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Four Leaving Cert students compare their results - and their overall points score - outside the Catholic University School on Leeson St in Dublin. Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland

Explainer: A beginner’s guide to the CAO Points system

Some of your loved ones might be awaiting a college offer – through a system that mightn’t make sense to many. Here’s our crash course.

This post was originally published on the 18 August 2012 but republished here as the CAO points for 2013 are being revealed tomorrow.

TOMORROW MARKS a big day in the lives of thousands of young people in Ireland, as the first round of college placement offers are distributed by the Central Applications Office.

The offers will dictate, for many, what they will study for the next few years – as well as where they might live, and how much college might cost them – or whether they may have to go back to school for another year to secure the grades they need.

For most, though, it brings an end to the Leaving Cert experience – as students take their grades and book their places in the courses that they hope will lead them into the working world.

While the CAO points system has become a rite of passage for many Irish people, it’s also something which can mystify the other people in their lives, who might never have gone through a similar system themselves.

So, for those baffled by the system through which their children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews and friends are going, here’s our guide to how the whole thing works.

No points without a leaving

Let’s start at the beginning: there would be no ‘points’ without a Leaving Cert in the first place. CAO Points are calculated based directly on a student’s grades in their Leaving.

Most Leaving Cert subjects are taken at two levels – either Higher Level (‘honours’) or Ordinary Level (‘pass’). (A couple of subjects are also offered at Foundation Level, but they do not count for the purposes of CAO points.)

While every exam in the Leaving Cert does ultimately result in a percentage grade, this isn’t what students are given on results day. Instead, they’re given a letter grade which corresponds to the percentage score that they got.

Those grades are outlined on this table:

These grades then correspond directly with the points that you get for each grade. For each grade, a fixed number of points are awarded. For ordinary level, these are allocated based on this table:

Solving extra problems means earning extra points

For higher level subjects, the points are exactly the same - except you add 40. (This is the reward that a student gets for opting to sit a tougher exam.) So, for an honours subject, a D3 gets you 45 points while an A1 will get you 100.

From last year, colleges are also offering bonus points for honours Maths.

The idea behind this is reasonably simple: the CAO only considers your best six subjects for points purposes, while many students actually take seven subjects - meaning they'll be doing one subject which they know will not count for the purposes of getting into college.

Knowing this, many students striving for top grades - and who knew Maths wasn't their strong point - simply opted for the ordinary level paper in order to concentrate their efforts elsewhere. This, in turn, has led to fears about the mathematical capabilities of Irish school-leavers.

In order to try and redress this, from 2012 the system offers 25 extra points for those who keep up their Higher Level Maths - giving them an advantage over other students who are happy to concentrate on other subjects.

So, going back to the second table above, when you're dealing with Higher Level Maths you can first add 40 points because it's a Higher Level grade, and then add a further 25 points because it's Maths. So a D3 in honours Maths now gets you 70 points; an A1 gets you 125.

This means that previously, where the maximum points score a student could get was 600, it's now 625.

The CAO auction, and what points actually mean

What many people misunderstand about the points attached to certain courses is that they are not a measure of the difficulty of the course. Although many of the high-points courses do tend to be among the toughest, the two aren't directly linked. This is why students are always told to fill out their CAO forms by ranking courses based on genuine preference and not based on their actual difficulty.

It might help to think of CAO points as a kind of special currency, created only for use in the college applications process.

Put it this way: if you get a B2 in an honours subject, you 'earn' 80 points. Your six best subjects might altogether 'earn' you 400 points. You then use this money in an auction to buy your place on a course.

That, in essence, is what the CAO does: it runs an auction. This is best explained with an example.

Let's pretend there's a college called 'TheScore.ie Institute of Sportology', which runs a course called 'Premier League Liveblogging'. Let's pretend there are 50 places in this course.

Now, let's say that only 40 CAO applicants put this course at the top of their list of preferences. In that case, there are more places than applicants - and everyone gets in. (On CAO lists this is marked as 'AQA' - All Qualifiers Accepted.)

But if there are 100 applicants with Premier League Liveblogging as their first choice, obviously we have a problem - because the course can only take half of them.

So how does it sort them out? By ranking applicants based on their points. This is the auction - the 50 applicants with the best CAO scores are the ones who will be offered a place.

