Points for most college courses have increased significantly compared to last year as over 53,000 people have received a round one CAO offer in the last few minutes.
Just over half of CAO applicants applying to a level eight course have received a first round offer. As expected, an increase in point requirements for many courses has been seen following the adoption of a calculated grading system which saw the Leaving Cert class of 2020 achieve record results.
Grade inflation in this year’s results has seen CAO points rise up to 70 or 80 points at the top end, according to the Irish Times.
Several courses have climbed above the 600-point mark, including at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and University College Dublin. TCD has recorded an average points increase of 27, such as its law course jumping from 533 points last year to 566 in 2020.
General Nursing in DCU has jumped 40 points from 414 last year to 454.
Primary teaching in St Pats is now 26 points higher than last year at 488, while in Mary I it has increased from 473 to 495.
The CAO points jump comes despite Government effort to alleviate grade inflation by introducing thousands of extra third-level places this year.
