I narrowly missed out on my first-choice CAO course. Is there another route to university?

I missed out on my first-choice course – business and law in UCD – by 12 points in last Wednesday’s round of offers. I have been offered another business degree programme in Dublin but really want to study business and law in UCD. What are the chances points will drop in later rounds?
The chances of a course such as business and law at UCD dropping in points by this margin is remote, based on previous years.
This means you have until 3pm on Tuesday, September 3rd, to accept the lower-preference offer you received last Wednesday. After that, the offer lapses.
If you are appealing a grade in this year’s Leaving Cert you will make up your 12 CAO points deficit for business and law only if you were to go from a H2 to a H1. Any other upgrade is less than the 12 points you are short.
If your mind is set on securing a place in business and law in UCD and you don’t accept your lower-preference offer today, you have a number of options:
1. Repeat the Leaving Cert, hoping to secure higher scores next year. This route, once popular, has diminished in numbers in recent years.
2. Apply for a place in one of the business or law programmes offered by further education colleges in the next few days. You can access a list of all such level-five PLC (post-Leaving Cert) programmes online (Qualifax.ie).
These programmes are usually assessed through a series of eight modules or assignments which students submit monthly from October-May.
Further education (FE) or PLC courses as a route into university are probably one of the best-kept secrets of the education system. Many students – and parents – still don’t know enough about them, even though they offer an excellent route to higher education outside the pressure cooker CAO points system.
In fact, there are over a 1,000 CAO courses across all areas which admit PLC students.
In your case, I am aware of FE students who, having completed their level-five business or law programme, secured an offer of a place in business and law programmes in UCD. But in every case that I am aware of, the applicant secured distinctions across all eight modules in their course.
This is a very useful pathway for students who need a year to prepare themselves for the challenges of university life.
In PLC courses, students tend to have the time and space to develop more independent learning skills, learn to work in teams and deliver projects on time and to a high standard.
If your heart really is set on studying business and law in UCD, why not seek a place on a locally-based business PLC programme immediately. Blackrock Further Education College for example offers separate level-five programmes in both business and law.
In the unlikely event you receive an upgrade in the Leaving Cert, or the points requirements for business and law in UCD drop in the coming weeks, you will receive a late offer from the CAO which you could then accept.