Today, teenagers across Ireland receive their first round CAO offers.
Offers will be published online at 2pm and students will also be notified by email or text.
The Irish Times reports that the points for many high demand courses are “volatile”, with average points up for many courses in Trinity, UCD, Galway and Cork.
On Newstalk Breakfast, DCU guidance course director Aisling Murray Fleming said it is important to put things into context.
“Over the past few years, grades were inflated because of COVID measures and that adjusted the points for many courses,” she explained.
“This year, we’ve seen a return to more normal levels… and for applicants through the CAO, it simply means that the point cut offs might look different compared to last year.
“Some courses will drop, others will hold steady and some will increase.”
Good luck to everyone awaiting Round 1 CAO offers today — and congratulations to those of you who’ll be joining us at University of Galway in September! 🎉🎉 We’re so excited to welcome you to campus. ✨
Applicants have until 3pm on September 2nd to accept their offer through… pic.twitter.com/kD4ziHRQYl
— Ollscoil na Gaillimhe | University of Galway (@uniofgalway) August 27, 2025
Ms Murray Fleming added that 2025 has seen a record number of students apply to the CAO.
“Universities were aware that this was coming down the line,” she said.
“A lot have worked very hard to increase the capacity on existing programmes and we see new programmes coming online as well.”
Trinity College, Dubli. Picture by: Alamy.com.She added that there is “no point in panicking at this point” and your Round 1 offer is not the end of the story.
“If you are disappointed with the offer you receive today or you don’t receive any offer, there are so many different routes and so many different options still available to you,” she said.
“Even through CAO, where there’s subsequent rounds and you may see courses drop as offers begin to level out between the Level 6 and 7s and the Level 8s - two different types of courses.
“Then you have other students, who will choose to study internationally or through PLC programmes.
“Then, there’s other options like apprenticeships, traineeships and national tertiary degrees, which is a new offering - but an amazing offering across all the different disciplines.”
The quad at University College Cork. Picture by: Alamy.com.Ms Murray Fleming continued that students and their families are “more aware than ever” of the jobs market.
However, she added that job prospects should not be a student’s only consideration.
“For a lot of students, what I would say is we don’t even know where the jobs of the future will lie,” she said.
“So, what’s really important when you’re choosing your college course is that you chose something you’re going to enjoy.
“Because if you choose something you’re going to enjoy, then you’ll be successful at it and that’s really important.”
Main image: Students receive their Leaving Cert results. Picture by: Alamy.com.
