Student demand for courses in physiotherapy has declined dramatically, while interest in the key areas of science, technology and computing is continuing to fall, CAO figures due next week will reveal, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor.
Demand for physiotherapy degrees is down 30 per cent after some graduates complained last year of poor job prospects.
Overall, demand for courses in the science, technology and computing areas is down by 8 per cent.
Among the universities, NUI Maynooth is the big winner, attracting an 18 per cent increase in the number of students who nominate it as their first choice.
Applications to UCD are down by 8 per cent but the university has been hardest hit by the fall-off in physiotherapy.
Broadly, the provisional CAO figures show strong student demand for courses in medicine, teaching and nursing. Official figures will be released to the colleges next Thursday.
The following are the trends for some of the main colleges: UCD - an 8 per cent decline since last year in the number of students nominating the university as their first preference; DCU - unchanged; UCC - up 5 per cent; TCD - unchanged; NUI Maynooth - up 18 per cent; DIT - down 2 per cent; NUI Galway - up 3 per cent.
Overall, the number of CAO applications from school-leavers is up 4 per cent. In practice, this could mean a slight rise in the CAO points levels for some courses. But with points at an all-time low for most courses, over 75 per cent of students can expect to gain one of their top three options.
The figures show many colleges - especially in the institute of technology sector - struggling to attract students. They also show how parents, who play a key role in CAO choices, tend to drift away from courses if there is any uncertainty about job prospects.
The decline in applications to UCD reverses the trend of last year when the college secured a 10 per cent increase in student demand.
This success was linked to an extensive marketing campaign by the college and the introduction of new modularised courses, which allows first-year students to sample a wide range of courses.
However, demand for a place in the largest undergraduate course in the State, first arts in UCD, has increased again this year but applications for nursing at UCD (which now requires 360 points) is down by some 15 per cent.