More than 6,600 offers have been made in the second round of the CAO offers process. The proportion of CAO applicants who have received an offer of a college place this autumn now stands at a very encouraging 78.4 per cent.

Today's post should bring a smile to the face of 1,263 people who did not receive an offer in round one. The total number of applicants who have been made an offer now stands at 51,151.

At this stage, 79,148 offers have been made. This is an increase of 6,214 on last year's total of 72,934, at this stage. The total number of offers exceeds the 65,288 applicants, as a proportion of students were made offers from both the degree and the certificate/diploma lists. Of course, they could only accept one of these offers.

The round two offers comprise 1,426 degree offers and 5,221 offers at certificate/diploma level. By the end of round one, 18,235 applicants had accepted degree places compared to 16,257 round one acceptances last year. At certificate/diploma level there were 14,915 acceptances compared to 14,341 last year. A third and further rounds of offers will be made until all vacant places are filled or the course commences. Meanwhile, eight degree courses and 44 diploma courses are advertising vacancies (see below for list). These are open to people who have not applied previously to the CAO as well as those already in the system.

As to the cut-off points, there were falls of 30 points or more in 11 degree courses. This includes seven degree courses offered by private fee-paying third-level colleges. The most dramatic falls were in arts (psychology) in LSB College, Dublin, which fell by 80 points while behavioural science in American College, Dublin, fell by 75 points.

At certificate/diploma level, there were drops of 50 points or more in 10 courses. The most spectacular decreases (100 points or more) in the cut-off points occurred in management accounting and music foundation in DIT (a one-year fee-paying course), languages and business (German) also in DIT, and design/communication in Dun Laoghaire IACT (portfolio included). As might be expected there was relatively little change in the high points courses. Law and French in TCD, which topped the points chart at 575 fell by five points to 570*. In second place, medicine in TCD fell by ten points from 570 to 560. There was no change in the points required for veterinary medicine in UCD. The cut-off levels for medicine in UCD and UCC remained on random selection at 545*. Medicine in NUI Galway was also unchanged at 540*. However the random selection process was cleared at the Royal College of Surgeons but points remained at 535.

There was also little joy for dentistry applicants as UCC retained its points level at 525*, making no further offers, while cut-off points for dentistry at TCD stayed at 540 although those waiting with this points level were offered places as the random selection asterix vanished. No further offers were made in physiotherapy or pharmacy in TCD, physiotherapy in UCD dropped by five points while actuarial studies in UCD dropped by five points from 545 to 540. Optometry at DIT also fell by five points from 525 to 520*.

Of the ever-popular paramedical courses at certificate/ diploma level, medical laboratory sciences in DIT fell dramatically from 480 to 425. However it remained unchanged in Galway Mayo IT at 455 and dropped five at Cork IT from 470 to 465*. Physiology/health sciences in Carlow IT fell five points from 425* to 420.

No first-round offers are made in clinical speech in TCD and PE in the University of Limerick. The cut-off for clinical speech this year was 500* compared to 480* last year. PE also made the 500 mark, an increase of 10 points on last year.

Some 33 certificate/diploma courses have the acronym AQA after them, signifying all qualified applicants were offered a place. At degree level, there were four degrees registering AQA - two evening arts courses in UCD (both feepaying), and in UCC commerce (European with Italian) and food process engeering.

CAO vacancies

Apply through the CAO vacant places procedure. Applicants must fulfil the minimum entry requirements including any special subject requirements.

Degrees

Athlone IT: polymer engineering. American College (fee paying): international business. LSB College (fee paying): anthropology ; arts (general); arts (psychology); psychoanalytic studies; business; tourism. Carlow IT: computer networking. UCD: arts (modular) and arts (single subject) (both courses are fee paying). DIT: music performance (closing date September 11th). TCD: information and communications technology; business studies and Chinese.

Certificates and diplomas

Athlone IT: business studies (Cavan campus); office information systems (Cavan campus); office information systems (Greendale campus); mineral engineering; professional accountancy; accounting technician. Portobello College (fee paying): computing. LSB College (fee paying): business studies; computing/ information technology; business studies (office information systems). Carlow IT (Kilkenny campus): business studies; office information systems. Carlow IT (Wexford campus): business studies; office information systems. Dundalk IT: electronics (product development); civil engineering; construction studies; manufacturing engineering; mechanical engineering; biology; food science; chemistry; environmental science; applied cultural studies (French); applied cultural studies (German). Dun Laoghaire College of Art, Design and Technology: computing (multimedia); business studies. DIT: industrial electronic systems; music teaching; speech and drama studies; music foundation (closing date for DIT courses is September 11th). Music foundation is a fee-paying course. Letterkenny IT: accounting technician; corais eolais oifige; European languages and business; civil engineering; electronics; mechanical engineering. NCI: computing. Sligo IT: civil engineering; mechanical engineering; electronic engineering; science; analytical chemistry. Waterford IT: chartered accountancy (employment contract needed).

The 2nd round cut-off points are available on the web at

http://www.irish-times.com/cao/