you don't yet know the cut-off levels for the points, you can at least reassure yourself that you are eligible for a place.

This supplement also contains charts detailing last year's cut-off points for all courses - certificates, diplomas and degrees - within the CAO system. Each year, supply and demand waxes and wanes, so this is only a rough guide to what you can expect next Tuesday.

Certain courses, such as medicine, veterinary medicine, law, pharmacy, dentistry, physiotherapy and actuarial studies, are perennially popular so it's unlikely that points for these courses will fall significantly.

If you are confident that your points are good enough to secure a place in a particular college, you can put your knowledge to good use and begin the search for accommodation. Page 11 contains some useful advice.

The cost of going to college is a major consideration. Grants have increased by 5 per cent this year but the USI says it is not enough. DCU prepares costings for college life which will give you an idea of what is involved (see pages 6 and 7).

We hope that this supplement will help you steer your way through the college offers season.