CAO applications for third level courses have risen by nearly 9% with some courses seeing over 20% more applications compared to last year, according to new data released today.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Tyndall College Carlow Guidance Counsellor Gemma Lawlor said courses like dentistry are seeing a huge increase in applications.
“There's a huge rise in certain areas, for example, dentistry, which is a very small cohort of places anyway, has written risen by a huge 41%,” she said.
“It's very worrying for parents and for young people who are coming into the Leaving Cert now to get this news.
“But the reasons are fairly straightforward - we have a larger demographic of students wishing to go into third level [education] and therefore not as many places.”
A woman undergoing a dental procedure. Image: Igor Kardasov / Alamy Stock PhotoMs Lawlor said she thinks the current Leaving Certificate students are very job focused.
“Looking at the statistics, I'm thinking that people are thinking, ‘Where are the jobs going to be? Where is the need?’,” she said.
“For example, arts and that whole area of humanities is down by 89%.
“My worry is, of course, that I hope students are really reflecting on their own personalities.”
Graduates toss their academic hats into the sky during a solemn ceremony at the university. Alamy.comMs Lawlor said she hopes students aren’t just applying for courses based on possible future earnings.
“There has to be a balance, there's no point in going after a job unless you actually have the aptitude and the love and the passion and the determination to do well in it,” she said.
“That's why guidance is so very important for these students at this stage - they have up to 20 choices - 10 on level eight and 10 on level six and seven.
“They should really reflect who they are as an individual person and what is the best path for them rather than looking towards, you know, where's the gap in in jobs?”
Stressed teen boy studying with laptop while lying on floorMs Lawlor said students should be applying for courses they actually want to do.
“So, we look at this generation and predict that most of them will have a range of careers over their lifetime, changing every five, six, or seven years to a different career and changing their training and changing their outlook and changing their skills, because an awful lot of the careers are based on transferable skills,” she said.
“But a good cohort of students have the opportunity to go to university and actually, you know, do what they what they love and what they're interested in, and then look forward to training it as a particular something that would be useful to society.
“But there is a cohort who need to get a job and need to support their family, so they are very career focused at this stage, so that there is a balance.
“It's wonderful if people get the opportunity to go to college, but more importantly, it's wonderful if they go to college and they choose a course that is right for them.”
A stressed teenage boy studying for his exams. Image: AlamyAOMs Lawlor predicts points will rise for courses with extremely high application numbers.
“I think the issue is that the numbers of people applying to the courses that are available at the moment has increased exponentially,” she said.
“The problem is they can't increase the number of places on courses just because the numbers have increased.
“There's an awful lot of planning that goes into an awful lot of courses, for example, physio, pharmaceuticals, medical courses, engineering courses, courses that require clinical space.
“So if you can imagine an arts degree, you can fit another 100 into the course, no problem, but if you have to accommodate students who have to do experiments, who need lab space and so on, you can't just decide we're going to increase the number of places.
“I would assume then that we could expect, unfortunately, that the points are going to rise.”
Listen back here:
March 9, 2007 - Woman Studying On The Floor (Credit Image: © Con Tanasiuk/Design Pics via ZUMA Wire)
