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NURSING, MIDWIFERY, AND pharmacy courses are among the hardest degrees to get into this year, according to the latest Round One offers from the Central Applications Office (CAO).
Over half of all applicants (21,505 students) have received their first preferences – and 79% attained at least their third preferences.
Although midwifery, nursing and some arts courses are in demand, the highest points were again for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.
Medicine is 730 points at both Trinity and UCD; 726 at UCC; and 725 points at the Royal College of Surgeons – although not all with these points gained entry to the Dublin universities.
Dental science is 585 points at Trinity (down from 590 last year), law and business is also 585 points, and human genetics is 570 (down five on 2015) and pharmacy is 560, up from 550 in 2015.
Pharmacy is 550 points at the Royal College of Surgeons, up from 545 last year. Again, not all who gained these points were accepted onto the courses.
In UCD, quantitative business is 585 points, while veterinary medicine 570 points, both down five on last year.
Dentistry at UCC is 585 points (up on last year), pharmacy 565 (up from 555 in 2015); mathematical sciences is 560 (550 last year), law and business were 530, and nutritional sciences is at 510, unchanged.
All students with the required points for UCC gained entry, bar applicants for nursing, graduate entry medicine and midwifery. These courses were in demand across most colleges.
A raft of courses were unable to accept all those who had achieved the points totals, including primary teaching at DCU (465); at Marino (460); and at Mary Immaculate (465).
With a shortage of nurses in Ireland, and Irish nurses in demand in the UK and Australia, points for nursing and related degrees are also high.
In UCC, midwifery and nursing were both 445 points (unchanged from last year), although not all were offered places.
The same went for general nursing at UCD, IT Tralee and Trinity (all 425 points). General nursing was 420 at TCD in 2015 – and 415 in IT Tralee and UCD.
Other courses that were unable to accept all with the required points were midwifery at UCD (480 points, up 15 points on last year); psychiatric nursing at Athlone IT (375) and general nursing at Dundalk IT, GMIT and Letterkenny IT.
Physiotherapy, meanwhile, is 555 points at UL, and 535 points at TCD - although, again, not all students with these points were accepted.
IT-related degrees were also high in demand, although some points totals were marginally down on last year.
Not all students with the requisite points for computer science at TCD (480) or computer science and business (505, up five on last year) gained entry.
Some arts degrees also commanded higher points at Trinity, including History and Political Science (535, up from 510 last year); Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology (555 points, up on last year).
Points for biomedical sciences were slightly down at UCD (550, compared to 565 last year).
Engineering at Trinity College Dublin has risen again meanwhile, to 500 points from 495 last year – and not everyone with 500 points has been offered the course.
For the latest CAO 2016 news, click here.
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The points increase for nursing is disgusting . Not everyone is book smart but those who aren’t can be the most caring people out there too!
I never said anything about them being thick . 6 years since I left school , I am working as a care assistant for the last 4 years and I’m not 100% book smart , but a hell of a lot more intelligent & caring than those with there heads in a book. I didn’t qualify as a nurse and I’ll be going abroad in a few years too study because numbers do not need too tell me I can’t pursue my future !
Well said, a book worm doesn’t make a good nurse.
There are only so many places in the nursing programme. Points are not a requirement, they are a measure of deciding who gets a place
From the UCC website:
https://www.ucc.ie/en/ck710/
2016 Entry Requirements: HC3 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at Higher or Ordinary level in the Leaving Certificate from Irish, English, Mathematics, one laboratory science subject (i.e Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics with Chemistry (joint) or Agricultural Science) and two other subjects recognised for entry purposes.
So there you have it, you have to have two honours C3s and 4 passes including a pass in Irish English Maths (UCC general matric requirement) and one lab science subject.
If you add that up, then technically someone can get in with 2 x Higher C3 (2 x 60points) and 4 x Ordinary D3 (4 x 5 points) = 140 points.
So you can’t turn around and say the nursing program is requiring “book smarts”, when the entry criteria proves that probably 80-90% of leaving cert students would meet the criteria.
Don’t confuse the demand/supply points system with entry criteria.
Until the Irish university system comes up with a better entry criteria, this will continue to be the case.
Given how much we know about how badly nurses are treated, and how the pay doesn’t reflect the hours and commitment, I think it’s remarkable that kids with 450 odd points in their leaving would go for it. I’m sure the hundreds of kids starting programs this September and October aren’t in it for the money, perks and glamour, they are simply the highest ranking students who also feel a passion/vocation for care
Why not stay working as a care assistant then? Then you can truly focus on the caring aspect. Healthcare has changed. We now have Nurses treating patients independently and prescribing drugs. Nurses are now really important to the recovery and treatment of patients.The caring aspect is really important and should always be central to the nurses work. The deficits we see in care are due to staff shortages not nurses being more interested in academia. Research shows a link with high levels of nurse education levels and reduced mortality rates. Best of luck to all the new nursing students out there. You have a great an exciting profession to look forward to.
If you’re 6 years out of school in the next year or 2 you can apply as a mature student and be judged on the assessment test alone, which will be a more reliable indicator if you’re cut out for it or not.
Important to realise that while it’s good to have a “caring” Nurse; it is more important to have an intelligent Nurse and that invariable means “book smart”.
Did you know that a nurse is a glorified care Assistant. There is no real difference.
Best to answer by saying I hope the so called Nurse that is a “glorified care assistant” looks after you should you ever need complex interventions in hospital. Your comments smack with ignorance.
Hope everyone is happy and gets what they deserve!
they should expand the number of places for couses like medicine and dentistry. In spain they did this and medical costs dropped because there was better competition for jobs. Ireland seems to prefer selling its places to foreign students who wont be interested in staying here long term
The foreign students heavily subsidize the cost of training EU and Irish doctors. It doesn’t matter if they stay (as much as we’d like them to), they’re helping financially in return for a qualification from a recognized university in an EU country. I’ve spoken to US and Canadian citizens in the graduate med program in Cork who are delighted at how much they save over training in the US, whilst paying full fees here.
It costs a hell of a lot of money to train doctors. I agree, we should train more, but it’s working conditions that create a shortage here, not the training.
I’m a qualified nurse now of almost 8 years. I missed out on the CAO by about 35 points back then so I went to the UK. Ireland has a critical shortage of nurses. I see some student nurses with all the brains in the world but poor people skills. Many drop out in the first few months cos they don’t like the idea of washing patients or changing catheter bags or cleaning wounds. Or they hardpy talk to patients. Chelsea I’m sure you’ll be a great nurse. The UK training will probably suit you better too cos it’s more hands on. We’ll be lucky to get you back after you qualify if you do decide to come home but the way newly graduates are treated I wouldn’t blame you for not returning. An A&E dept had 2 nurses working there a few days ago. They couldn’t cover sick leave. I’m surprised the place stayed open. The nursing shortage is a national crisis.
Thank you Jackie , I appreciate your kind words X
Sorry Janey Mackle X oops
John don’t be such a troll.
I thought 600 points is max. How is points in trinty 730?
Combination of both leaving cert and HPAT aptitude test for medicine
Hope everyone’s happy and gets what they deserve !
A significant proportion of places for med and dentistry are kept specifically for non-EU students who can afford the astronomical fees per year (circa €20,000+). When an EU/Irish student registers for the same course the most an institution can get from the government is €3-5k. It’s not rocket science to see why there is such competition for the few places left for Irish students.
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