More people than ever are trying to go to college this year.
84,000 people to be precise.
The Irish Times reported this morning that the Central Applications Office had 79,000 applicants in February of this year. That was a nine percent increase on 2020. Since then, more applicants have continued to manifest themselves so that the number is now at 84,000.
Although the Government are creating 4,000 extra third-level places this year, that obviously won’t be enough to absorb the growing demand and offset grade inflation.
Furthermore, those extra places are only going to exist in certain sectors.
Potentially tens of thousands of people won’t be getting the course that they applied for through the CAO. Fortunately, there are alternative routes for Leaving Cert students, Mature students, and International students.
Portobello Institute offers degree courses without a minimum CAO points requirement.
For example, if you are trying to become a physiotherapist but don’t get your place, you can study the Level 8 BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy course at Portobello in just three years before going onto a Level 9 MSc in Physiotherapy. Since Portobello's Level 8 degree is only three years, opposed to four years at other colleges through the CAO system, you can even earn your Level 9 masters degree one year earlier through the Portobello route.
Alternative routes to education exist in each of the departments at Portobello. We are not tied to CAO points and our class sizes can be expanded to take in more students.
The six departments at Portobello are:
- Sports
- Early Years & Montessori
- Facilities Management
- Special Needs Assisting
- Business of Fashion
- Travel & Tourism
Some of our most popular courses are Sports Therapy, BSC (Hons) Physical Education and Coaching, BA (Ord) Early Childhood Studies, Early Childhood Care and Education – QQI Level 6 and BSc (Hons) in Facilities & Workplace Management.
Portobello courses have minimum requirements that are clearly outlined on each course page. But these requirements don't become inflated due to demand.
A student can apply and secure their place with a conditional offer based on the minimum requirements. It does not matter if it is three, 300 or 3,000 students who apply, the requirements stay the same.
Our students know exactly what they need and can aim for this without stressing about the possibility of losing their place due to an increase in demand.
If you click onto the website’s department pages and then locate the course you want, you can apply directly on the course page. We have over 90 courses available across our six departments. There are introductory courses for students taking their first steps into education and masters degrees for students looking to complete their education journey.
If you would like to discuss the college, our courses or your application with someone, we have a team of course advisors waiting for your calls and emails.
Johanna Shaw is our Sports Course Advisor. You can contact Johanna directly on 01-892-0024 or email her at jo.shaw@portobelloinstitute.com.
Jennifer Matteazzi is our Early Years & Montessori Course Advisor. You can contact Jenny directly on 01-892-0031 or email her at Jennifer.matteazzi@portobelloinstitute.com.
George Boylan is our Special Needs Assisting Course Advisor and our Fashion Course Advisor. You can contact George directly on 01-892-0041 or email him at george.boylan@portobelloinstitute.com.
Brandon McLean can be contacted with any queries for Facilities Management, Travel & Tourism or general inquiries about the college. You can contact Brandon directly on 01-892-0035 or email him at brandon.mclean@portobelloinstitute.com.
Portobello Institute was founded on the principle of making education accessible. By creating alternative routes into the college we are giving more students opportunities. Once in the college, our staff and our lecturers support our students on an individual basis to best serve their educational needs.
