CAO and lottery system

[DannyBoyD]

In conversation with a colleague recently they mentioned their child was interested in a field of study which is generally over subscribed & results in a lottery system to allocate places.

I said this & then suggested it would be worth having a back up plan / alternate route in the event they weren't successful in the lottery.

I was told there'd be no problem at all as their relative was Head of XY Department at ABC University, and it wasn't what you know its who you know.

Whilst I understand this is frequently the case in Irish culture, I was pretty shocked at the inference that the CAO system was open to influence.

I wonder if this is really the case or was this just pub talk?

 

[Annieindublin]

I thought the lottery was by CAO not the colleges?

 

[Dr Strangelove]

Whilst I understand this is frequently the case in Irish culture,

Compared to countries where the vast majority of humans live, Ireland is not that corrupt.

I was pretty shocked at the inference that the CAO system was open to influence.

I wonder if this is really the case or was this just pub talk?

Sound like the latter. As I understood it the CAO is just a sorting algorithm and HEIs are just given a list of who’s been admitted.

Although I remember a guy (late 90s) who did a bad Leaving Cert and got no CAO preferences. He directly applied to an IT in late August and it found a place for him.

But this was a low-points course.