CAO offers for school leavers went live today and points remained exceptionally high this year.
Intense competition for the most popular courses led to random selection, where even those with the maximum 625 points were not guaranteed their preferred place.
While points requirements fell for some programs, others saw significant increases, maintaining the overall pressure on the system.
The CAO issued 83,369 offers to 56,571 applicants, but the sky-high points left many disappointed in Round 1.
The high CAO points are a lasting result of the grade inflation that has affected Leaving Cert results since 2020 and 2021.
During those years, extraordinary assessment and marking measures were implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a result, grades have remained about 7% higher than pre-pandemic levels, directly impacting CAO points and intensifying competition for college places.
