Billy RyleBilly Ryle says Leaving Cert grade deflation again fails to cause a significant reduction in Round One points’ requirements as 54% of CAO courses increase in points…
RECORD
When CAO Round One of college offers was released at 2pm on Wednesday, 26th August it was clear that, for the second consecutive year, grade deflation has been of minimal advantage to the 2026 Leaving Cert Class as it has been offset by a record number of CAO applicants.
Although the post marking adjustment of raw Leaving Cert scores deflated the 2026 grades, the 19,491 applicants to CAO with inflated Leaving Cert grades from the past six years had the edge.
The record CAO application figure of 95,740, up 6,393 or 7.2% from last year’s 89,347, also resulted in keen competition for the available places
INCREASE
The excellent results achieved last week by Kerry’s Leaving Cert candidates saw them collect their fair share of college offers.
The vast majority of Kerry’s CAO applicants have received a college offer. CAO received 2,610 applications from Kerry, an increase of 232 or 10% on last year’s figure of 2,378.
On a pro rata population basis, Kerry’s CAO applicants will be close to the top of the class in securing college places. However, it remains to be seen what percentage of Kerry’s applicants achieve their courses of choice.
COMPETITIVE
A 7.2% increase in CAO applications was bound to keep points competitive across many courses. A random selection for entry to a large number of courses left applicants missing out on their top choice.
When places are being allocated and more applicants are tide on the minimum cut-off points than there are places available, a lottery process, known as random selection, is used. An asterisk beside the cut-off points denotes random selection.
UP & DOWN
At Level 8, points have increased for about 54% of courses. Points have decreased for about 38% while the rest are relatively unchanged.
It’s very evident that the 2026 Leaving Cert class was disadvantaged by the prevailing circumstances and that scenario will continue while the infamous post marking adjustment of raw scores applies. Grades deflation will be used again in the 2027 Leaving Cert exam.
Hopefully it will then be abolished so that college places can be allocated on actual exam performance rather than any artificial adjustment of marks.
Continued below…
EFFICIENT
The 2026 statistics prove that the applicants are very efficient in their engagement with the CAO. 62,166 CAO applicants received at least one of the 90,866 courses on offer on Wednesday afternoon.
The offers consisted of 56,618 at Level 8 and 34,248 at Level7/6. Offers are issued independently in respect of the two lists (Level 8 and Level 7/6), so that some applicants received two offers, one from each list.
The collective good news is that of the 56,618 applicants who were offered a Level 8 course, 26,917 (48%), received their first preference and a very impressive 42,989 (76%) received one of their top three preferences.
Of the 34,248 applicants who were offered a Level 7/6 course, 29,812 (87%) received their first preference and a whopping 33,507 (98%) received one of their top three preferences.
EMPLOYMENT
The overriding conclusion from the points’ trends is that CAO applicants are totally focussed on the jobs market.
They applied in large numbers for courses with strong employment growth. UCC’s flagship Biological and Chemical Sciences is offered at 531 points, while its Engineering degree is up to 540 points.
Physiotherapy at the University of Limerick came in at 579 points while Occupational Therapy is offered at 542 points. Primary Teaching at Mary Immaculate College Limerick is 475 and MTU Tralee’s excellent General Nursing Degree is 390 points.
Health Science courses remain very popular putting them beyond the points’ totals of most CAO applicants. Dentistry at UCC, for example, requires a staggering 625* points and Pharmacy is offered at 590. All points’ requirements are available on the CAO website, www.cao.ie.
RUSH
School leavers continue to rush to college in unprecedented numbers. The steady flow also of mature and non-traditional applications is a very healthy development as everybody deserves a second chance.
A quota of places was reserved by CAO for the 8,663 mature applicants and the 12,917 applicants from the Post Leaving Cert (PLC) sector. Congratulations to all applicants who received a CAO college offer.
CHECKLIST
• 95,740 CAO applications in 2026; up 6,393 (7,2%) on last year’s 89,347
• Kerry’s 2,610 CAO applicants did very well in Wednesday’s Round One offers
• An applicant was offered the highest course preference to which s/he was entitled
• When an applicant was offered a course preference, s/he was excluded from any course preference LOWER than the one offered.
• In the second or subsequent rounds of offers, an applicant won’t be considered for a preference LOWER than that already offered.
• An applicant who was offered a preference, which is not her/his first preference, may subsequently be offered a HIGHER preference
• It’s not necessary to accept an offer in order to be considered for a HIGHER preference
• An applicant who has accepted an offer is not obliged to accept any subsequent offer
• CAO Round One offers available from 2pm on Wednesday, 26th August
• CAO available place facility opens at noon on Thursday, 27th August
• Accept CAO Round One offer by 3pm, on Tuesday, 1st September
• Congratulations to all with CAO Offers in Round One
• Billy Ryle is a Career Guidance Counsellor and Educational Commentator
