Education News

Record Number of CAO Applicants Pick Trinity As First Choice

Trinity College Dublin is looking forward to welcoming a new cohort of first-year students after a record 11,091 CAO applicants picked Trinity as their first preference in 2022.  

Approximately five out of six students (84%) who secured a CAO offer from Trinity in the first round received one of their three top choices, while 60% received their top choice.  

Trinity’s 2022 CAO Round One cut-off points have fallen by an average of 3.5 points.   

Nine single honours courses are offered with random selection in 2022, down from 17 in Round One 2021.   

Trinity’s Vice-Provost Orla Sheils said, “this is the first academic year since 2019 that first year students can look forward to a close-to normal on-campus experience. We hope that, despite the obvious difficulties that many are facing with accommodation, they will be able to take advantage of all the opportunities that open to them as third-level students.”

“However, I am concerned about the inequity brought about by grade inflation. A lottery system for high-points courses is very unfair. We need to get back to a fairer competition. As the economist Fred Hirsch once said: ‘If everyone stands on tiptoe, no one sees better’.” 

Courses awarded by random selection include Dental Science (TR052) and Management Science and Information Systems Studies (TR034), both at 625 points and random selection (unchanged from last year). 

Others where random selection applies are:  

TR015 Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology 613* (unchanged from 2021)  

TR053 Physiotherapy 590* (unchanged)  

TR055 Radiation Therapy 556* (down from 577)  

TR056 Human Health and Disease 601* (unchanged)  

TR060 Biological and Biomedical Sciences 578* (unchanged) 

TR072 Pharmacy 613* (unchanged)  

TR080 Global Business 601* (down from 613*)  .

The Round One cut-off for nine Single Honours courses was 600 points or more, the same number as in 2021. 

TR051 Medicine ( including HPAT) rose to745 points (up from 743*) .   

Source: Trinity College Dublin

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