CAO points calculator (Leaving Cert)
Your results
One grade per subject, Higher (H1 to H8) or Ordinary (O1 to O8), for results from 2017 on. The results loaded below are an example made up for this page: Mathematics H4, then H3, O2, H5, H2, H4 and H6, and a Merit in the LCVP Link Modules. Its six best come to 424.
Result by result
What each result earns, whether it is one of the six that count, and how much your total would rise if that one result came in a grade higher. A higher grade adds nothing when the result still would not make your six.
| Row | Grade | Marks band | Points | Counted | One grade higher adds |
|---|
The common points scale
| Marks | Higher | Points | Ordinary | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 to 100% | H1 | 100 | O1 | 56 |
| 80 to under 90% | H2 | 88 | O2 | 46 |
| 70 to under 80% | H3 | 77 | O3 | 37 |
| 60 to under 70% | H4 | 66 | O4 | 28 |
| 50 to under 60% | H5 | 56 | O5 | 20 |
| 40 to under 50% | H6 | 46 | O6 | 12 |
| 30 to under 40% | H7 | 37 | O7 | 0 |
| under 30% | H8 | 0 | O8 | 0 |
Higher level Mathematics adds 25 at H6 or better, so H1 to H6 in Higher Maths are worth 125, 113, 102, 91, 81 and 71. The LCVP Link Modules earn 66 for a Distinction, 46 for a Merit and 28 for a Pass. Foundation Mathematics earns 20 for an F1 and 12 for an F2 where an institution awards points for it. The same marks band is worth the same at both levels four grades apart: an H5 and an O1 are both 56, an H6 and an O2 both 46, an H7 and an O3 both 37.
Where the rules come from
Where the arithmetic ends
This page adds up points. It does not check minimum entry requirements or a course’s subject requirements, which are a separate test that every applicant has to pass first and which several universities let you meet across more than one sitting. It covers the grades in use from 2017; University College Cork notes that every CAO applicant is now scored on this scale whenever they sat the exam, with a pre-2017 Higher E worth 33, and the older grades are not entered here. It does not apply Trinity’s rule combining the Leaving Certificate with its Matriculation examination, subject combinations an institution does not accept, or the separate scoring for medicine. And it cannot tell you whether your points will be enough: places go to qualified applicants in order of points, so the points a course needs can change each year, as Maynooth notes; and when more applicants have the same score than there are places left, CAO assigns random numbers to decide, as the University of Limerick explains.
Questions
How are CAO points calculated?
Each Leaving Certificate result earns points on the common points scale, and your six best results from one sitting are added up. At Higher level an H1 is worth 100, then 88, 77, 66, 56, 46 and 37 down to H7, and an H8 earns nothing. At Ordinary level an O1 is worth 56, then 46, 37, 28, 20 and 12 down to O6, and an O7 or O8 earns nothing. The most anyone can score is 625: six H1s, one of them in Higher Mathematics with its bonus.
When do I get the 25 bonus points for Higher Maths?
For an H6 or better in Higher level Mathematics, and only when Mathematics, with the bonus added, is one of your six best results. So the bonus is worth 25 when Mathematics would have counted anyway, less when the bonus is what lifts it into your six, and nothing when even 25 more does not get it there. In the second example loaded below an H6 in Mathematics adds 15, not 25. An H7 earns no bonus at all, so Higher Mathematics drops from 71 points at H6 to 37 at H7.
Is it better to take Higher or Ordinary Maths for points?
On points alone, an H6 in Higher Mathematics (71 with the bonus) beats an O1 (56), but an H7 (37) does not. If you were choosing between a sure O1 and a Higher paper you would pass at H6 or better with probability p, the Higher paper is worth more on average when p is above 19 in 34, about 56%. Against a sure O2 (46) the line is 9 in 34, about 26%. That ignores everything but points, and it matters only when Mathematics is one of your six best. Course requirements, not points, may decide the level for you.
Does Foundation Maths count for CAO points?
Only at some institutions. CAO's grid lists F1 at 20 points and F2 at 12, awarded by certain institutions, and CAO's own calculator adds them. The University of Galway, Maynooth University and the University of Limerick say they award no points for Foundation Mathematics, and Trinity College Dublin accepts it for minimum entry requirements only. This calculator leaves Foundation points out unless you switch them on, and shows the other total either way.
Does LCVP count as one of my six subjects?
For points, yes. CAO says every institution awards points for the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme Link Modules in place of a sixth subject: 66 for a Distinction, 46 for a Merit and 28 for a Pass. The calculator counts it like any other result, so it is used only when it beats your sixth-best subject. It does not count toward minimum entry requirements at the universities whose pages are linked here.
Can I combine results from two Leaving Certs?
Not for points. CAO counts one sitting of the Leaving Certificate only, so each year's results are scored on their own. Several universities let you meet minimum entry requirements from more than one sitting, which is a separate test. Trinity College Dublin also lets applicants combine the Leaving Certificate with the Trinity Matriculation examination of the same year for scoring; the calculator does not do that.
Can I share a result?
Yes. Every grade you choose, the LCVP result and the Foundation setting are stored in the page URL, and the copy-link button copies it. Nothing you choose leaves your browser.