Almost 40,000 students have accepted places in college after the first round of offers, the Central Applications Office (CAO) has said.

Yesterday was the closing date to accept the offers, posted out to students last week.

More than 52,000 students were offered college places in the first round, with almost half receiving their first preference in a level-eight course.

Lower preference

Almost 80 per cent of students were offered their first, second or third preferences, and more than 84 per cent were offered first preferences on level-seven and six courses.

Students who were offered a second or lower preference in round one may receive an offer of a higher preference in round two regardless of whether or not they accepted the first offer.

Round two offers will be available to view online at cao.ie from 6am on Thursday.

They will also be posted, emailed or sent by text message to those who selected the option. Accepting a new offer automatically cancels any previous acceptances.

Available

Students may also find a suitable course on the CAO’s Available Places facility.

This lists 200 courses that have not yet been filled.

The facility is free for existing applicants and is accessible via the CAO website.

Those who have not applied for a CAO place, but who now want to study, may also look for a course on the facility, for a fee of €40.

Minimum entry requirements must be met for these courses but previously published points can be ignored.