Query Point Entry

London2005

Hello I am a British student currently studying for my A-Levels, I really want to study at Trinity I have a few questions which I would be very grateful if you guys could help answer

1. Can i use the online application for cao ?

2. Are you allowed to apply to more than 1 course at Trinity and how many unis in total can you apply to in Ireland?

3. If i get something like 555 points (AAAC at alevel) does this guarantee entry for something which was 545 points were needed last year - according to this table it does: http://www.cao.ie/institutions/LVL8_05.HTM#trd
(history and political science)


thank you very much for your help!

Pet

I don't know about 1, but..

2)Yes, and you can apply for ten degree courses in total on the CAO form. You can apply for ten more diploma/certificate courses too.

3)Nope. Points are set based on demand, so they fluctuate each year, sometimes wildly. For example, Science (TR071) was down in the 300's somewhere a few years back, but last year it was up to 460.

London2005

hi thanks for the help, will applying to like 4 subjects at trinity (all pretty closely related) hinder my chances of getting in? Will the subject departments know off this and therefore will think I am less committed? (Sorry i have no clue how the Irish system works)

And also is it possible that you might end up getting accepted for more than one course?

thanks

ISAW

London2005 wrote:

Hello I am a British student currently studying for my A-Levels, I really want to study at Trinity I have a few questions which I would be very grateful if you guys could help answer

snip ...CAO elsewhere. You might be able to apply for "direct application" which is outside CAO. Unlikely if you are not a mature student or an Access student.

2. snip
Again answered in other reply.


3. If i get something like 555 points (AAAC at alevel) does this guarantee entry for something which was 545 points were needed last year - according to this table it does: http://www.cao.ie/institutions/LVL8_05.HTM#trd
(history and political science)


thank you very much for your help!

for TCD info try
http://www.tcd.ie/Admissions/admissions_info/matric_requirements.php
http://www.tcd.ie/Admissions/admissions_info/entry_requirements.html
http://www.tcd.ie/Admissions/
http://www.tcd.ie/assets/documents/prospectuses/undergraduate_prospectus_2006.pdf
Trinity has a tradition of people from the UK from N Ireland and overseas. This is something that is waining and something that should be continued. But third countries e.g. China and Arabian ones provide more cash.
http://www.tcd.ie/ISA/dc/dcdegreeadmission.html

Full Degree Applications

Undergraduate Full Degree Applications

If you are a student who is interested in applying for an undergraduate course, the first question that you need to ask yourself is whether you will be classified as an EU or a non-EU student. The definition of an EU applicant as defined in the University Calendar and can be found here

If you will be classified as an EU student you should make your application to College through the Central Applications Office in Galway.

You might also look at the Calendar
http://www.tcd.ie/info/calendar/

Johnee

London2005 wrote:

hi thanks for the help, will applying to like 4 subjects at trinity (all pretty closely related) hinder my chances of getting in? Will the subject departments know off this and therefore will think I am less committed? (Sorry i have no clue how the Irish system works)

And also is it possible that you might end up getting accepted for more than one course?

thanks

The system is entirely objective so there's nothing like the Oxbridge system whereby they judge you on your other options. Each course has a set number of places. You rank your choices in order of preference. Everyone else does the same. Then they compare everyone's results ('the points') and they offer the places on each course to the top-scoring people who have applied for the course.

They assume your order of preference is accurate so you will only ever get offered one course - the one you've qualified for which is highest on your list of preferences.

The big mistake people make is choosing courses based on what they think they might get. Don't do this because (a) the points can go up or down, especially for courses with a small number of spaces and (b) if you do better than expected, there's no way for you to change your preferences.

London2005

Thanks, Just out of curiosity how does Uni College Dublin compare to TCD? reputation wise etc?

Thirdfox

You mean the University College Dublin, Dublin?

It depends on what course you're going for... that being said Trinity was the only Irish college to make it into the top 200 of the world rankings (The Times)

Prestige-wise it seems that Trinity is known much better than UCD worldwide.

I know for Law we have some of the leading academics in the country teaching here... they've literally written the book on the subject.

Good luck with your application!

*rant* 555 = AAAC? no way... I got that for my Leaving and King's College wouldn't accept me for an AAB medicine course...

wheresthebeef

dont worry about the college knowing how many courses you put down. its an entirely fair system, you are known only by a number and will be offered a place in the highest ranking course you qualify for (in terms of points). the only other way of altering how your application is treated is if you have a diagnosed disability, in which case certain special circumstances may be applied depending on the nature of the disability.

Thirdfox

"its an entirely fair system" - hmm, I'm not so sure of that. What of the people who only choose medicine because they can get the high points? I prefer the interview system whereby the right candidates are chosen for the course (which of course is open to abuse too.)

But maybe that's only because I didn't get medicine!

wheresthebeef

i didn't get medicine either. i am doing nursing now. the CAO is the fairest system there is, everyone has an equal chance providing they do the work. i knew that approximate points for medicine would be at least 590 plus and knew the level or work and committment i would need and i didnt do that much work.
interview is very open to abuse and a situation could develop whereby its not what you know, its who you know. its not ideal. and i'm sure there are people out there who would make excellent doctors, perhaps yourself, but who wont get the chance, and neither will I. and conversely there are people in medicine who will drop out or wont make good doctors. unfortunately thats the system we are in.
there is no guarantee that i will be a good nurse, or if i did law there is no guarantee i would be a good lawyer (if such a thing exists) etc.. etc...

Thirdfox

"there is no guarantee i would be a good lawyer (if such a thing exists)"

...I could sue you for that statement

but the point that I was trying to make was that medicine doesn't require 590+ points to do well as a doctor - in fact most of the consultant doctors in Ireland wouldn't have managed to achieve that back in their days...

So when you get knocked down you should reassess your life - law is similar to medicine in that you are helping society (and don't try to convince me otherwise!)

So in conclusion CAO = not fair... but that being said there is no such thing as true equality... why can't I use my advantages? Why do I have to obey your ideals of fairness... etc etc...

wheresthebeef

i totally agree with you. all the consultants who are around now would have found it hard to attain that standard. but the CAO is there to keep demand and supply in check. There is a limited amount of places, and so some system is needed to take the cream off the top. Unfortunately the leaving cert (and thus the points) only take into account stupid things like how much hamlet you can remember.
Law is a helping role, providing your scrupulous, like most jobs. Like working in eircom is helping people, providing your not ripping them off.
The fairness of the CAO can be debated till the cows come home, and not just for people who wanted medicine. I know of someone who is gifted at computers and could build one from scratch but didnt get the 360 needed for computer science. But if you really want something you have to work for it, and sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesnt, and you're right you do have to re-assess your life and see where you want to go now. but thats all part of it. its just a shame really.

why can't I use my advantages?

you mean like if your daddy was a lecturer in RCSI and got you in for example. that wouldnt be very fair on everyone else at all. Is that the kind of advantage you mean?

Nietzschean

Thirdfox wrote:

law is similar to medicine in that you are helping society (and don't try to convince me otherwise!)

Hahahaha, brilliant ,love a good larf

Thirdfox

Well I don't actually have any advantages over anyone (I was speaking hypothetically...) - for example there are now cases of reverse/positive discrimination taking place in England... people from public schools (i.e. private) are less likely to get into a college place with equal points as someone from a designated disadvantaged area.

Nietzschean - if you want to argue the role of the judiciary in Ireland by all means go ahead. But if you try to flame me into a rant about it then I'm afraid that you won't achieve your aim :P