Trinity’s points rise as strong demand offsets lower grade inflation

Posted on: 27 August 2025

Trinity College Dublin has made a record 4,059 offers (up from 3,897 in 2024) to students in the first round of the 2025 CAO process, amid strong demand for its courses. Of these, 60% of offers are for students’ first preference courses. 

Cut-off points rose by an average of 9.6 points for single-honours courses, as the downward adjustment in Leaving Certificate grade inflation this year was offset by a significant increase in demand.  

Trinity’s Vice-Provost and Chief Academic Officer Orla Sheils said: “While we are delighted that students continue to choose Trinity as their preferred option, it remains to be seen if we are seeing an impact on points from re-applications through the CAO from students who sat their Leaving Certificate in previous years. It’s great that we are reducing the uplift in Leaving Cert grades, but it is regrettable that the effects of this gradual unwinding will continue for a number of years to come.” 

Seven Trinity single honours courses require more than 600 points in 2025 (down from eight in 2024). Six courses required the use of random selection to allocate places, an unchanged number from last year. Two of these are at 625 points. 

The courses offered at random selection are: 

• TR032 Integrated Engineering (577*) 

• TR034 Management Science and Information Systems Studies (625*) 

• TR052 Dental Science (625*) 

• TR053 Physiotherapy (577*) 

• TR060 Biological and Biomedical Sciences (554*) 

• TR072 Pharmacy (601*). 

In the faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, TR009 Music Education leapt to 667 points (from 509) due to the introduction of a music test whose scores are now added to Leaving Cert points (adding a maximum of 200 points). Other changes include: 

• TR003 History 526 (+ 27) 

• TR015 Philosophy Political Science Economics and Sociology 588 (-14) 

• TR081 Business Economic and Social Studies 566 (+11). 

 In Health Sciences, TR051 Medicine, which includes HPAT scores, increased from 738 to 739 points (having dropped last year by 3 points). Other changes include: 

• TR091 General Nursing 423 (+31) 

• TR913 Midwifery 510 (+10) 

• TR056 Human Health and Disease 567 (-12). 

In STEM, TR033 Computer Science has increased 12 points to 543, having dropped 35 points in 2024. Other changes include: 

• TR064 Environmental Science and Engineering 525 (-18) 

• TR031 Mathematics 598 (+9) 

• TR062 Geography and GeoScience 472 (+27)  

In Joint Honours courses, where two subjects are combined, the following course combinations require 625 points: 

        * TR198 Economics and Geography 625 (+23) 

        * TR598 Mathematics and Music 625 (+24) 

ENDS 

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