Why you only ever see one offer

The CAO offers you the highest course on your preference list that your points reach — and nothing below it. That’s why the order of your list matters more than anything else: the system assumes your list is ranked by genuine preference. You will never be offered your 4th choice and your 7th at once; the 4th kills everything below it for that round.

Points for each course are published on offer day. Your points total is the currency here — if you haven’t added yours up yet, the points calculator does it with the best-six rule and maths bonus included.

Round 1, 2, 3: what actually changes

  • Round 1 (26 August 2026, 2pm) — the main event. Roughly the whole year’s intake is offered here. Accept by 1 September, 3pm.
  • Round 2 (7 September) — places freed by people who declined or ignored Round 1. Cut-offs stay the same or drop.
  • Round 3 and beyond — smaller again, mostly courses filling last seats. Rounds continue into October.

Accepting: the rule everyone gets wrong

Accepting an offer never locks you in against a higher preference. If you accept your 5th choice in Round 1 and a place on your 2nd choice opens in Round 2, the CAO offers you the 2nd choice — accept it and it simply replaces the earlier acceptance. The only thing acceptance blocks is lower preferences, which you didn’t want anyway.

The opposite mistake is worse: not accepting because you’re “waiting for Round 2”. If Round 2 brings nothing, your Round 1 offer is gone. Accept what you have; the system upgrades you automatically if something better appears.

Deferring a place

Want a gap year? Don’t accept the offer online. Instead, email the college’s admissions office immediately — the same day you get the offer if possible — quoting your offer and asking to defer. Most deferrals are granted for one year. Next year you reapply through CAO, put that course first, and the college holds your place.

No offer? Two real routes

  1. Available Places — from 27 August, courses with spare seats are listed openly on cao.ie. Points requirements still apply, but many listed courses sit well below the headline cut-offs.
  2. Appeals — if a grade is upgraded on appeal, and the higher points would have earned you a higher-preference offer, you get that offer once appeal results land in late September (in some cases the place is for the following year).

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a better offer in Round 2 after accepting Round 1?

Yes. Accepting an offer never blocks a higher preference. If a place opens up on a course higher on your list, the CAO offers it in a later round and, if you accept, it replaces your earlier acceptance automatically.

Can I defer my CAO place?

Usually, yes. Contact the admissions office of the college directly as soon as you receive the offer (before accepting it through CAO) and ask for a deferral. Colleges grant most deferral requests for one year, but it is at their discretion.

What is the Available Places facility?

From the day after Round 1, courses that still have empty seats are listed on cao.ie. Anyone eligible can apply — even if you applied to CAO for the first time that week. It is a genuine second chance, especially in later weeks.

Do points change between rounds?

They can only stay the same or drop. If a course was 450 in Round 1, it cannot rise in Round 2 — so missing Round 1 by a handful of points is not always final.