The number of students applying to study at Trinity through the Central Applications Office (CAO) has only marginally recovered from a large drop last year, which College put down to the effects of Brexit.
Trinity has seen a small increase in the number of CAO applications of around 1%, with a total of 17,913 people applying to study at the college this year, compared to 17,733 in 2018.
The number of people who selected Trinity as their first preference has remained roughly the same. Trinity received 7,660 first preference choices this year and 7,675 last year.
These applicant statistics, provided to Trinity News by the Academic Registry, come after the closure of the CAO “change of mind” procedure that allows applicants to change their original choices and closed on July 1. The statistics also take into account late applications, submitted after the original February deadline.
The increase in applications to Trinity is roughly in line with the national figures. The total number of applications for Level 8 courses processed by CAO increased by 1.5% this year, with 70,550 applications for Level 8 courses received.
Applications that include Trinity among the student’s choices make up 23% of the total number of applications submitted for all courses.
Last year the number of applications to Trinity fell for the first time since 2015. Last year’s fall was attributed by Trinity to the impact of Brexit which they argue led to the pronounced reduction in the number of students applying to Trinity from Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
