09/09/2026
JOE’S JOTTER 📝
CAO Round 2 Just Released — what are the points telling us?
The second round of CAO offers has just been released, and there are a few interesting things jumping out at me.
The headline is that 3,428 offers have been made to 3,197 applicants — 2,507 for Level 8 courses and 921 for Level 6/7 courses.
And importantly, 1,270 students are receiving an offer for the first time. So if you didn’t get the course you wanted in Round 1, today’s results show that the CAO process is very much still alive. (RTE)
The big thing to remember…
CAO points can fall.
They are not fixed at the Round 1 figure.
As students accept places, decline offers, defer, change direction or simply don’t take up a place, vacancies appear — and the points can move down.
And we’ve seen some very significant movements today.
For example:
• DCU Primary Teaching: 473 → 467
• UCD Psychology: 548 → 543
• University of Galway Psychology: 534 → 530
• Trinity Psychology: 578 → 577
• Trinity Music: 487 → 466 — a drop of 21 points.
• TUS Music & Sound Engineering: 316 → 309
• TU Dublin Product Design: 462 → 453
• Maynooth General Nursing: 430 → 425
These aren’t isolated examples. There are plenty of courses where points have fallen between Round 1 and Round 2. (Central Applications Office)
But here’s the important part…
Don’t assume every course will fall.
Some courses haven’t moved at all.
Others have fallen only slightly.
And a small number can actually behave differently because of vacancies and new competitions.
For example, TU Dublin’s Electronic Engineering and Engineering Software course was 233 in Round 1 but is now showing 385 for a new competition for available places.
That’s a perfect example of why you shouldn’t simply look at last year’s points — or even Round 1 — and assume you know what will happen next. (Central Applications Office)
What does this mean for students who are still waiting?
My advice is simple:
Don’t give up on a higher preference course just because you missed it in Round 1.
If a student received their 3rd choice in Round 1, for example, but their 1st or 2nd choice is still sitting above it on their CAO list, those higher choices can still be offered in later rounds if the points fall far enough.
And that’s exactly why accepting an offer doesn’t necessarily mean you’re finished with the CAO process.
There are still further rounds — with Round 3 due on 15 September, followed by further rounds later in September. (Central Applications Office)
One final point…
I think students and parents sometimes look at CAO points as if they are a fixed entry requirement.
They’re not.
The points are simply the score of the last person offered a place in that particular round.
So if a course was 500 points in Round 1, that doesn’t mean the course “requires” 500 points forever.
It could be 495 in Round 2.
490 in Round 3.
Or it might stay at 500.
It all depends on the number of places remaining and the points of the students still competing for those places.
So if you’re still waiting — stay patient.
The CAO process isn’t over yet.
Joe. (ACE Maths Tuition)
