I need a little help!

eirebhoy

1. I want do to a course on computers and a Computer Science degree in DIT is 300 points. I have been told that these points can change. If I get 300 am I not guarenteed this course. Also, if I get less then 300 can I still be offered a place?

2. I was told that if you get offered your first choice your other choices get deleted, is this true? If so, what is the point on putting a course worth 500 as your second choice if your first is worth 300, you cannot be offered your second choice if this is true.

3. If you do a diploma, you can then continue an extra year and do a degree. So, why are the points for a diploma always lower then a degree? Are students doing degrees in the same class as those doing diploma's in the same subject?

4. Also, what job would I get with a degree in computer science? If I get a degree in computer science, is this the best payed course which has something to with computers (If you know what I mean)?

Hope you can Help.

seamus

Please tell me you're not a sixth year!

Originally posted by eireboy
1. I want do to a course on computers and a Computer Science degree in DIT is 300 points. I have been told that these points can change. If I get 300 am I not guarenteed this course. Also, if I get less then 300 can I still be offered a place?

Yes and yes. The number of points required to enter a course each year are calculated by the CAO. I'm not sure how the points are calculated but it has to do with supply and demand. For example, if you have a course with very few places, and a lot of people applying for this course, the points will be high, so only the best students get in. Medicine being the perfect example. Other courses may have many places, and relatively less apllicants, so the points required will in theory select the best 400/500/600 whatever students from all of the applicants. UCD Science is a good example of this.
In any year, the number of places in a course may increase or decrease, and also the amount of people wishing to do the course may increase or decrease. The points required will change accordingly. The previous year's points are only a guidline, and usually serve well, unless there's been a major shift in interest (the collapse of the tech industry in 2001 for example, drove students away from IT in droves). You should always aim for 50 points more than you need, as a cushion.

2. I was told that if you get offered your first choice your other choices get deleted, is this true? If so, what is the point on putting a course worth 500 as your second choice if your first is worth 300, you cannot be offered your second choice if this is true.

Read the CAO handbook. When you are offered a course, all courses with a lower preference are immediately out of reach. There is absolutely no sense in putting courses with higher points below courses with lower points, unless you have some inside info as to how the points are going to pan out. At the same time, actually put your preferences down. Don't put a high-points course (which you're only slightly interested in) ahead of a low-points course (which you love) 'because I won't get enough anyway'. You never know. You may do better than you thought and/or the points for the higher course may drop dramatically. Then you're fvcked.

3. If you do a diploma, you can then continue an extra year and do a degree. So, why are the points for a diploma always lower then a degree? Are students doing degrees in the same class as those doing diploma's in the same subject?

It's usually only the select best from a diploma course who are allowed advance and go for the degree. Also, degree courses do more earlier on, and diploma students entering for a degree later on may have less skills and experience than their classmates. Again, it's supply and demand. Points for diploma courses are generally lower because more people apply for degrees.

4. Also, what job would I get with a degree in computer science? If I get a degree in computer science, is this the best payed course which has something to with computers (If you know what I mean)?

There are literally hundreds of jobs you could get out of a computer degree. You may end up not working with computers at all. My brother got a BSc(Hons) specialising in Microbiology, and straight out of college landed with a job in the IEDR, where he's know the technical hostmaster. 3 years ago, he didn't know what a CD-Rom did. So you never know.
There's not really any such thing as a high-paying course or a low-paying course. At the end of the day, experience is more important to employers than any degree. If you come out of college, and go for a job where you're competing against someone with a diploma, but 5 years experience, you'll lose, hands down.

Sangre

Originally posted by eireboy
1. I want do to a course on computers and a Computer Science degree in DIT is 300 points. I have been told that these points can change. If I get 300 am I not guarenteed this course. Also, if I get less then 300 can I still be offered a place?

Ok if there are 50 places for a coarse, the people with the highest 50 points will get in and the points of the 50th person will determine the points for next year. The points are just a good guideline of what you will need. Also if the 50th-53rd person get the same points one of them is randomnly picked to the coarse from a number they were given