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Help a LC 6th year with course choice ! ( BA vs B.Sc)

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  • 10-06-2014 4:34pm
    #1
    brian888
    Closed Accounts Posts: 175 ✭✭


    Hey guys, not quite sure if this is the right place to post but here goes nothing. I was looking at all the courses on UCD and was wondering why the Bachelor of Arts courses require such low points relative to the other courses, even in the other colleges. Is there any catch to this per se? Why does it seem too good to be true? Is it worth less than a B.Sc.? Thanks for reading, any help is appreciated.


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    #2
    beardedmaster
    Registered Users Posts: 614 ✭✭✭beardedmaster


    The letters of the degree (B.A. or B.Sc.) don't really make much of a difference. It's what the course actually is that counts.
    For instance, an Economics degree is a B.A., but if you do Economics & Finance, it's a B.Sc.

    CAO points for courses are based on two things:
    - the amount of places in the course. The more spaces, the lower the points.
    - the amount of people who want to do the course. The less people, the lower the points.

    So, if you have a course that has a huge incoming class as opposed to a course with a small class, if the same amount of people want a place, then the course with the small class is going to have higher points.

    Whether a degree is "worth more" than another degree is entirely subjective. But if it was to be measured, it would be based on what the degree is in, rather than what the letters of the degree are. There is no "catch" in degrees having lower points. It's generally because there's more spaces in the course.


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    #3
    brian888
    Closed Accounts Posts: 175 ✭✭brian888


    Thanks for the swift response mate! I was just a bit confused and skeptical as I'm in the middle of exams and was thinking about the CAO and stuff and I thought that there must have been a reason for the ease-of-access of these level 8s in UCD, DCU and the likes.


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    #4
    Polar Ice
    Registered Users Posts: 857 ✭✭✭Polar Ice


    brian888 wrote: »
    ease-of-access

    Points for courses, as beardedmaster already illustrated, are purely allocated on a supply and demand basis.

    Regardless of points, you should put the course that you want to do the most as your first choice on the CAO form.


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    #5
    OneOfThem Stumbled
    Registered Users Posts: 934 ✭✭✭OneOfThem Stumbled


    brian888 wrote: »
    Hey guys, not quite sure if this is the right place to post but here goes nothing. I was looking at all the courses on UCD and was wondering why the Bachelor of Arts courses require such low points relative to the other courses, even in the other colleges. Is there any catch to this per se? Why does it seem too good to be true? Is it worth less than a B.Sc.? Thanks for reading, any help is appreciated.

    What's the catch? Really really large lecture theatres.

    I kid you not. The seat capacity of a lecture determines how many people can technically take a module, which in turn determines how many can enter the course, which dictates supply.

    There's also no real international pressure (unlike Medicine, Nursing) or limited national supply (unlike Veterinary).

    Note that the large size has various down-sides though!

    Caveat: some BA degrees have very small capacity (like 12-20 places). They also have very high points. For instance single major English shares many of the modules of Joint-Honours English (in the enormous lecture theatres) but also has a couple of exclusive modules which run in classroom sized rooms.


    BA in Psychology has a CAO Points Range 515 - 625


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