CollegeChoice/Brian Mooney: Yesterday many thousands of young people were celebrating an unexpected offer of a college place.
This may represent the moment when we said goodbye to the points race, introduced more than 20 years ago as a mechanism to ration out a limited number of places to tens of thousands of students.
Change of perspective in our schools
We may now be about to enter an era when education in second-level schools can return to its central purpose of guiding students through the development of their personal, social and educational skills and abilities to prepare them for a lifetime of active citizenship within society.
No more will parents and students need to worry about not being able to secure a college place in a career area of their choice.
The stress that the points race of recent years has placed on young people and their parents has created a school system where maximising points became the holy grail, squeezing out many other worthy goals central to a young person's development.
Time to address the major social issues facing our children
Major social issues such as obesity among young people or the growing numbers of our young people who are self harming - often due to lack of self esteem arising from their sense of failure in not achieving high grades in academic subjects - can now be addressed more actively.
Those for whom the CAO offers brought no joy
The fall in points for most disciplines is not good news for everyone. For the 4,000-plus who failed ordinary level maths and the 5,000 of you who took foundation level, the road ahead may not yet be clear. A number of private colleges are offering some solutions.
Second chance for those who failed maths
In Portobello College , students who have failed maths (either at ordinary or at higher level) can now enter directly to the college's BA business studies and BA marketing degree courses (provided they have achieved a minimum of two higher C3s and four D3s at ordinary level).
However, they will have to pass ordinary maths in June 2007 to enter year two of the relevant HETAC degree.
Students who have failed maths and have achieved a minimum of five D3s at ordinary level will be able to enrol on the college's certificate in business studies awarded by HETAC.
This is subject to these students also passing ordinary level maths in 2007 to be eligible to enter year two of the certificate programme.
Students taking this option will be able to enrol on the ordinary level maths course at the Institute of Education, free of charge.
Griffith College Dublin is offering a programme for students who have failed maths in the Leaving Certificate but have met all other requirements for their desired programme with the college.
The programme is comprised of an optional five-day intensive maths revision programme during the first week in September and a compulsory two-part exam later in the month. Candidates who successfully pass the exams will be eligible to enter HETAC approved programmes at the college in September 2006.
Maths requirement at Institutes of Technology
Regarding the issue of the Institutes of Technology and foundation level maths, the directors of the institutes have decided to accept foundation level maths as a passing subject for entry purposes, and have awarded it points for those securing grades A and B.
Unfortunately, this is a catch 22 for students presenting foundation level maths. They are now being told that they can enter the college, presenting the subject foundation maths as one of their passes, but that they will still have to meet the ordinary level maths entry requirement for the course, if there is one, which in virtually all cases there is.
To address this problem all the institutes would need to follow the example of Galway-Mayo IT and accept an A or B in foundation level maths as an equivalent of a pass in ordinary level.
If they did this, it might encourage many of the students failing ordinary level maths to study at foundation level.
Options for aspiring medical and paramedical students who missed the cut
At the other end of the spectrum many students achieved over 500 points, a superb result by any standard, and they have seen the points for medicine and other para-medical courses continue to rise inexorably.
The options facing students if they are in this situation, may be to accept another undergraduate degree, if that option is open to you through the CAO, and to seek entry to your desired course through the post-graduate entry route in three or four years time.
You could also repeat the Leaving Certificate and hope for a better result next year.
Alternatively, if you have studied biology and chemistry to Leaving Certificate level and have secured about 500 points, and would be prepared to consider spending between four and six years as a student in Budapest, the University of Budapest is offering places omedicine, veterinary, dentistry and pharmacy courses which are taught in English.
Interviews are this Friday at 10am at the Hungarian embassy at 2 Fitzwilliam Square. Details from Tim O'Leary on 028-28197
Tomorrow: The issues coming up on The Irish Times Helpline.
Foundation Maths : The Institute of Technology Sligo has pointed out that it accepts foundation maths for entry to courses in the schools of science and of business and humanities.
Brian Mooney's column will appear daily in the run-up to the CAO second-round offers.
The Irish Times Helpline is available from 8am to 10pm today. Experienced guidance counsellors are available to take your call.
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