The other 50 will instead have to make do with a lower preference on their form - they'll be offered whichever course closest to the top of their list, which they have also fulfilled the other entry criteria for (some courses, like those in Science, will demand certain Leaving Cert grades in the appropriate subjects).

High points doesn't necessarily mean high difficulty

The whole point of this explanation is to underline that the points needed for the course aren't simply based on how tough the course is - it's merely based on the results of the people who want to get in.

The points value that you'll see listed beside the name of a course on the newspapers, or online, is merely the point beyond which applicants are going to be successful or not - it's the 'minimum price' determined by the CAO auction.

The first round of CAO offers - revealing the results of the first round of auctions - will be released on Monday. Further rounds will be offered over the next few weeks as extra places become available - if, for example, some people don't take up their offers or colleges increase their capacity.

To all those awaiting their offers, and to those standing by their sides: good luck.

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45 Comments
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    Mute tom
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    Jan 9th 2017, 11:51 PM

    Shane Rose is a well spoken idiot. Want to reduce drink driving have more checkpoints where they are most effective out side pub car park at closing times. Not on M50 at 9pm Want to reduce drink drinking enforce the current laws

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    Mute Stephen kelleher
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:08 AM

    This country is a joke…..name and shame people for drink driving but the builders and developers who live in our locality who went into Nama but kept their holiday homes and houses in their spouses names were allowed to remain anonymous for commercial reasons and are now back in business while innocent hard working people are being crucified for making the mistake of trying to buy a house and contributing to society…poor fools us…

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    Mute sparky
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    Jan 9th 2017, 11:53 PM

    “Named n shamed” really depends on how much over the legal limit they are…name n shame people caught on their mobile phones.. sometimes the morning after is just an honest mistake.

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    Mute Rochelle
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:21 AM

    An honest mistake? It’s careless and endangers lives. The information of the morning after effect has been out there for years, there’s no excuse. If you’ve ever used the home kit you’ll know as well that it’s not easy to be over the limit the morning after. Those who drink an extreme amount or end their session at 4am on a work night should not be protected from the consequences.

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    Mute sparky
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:51 AM

    Rochelle. You might want to provide me with a link as to someone who was just over the legal limit the morning after that has been involved in a fatal accident; how many people drive with a thousand problems on their minds, their mind is anywhere but on the road, as for the people that drink excessively till 4 in the morning read my previous comment slowly.

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    Mute Martin Critten
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    Jan 10th 2017, 7:39 AM

    Again as a risk assessment 2 billion road journeys made each against infinitesimal outcomes.. chances of being involved in an accident 2 billion to 159. As usual the fear industry is in force.

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    Mute Jack Bowden
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    Jan 9th 2017, 11:51 PM

    People like to know other people’s business and to gossip. The poll results aren’t surprising.

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    Mute Suzie Sunshine
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    Jan 9th 2017, 11:54 PM

    And what if the person has school going kids ? Is it fair on them that they have to go through the shame and embarrasment in school aswell ?

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    Mute Les Behan
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:18 AM

    @Suzie Sunshine: No it’s not fair but some might see it as an extra incentive not to drink and drive.

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    Mute Rochelle
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:24 AM

    The child should feel deep embarrassment at the actions of their parents regardless of whether their classmates know as well. It may be an aid for the teacher as well as an indication that the child is coming from a troubled household and requires special attention.

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    Mute Suzie Sunshine
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:31 AM

    Rochelle, a child should never fall the victim of their parents actions .. it’s not the child’s fault .someone driving after a few drinks is not a sign that the child comes from a troubled household either .

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    Mute Colm Moynihan
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    Jan 10th 2017, 2:35 AM

    @ rochelle. Holy shit can you see us from all the way up there?

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    Mute Declan Moran
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    Jan 9th 2017, 11:44 PM

    The limit should be zero and that’s it. Too many innocent people being killed.

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    Mute Colm Moynihan
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    Jan 10th 2017, 2:44 AM

    Couldn’t enjoy the sherry trifle on Christmas day then though. And what about the priests and their alter wine on a Sunday?

