Today marks the end of the wait for CAO offers. Students who sat their Leaving Cert in June, and got their results last Wednesday, now know if they hold a college offer or even two.

The question most people are asking is whether the points have gone up or down. There is no simple answer; points increased dramatically for some courses and fell equally dramatically for others. So, if you had applied for classics in TCD, you may have been startled by the jump from last year's round one cut-off of 290 to 510 this year. On the other hand, if you were hoping for a place on theoretical physics in UCD you may have been heartened by the fall from 485 last year to 370 this year.

A comparison of this year's first-round points with 1999's round one shows that certificate/diploma points fell by 30 or more in 43 courses, while points rose by 30 or more in 43 courses. At degree level, there were drops of 30 or more in 52 courses while points rose by 30 or more in the case of 25 courses. (This is not an exact science, as some courses required AQA rather than a cut-off and others included an assessment other than the Leaving Certificate.)

The cut-off points are largely comparable with each other across courses and colleges in that a common points system operates. However, UL awards bonus points for higher-level maths. DIT awards bonus points for maths and some science subjects in the case of one degree only, electrical/electronic engineering.

The institutes of technology are awarding higher points than the DIT and the universities for the link modules taken by Leaving Cert vocational candidates. More than 12,000 Leaving Cert students took the LCVP programme this year.

The final cut-off points may be somewhat lower than the first-round points. The drop, which is not usually very steep, is determined by the acceptance and rejection pattern. A second round of offers will be posted by the CAO on September 4th. Any remaining places, after the closure of round two, will be offered on a rolling basis.

The top 10

Once again, medicine and law with French at TCD were joint leaders when it came to points requirements. To secure a place on either course in the first round of offers, you would have needed 570. And, cruelly, an asterix appears after medicine in TCD, which means that not all students with this points level were offered a place. Random selection, in the form of a computerised lottery, applied.

Of the 22 courses registering a cut-off of 525 points or higher (see panel), unsurprisingly, 15 belonged to the medical/dental/ veterinary/paramedical category, while four were law courses. In addition, actuarial and financial studies at UCD, history and politics at TCD and management science at TCD featured in this list.

The inclusion of so many TCD courses reflects the college's policy of splitting courses into direct-entry from first year. There are very small numbers of first-year places on some of these courses. For instance, there are 10 places on law and French, and eight on human genetics. The small number of places combined with a high level of demand makes for high points.

Places on the courses referred to above are allocated on the basis of Leaving Certificate points only (600 being the maximum). This maximum number of points was required to secure a Leaving Certificate scholarship to study medicine in RCSI.

There are courses where additional points are given for interviews, assessments, portfolios and/or projects so points for these may exceed 600.

All qualified applicants

At the other end of the spectrum, some 70 certificate and diploma courses registered AQA as their cutoff. This means all qualified applicants were offered a place. The good news for applicants is that many of these courses will advertise vacant places. These courses are mainly on offer in the institutes of technology and the private third-level colleges (fee paying).

Already, one private college, Griffith College Dublin, has notified College 2000 that there are vacancies on three courses: GC415 legal studies; GC416 business studies; GC490 interior architecture. Places on these courses are available through the CAO vacant-places procedure.

No offers

No offers were made on the polymer engineering degree in Athlone IT, electromechanical engineering in Carlow IT and in the courses offered by Carlow IT's outreach centres in Kilkenny and Wexford (business studies, computing, and office information systems).

Paramedical sciences

At certificate/diploma level, the points for medical lab sciences rose at Cork IT, by 15 to 445, and at Galway/Mayo IT, again by 15 to 435. However, at DIT, where applicants must have a higher-level C3 in chemistry, points fell to 360 from last year's first round cut-off of 405. Medical lab sciences is, in effect, a five-year degree programme, which begins with a three-year certificate.

There was a dramatic rise in the points required for health science and physiology at Sligo IT. This year, you would have needed 310 points, an increase of 170 on last year, when the course was offered for the first time. The comparable established course, in Carlow IT, required 415, an increase of 15 on last year.

At degree level, only occupation therapy required fewer than 500 points (480, down on last year's first round 505). In DIT, optometry required 525 while human nutrition and dietetics came in at 505. Diagnostic radiography in UCD cut off at 500, while therapeutic radiography in TCD required 510. Physiotherapy required 540, 525* and 515 in TCD, UCD and RCSI respectively.

Offers are made for speech therapy in TCD in round two.