The Leaving Cert makes its debut in the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) Tariff in the UK this year, writes Áine Kerr
For the student seeking an education adventure outside the familiar heartland of Ireland, or the student hoping to use their certificate, diploma or Leaving Certificate qualifications to advance further, the UK is an attractive and feasible option.
With the Leaving Certificate making its debut in the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) Tariff this year, those hard-earned points will be given greater weight in the 325 universities offering myriad options including some 50,000 courses.
The UCAS Tariff, which operates as the points system for admission to higher education colleges in Northern Ireland and Great Britain, will for the first time operate a benchmarking system which recognises a Leaving Certificate subject at higher level as equivalent to two thirds of an A Level.
Essentially, an A1 grade at higher level worth 100 points under the CAO system will be worth 90 points under the UCAS Tariff points system, right down to a D3 at higher level which is worth 20 points.
While the CAO system allocates points on the basis of a student's scores in six subjects, there is no upper limit on the number of subjects that can be counted within the UCAS Tariff system.
Although the system is only being introduced for the first time this year, Irish students have long travelled to the UK to undertake their third-level education.
With everything from courses in medicine, teaching, journalism to ballet, watersports, cybernetics, puppetry, homeopathic medicine, gambling studies and jazz, the sheer choice and variety is possibly the most attractive facet of UCAS.
Over 1.8 million students study on a full-time and part-time basis in the UK every year, thousands of whom are from Ireland. The UK is particularly attractive to Irish students who have undertaken a PLC/FETAC course but find that their low points margin still militates against accessing a degree course in Ireland.
In the UK, such students will often gain entry to their desired degree course, irrespective of the points obtained.
However, compared to previous years when Irish students travelled to Northern Ireland and the UK en masse, this year's application figures tell of a downward turn in applications, which is due largely to the introduction of top-up fees.
In previous years students were simply required to pay a registration fee, with those in Britain paying fees of around €1,700. But from this September onwards, students are required to pay a 'top-up' fee costing €4,500 a year as opposed to a fee on entry.
Students can choose to either pay the fee on a year-to-year basis or apply for a subsidised loan with the Student Loans Company but Irish students will not be eligible for this interest-free loan unless they have been resident in the UK for three years.
Irrespective of the introduction of fees and the 13 per cent reductions to the UCAS this year, Ireland continues to supply the greatest number of non-UK based students into the UCAS system.