AQA, #, Midpoint: The CAO's Code, Decoded
The CAO points list looks like a plain table until you meet the small print. The CAO points page explains none of its own symbols, and each one changes what the number beside it means. This guide covers each symbol in turn.
| Symbol | Meaning | For you |
|---|---|---|
| # | A test, interview or portfolio forms part of selection | Points on their own will not get you in. Check the college's requirements and deadlines. |
| * | Random selection at the cut-off | Among applicants who held the cut-off score, some got an offer and some did not. |
| AQA | All qualified applicants admitted | Meet the minimum entry requirements and the place was yours. There was no points race. |
| Cut-off | Points of the lowest-ranked admitted applicant | The floor, set fresh each year by supply and demand. |
| Midpoint | Points of the middle-ranked admitted applicant | A typical successful applicant, and the better number to plan around. |
Cut-off and midpoint at DN150
Take DN150, Engineering at UCD. In 2025 the cut-off was 578 and the midpoint was 601, a 23-point gap. Half the admitted students held 601 or more. The 578 figure describes the single weakest score that still won a place, and it tells you little about the room as a whole.
Aiming at the cut-off means aiming at the edge of the intake, and the edge moves. Cut-offs shift year to year with demand, points inflation and the number of places, so a score that scraped in last August can fall short next August. The midpoint gives you steadier ground. A student targeting 601 for DN150 sits in the middle of the admitted group instead of clinging to its floor, with a cushion if the cut-off rises.
The gap between the two numbers widens on courses with extra assessments. Portfolio courses, which add a marked portfolio to Leaving Cert points, can show far wider gaps: DL843 ran 120 points between cut-off and midpoint in 2025. Our guide to portfolio scoring explains why those totals run past 625 in the first place.
The asterisk deserves respect
When more applicants share the cut-off score than there are places left, the CAO draws lots among them. The asterisk records that draw. A course showing 510* admitted some applicants on 510 and turned away others on the same score. Read a starred cut-off as "510 might not have been enough" and build your plan with a margin above it. Combined with the midpoint, the asterisk is the strongest argument for treating the cut-off as a floor you want to clear with room to spare.
Where points stop mattering
In 2025, 25 courses admitted all qualified applicants. For those, the AQA tag replaced a points score, and meeting the minimum entry requirements was the entire game. At the other end of the list, the hash marks courses where a test, interview or portfolio carries weight alongside your exams, so the printed number captures part of the contest. For scale across the whole system, the median Level 8 cut-off in Round 1 of 2025 was 377 points, portfolio courses excluded. The 600-point headlines describe the top of the list, and most of the list sits a long way below them.
Reading the list with the code in hand
Each course page on this site shows the cut-off and the midpoint side by side; DN150 above is a clean example of why you want both. The course search carries the symbols through from the official charts and includes a filter to hide portfolio and test courses when you want comparisons on the plain Leaving Cert scale. Once offers start landing next August, the rules of the rounds take over, and our guide to how offers affect your higher choices covers the mechanics from there.