The Level 8 Agricultural Science course in University College Dublin (UCD) was the only Level 8 agriculture course to see a change in points between Round One and Two of the Central Applications Office (CAO) offers process this year.
The points for the course decreased by just a single figure – from 456 to 455.
Only 14 Level 8 offers were issued to applicants for a place on an agricultural course in the second round, compared to 24 offers in 2019.
Eight applicants in this round had a Level 8 agriculture-related course as their first preference on their CAO list, which is one less than last year.
Seven offers were issued for veterinary courses this year along with 10 for interdisciplinary programmes and qualifications involving agriculture, forestry and veterinary.
There was one offer issued in this round for veterinary medicine, the same as last year.
Level 7/6
10 offers were issued for Level 7/6 agriculture courses in this second round, with the same number of applicants having a related course as their first preference.
The county that saw the highest amount of offers issued in Round Two was Dublin, followed by counties Cork, Kildare and Meath.
Changes in course points
The Level 8 Agricultural Science course in UCD was the only agriculture course to see any difference in its points between Round One and Two – decreasing by one point to 455.
Veterinary Nursing in the same college also decreased by a single point, with it standing at 477 in this round.
In Level 7/6 courses, the points for Agriculture in Letterkenny Institute of Technology dropped to 181 from 202.
CAO communications officer, Eileen Keleghan, advises applicants to carefully consider their options and to be mindful of the reply date of 12:00pm this Friday (September 25).
“Many of the applicants receiving a second round offer today may have already accepted an offer in Round One, and it is important that they take the time to decide between these courses and inform the CAO before the reply date if they wish to accept the new offer,” Keleghan said.
Accepting the new offer will automatically cancel a previous acceptance.
“If this is an applicant’s first offer they can choose to accept this offer and this will not prevent them from receiving a higher preference course in a later offer round if they are deemed eligible.
“It is important to note, however, that the majority of offers have been issued at this stage and this may be the only offer that they will receive.”