Business and administration courses are by far the top choice for CAO diplomas and certificates and are more popular at diploma/cert than degree level, according to confidential CAO statistics seen by EL. Almost 40 per cent (19,156) of this year's CAO applicants gave business and administration diplomas and certificates their first preference, while fewer than 25 per cent (11,678) made such courses their first choice on the degree list. Applicants also show a preference for engineering and technology courses at diploma/cert level, with 14,313 first preferences, and only 8,937 per cent making engineering/ technology degrees their top choice.

The number of students making science their number-one degree choice is up 3 per cent this year - the first increase for many years, with 5,051 giving it the top spot. However fewer students (3,692) put science courses as their diploma/cert first preference. The most popular choice on the degree list is arts/social science with 13,125 first preference applicants. Results for the same subjects at diploma/cert level are far lower, with only 5,606 putting them first, reflecting the fewer arts/social science courses available on the cert/dipoma list. Despite the increasing number of art and design degree places, applicants are still opting to take these courses at diploma and certificate level. Some 18,507 put such courses on their lists this year and 3,926 of those gave them their first preference. This compares to just 362 listing them first on the degree list. The most popular third-level institution is DIT, which secured almost 20,000 first-preference applications between the two lists: 7,128 made it their highest preference for degrees while 12,729 put it first for diplomas and certificates. Cork IT is next highest for first preferences on the diploma/cert list, with 8,119, followed by Galway-Mayo IT with 6,436.