What are the odds of getting an offer in round two next week? Will the points go down? Distraught students are bombarding the Points Race Helpline with queries which only those with access to a reliable crystal ball could answer satisfactorily. On a cautionary note, last year only 3,000 places were offered in round two and points did not move appreciably. Most colleges seemed to have perfected the art of filling all their places in round one, and round two was a tidying-up operation.
So, students who did not get an offer in round one this year should take a serious look at other options now. The round two offers will be posted by the CAO on Friday, to arrive in students' homes next Monday. The cut-off points for all courses will be published in Monday's paper in the Second Round Offers supplement.
CAO acceptances:
Anyone wishing to take up a round-one offer should have had their acceptance in yesterday. The helpline had a number of queries from students who wanted to know how they could be sure their acceptance had arrived in time. The CAO will not reply to students who have accepted places. Keep that certificate of posting - it's proof that you posted it on time.
The next communication you will receive will be from the college. If you were lucky enough to get the offer you wanted in round one, you have now finished with the CAO.
There were a number of other technical queries. Such as what happens if I get a higher preference offer in round two but want to stay with my round one offer? No problem. You don't have to accept any offer you will get in round two. The place you accepted yesterday is yours to have and to hold.
What happens if I deferred my round one place and have now got the place I wanted in round two? You can accept the second round place but your deferral is now cancelled.
CAO vacancies:
As round one closed for acceptances yesterday, the CAO issued an updated list of courses with vacancies. The latest addition to the list - WD002, chartered accountancy in Waterford Institute of Technology - brings the number of courses with vacant places to 34.
These places are open to everyone, whether you have already applied through the CAO in 1997 or not. Even if you have accepted a place in round one, you may still apply through the vacant places procedure. There is a definite geographical bias to the list of vacant places. Points for courses in Dublin are usually higher than for equivalent courses throughout the State, and Dublin courses tend to fill earlier.
The only Dublin courses to feature on the vacant places list are a modular arts course and a single subject arts course in UCD. These courses are only open to students who are aged 20 years or older by October 15th this year. They are not aimed at school-leavers. As they are part-time courses, they are not eligible for the free-fees scheme.
People often assume that if a course is offered through the CAO it qualifies for the free-fees initiative. This is not the case. There are now a number of courses listed in the CAO handbook for which fees will be charged - medicine in the Royal College of Surgeons; preliminary engineering in DIT Bolton Street, and the two arts courses in UCD mentioned above.
Vacant places:
Cork RTC: CR116 Software Development and Computer Networking. Carlow RTC: CW097 Process Instrumentation and Control; CW099 Accounting and Management Studies; CW048 Business (Kilkenny); CW049 Computing (Kilkenny); CW096 Office Information Systems (Kilkenny); CW093 Business (Wexford); CW094 Computing (Wexford); CW095 Office Information Systems (Wexford). UCD: DN022 Arts (modular); DN023 Arts (single subject). Letterkenny RTC: LY002 Institute of Accounting Technicians; LY005 Coras Eolais Oifige; LY007 Business Studies/Languages and European Studies; LY008 Civil Engineering; LY009 Construction Studies; LY010 Electronics; LY011 Mechanical Engineering; LY014 Applied Chemistry; LY015 Design, Graphics; LY016 Design, Industrial Design; LY039 Electronics and Computer Engineering. Sligo RTC: SG103 Languages and Marketing (German); SG104 Languages and Marketing (Spanish); SG132 European Business (German); SG133 European Business (Spanish); SG303 Mechanical Engineering; SG305 Electronic Engineering; SG431 Analytical Chemistry. Dundalk RTC: DK001 Electronics (product development); DK010 Manufacturing Engineering. Athlone RTC: AL030 Polymer Engineering. Tralee RTC: TL410 Science (aquaculture). Waterford Institute of Technology: WD002 Chartered Accountancy.
Nursing update:
Some 130 round two offers were sent out by express post yesterday. The Nursing Applications Centre advises students to get their acceptances in as quickly as possible.
All of the applicants who were excluded from round one because of incorrect information on their application forms have now been reinstated and are included in round two.
Nursing applicants ranked the hospitals in order of preference and had the option of accepting or rejecting an offer or conditionally accepting an offer in the hope of being offered a higher preference in round two. A number of students exercised the conditional acceptance option in round one and will now be receiving a higher preference in round two. The NAC advises that, on getting a higher preference, the conditional acceptance lapses.
Additional reporting by Catherine Foley
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