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    Mute Bo Cianuro
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    Jan 10th 2017, 3:26 AM

    @Declan Moran:
    derp… it can never be ”zero”, now google why.. :) or hurry back with a crate of ad-homs. :|

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    Mute Aoife Dooley
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    Jan 10th 2017, 7:59 AM

    The people within the current limits aren’t causing the accidents. There are people who will ignore limits and drink to excess and drive. Why penalise those who are not a risk to the public?? It won’t make the roads any safer.

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    Mute Frederick Higginbottom
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:36 AM

    I may be expecting too much from the minister but there’s no empirical evidence proving people in the 0.02 to 0.05 BAC range are causing accidents or fatalities. In fact a coroner doctor in Donegal a few years ago reported most fatalities were many multiples of the old limit 0.08 BAC. This looks like a case of being seen to do something, rather than effective government policy. Enforcement of the current limits would produce far more effective results rather than lowering an already very low limit.

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    Mute Niall Gavin
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    Jan 9th 2017, 11:46 PM

    Publicly shamed? Absolutely not. That won’t help.

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    Mute CarmelOh
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:37 AM

    I had a fair few drinks the other night and didn’t risk driving until after 4pm the next day.

    I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I caused an accident by being over the limit.

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    Mute Les Behan
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    Jan 9th 2017, 11:39 PM

    I agree with this fully, name and shame them. There is another point when the issue of road safety comes up that is never discussed and that is the state of some of the roads.

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    Mute Val Martin
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    Jan 10th 2017, 3:05 AM

    @Les Behan: Another drastic suggestion which is guaranteed to work is to ban all road vehicle traffic from public roads.

    Back to bikes and the horse and cart

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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:07 AM

    Are the people who are irresponsible enough to drive when over the limit the kind if people who will be deterred by the risk of being named and shamed? If so, press ahead but, if not, it just seems an additional but very mild punishment.

    I favour designing a control mechanism which prevents a car from being driven if the driver is over the limit. It can be done but would require the motor manufacturers to agree.

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    Mute Suzie Sunshine
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:43 AM

    Tony .. how would that work ?

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    Mute Colm Moynihan
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    Jan 10th 2017, 2:39 AM

    Breathalyser system in the car that won’t allow the car to start if you fail it. Think they have something like this in place in Oz for people who have been previously convicted of drink driving

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    Mute Suzie Sunshine
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    Jan 10th 2017, 7:59 AM

    Colm; thanks for that ..

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    Mute Brendan Mason
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    Jan 10th 2017, 12:17 AM

    Name and shame the politicians only. Their votes may depend on it. Nanny state.

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    Mute Niall Gavin
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    Jan 9th 2017, 11:44 PM

    Shame? That won’t help.

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    Mute Val Martin
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    Jan 10th 2017, 1:41 AM

    The word name in the Oxford dictionary means = A word or set of words by which a person or thing is known, addressed, or referred to: The word shame mean =A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour: The government is limited by the constitution. Drink driving is a summary offence, not triable on indictment. Maximun penalty is 2 years in jail and disqualification from holding a driving licence.

    Shame cannot be felt by anyone other than the culprit, it cannot be felt by anyone else. It is at the discretion of the feeler whether he or she feels shame or not. Government cannot induce shame in another person, there is no legal term for it. Now will youse all give me a thumps down to demonstrate how ignorant youse all are and feck off out of my way.

    12
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    Mute bings
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    Jan 10th 2017, 7:26 AM

    How do the TD & gov officials who leave the dail bar after a few scoops get home.

    10
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    Mute mad_fluffy
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    Jan 10th 2017, 8:50 AM

    Completely mad.. where is all this rubbish going to stop .. why don’t we name n shame people who have penalty points. .who don’t have a TV licence.. grow up.

    10
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    Mute Claire
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    Jan 10th 2017, 8:07 AM

    Naming and shaming is not going to make any difference, it’s more of Shane Ross BS, but it’s easier come up with these big ideas than enforce the law that’s already there.

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    Mute Do the Bort man
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    Jan 10th 2017, 8:33 AM

    The current limits are fine, just needs more enforcement

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    Mute Irish big fellow
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    Jan 10th 2017, 2:21 PM

    Great idea about the public access to database of photographs of persons convicted of a crime, irrespective of the nature of it. Leave it accessible for 5 years. This would sober up a lot of people at very little cost to the taxpayer.

    3
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