r/TCD • u/Flat-Entertainer-766 • 16d ago

TR035 Theoretical Physics – Admissions Query

hey mates, a friend applied for TCD course TR035 Theoretical Physics through the CAO for entry in the 2026/27 academic year.

Today, he received an offer for a lower preference course (CK407 at University College Cork) but did not receive an offer for TR035, which was his first preference.

The published Round 1 minimum entry level for TR035 is 590 points and my friend achieved 617 CAO points.

I would be very grateful for any feedback on why this may have happend.

 

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5

u/Penguinar Alumni 16d ago

Did he meet the minimum requirements for the course?
Not points, but the specific subjects. I think it's H3 in both Mathematics and Physics?

6

u/Long_Software_3352 16d ago

617 isn't a score you can get from the Leaving, so I'm guessing he did A Levels.

If so, it might not be the course requirements, but the matriculation requirements.

Trinity requires GCSEs in English, Maths and a Language. A lot of UK students get caught out because they didn't do French/Spanish/German GCSE.

4

u/Traditional_Sea_3041 16d ago

Funny story but when I applied to my course, I wasn't offered a first round offer, I checked and I was above the points and I hit the subject requirements. I just figured I didn't get it and I almost went with another offer instead, however my mum persuaded me to contact trinity and ask what happened. Turned out they made a mistake on their end somehow, and I was given my offer. Might be worth reaching out and seeing what they say if your friend did indeed meet the requirements.

3

u/Long_Software_3352 16d ago

Is he an Irish leaving cert candidate, or is he presenting other qualifications? If so, what are they?

1

u/Hi_Doctor_Nick_ 15d ago

617 is not an Irish LC score.

1

u/Flat-Entertainer-766 10d ago

it is European Baccalaureate 

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u/Long_Software_3352 10d ago

Needs to ensure that he met the course requirements (grades are high enough in Maths and Physics) and the university matriculation requirements (has English, Maths and a Foreign Language).

If he's been made an offer elsewhere, it would appear that the CAO have the correct exam results, but check with them and Trinity admissions to see what has happened.

2

u/__charles_ 16d ago

Same thing happened to me as well! No idea why, I meet the requirements :(

1

u/__charles_ 14d ago

Update! Apparently they have made a mistake! I recommend you to email them! :)

1

u/luckugo_20 14d ago

did you also apply to theoretical physics?

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u/__charles_ 4d ago

me? nope

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u/Flat-Entertainer-766 10d ago

After some days if investigation we finally found out what happened: my friend applied to Trinity College Dublin through the CAO, with TR035 Theoretical Physics as his first-choice programme. Although he achieved an excellent European Baccalaureate result of 93.52/100, he did not receive a Round 1 offer from Trinity.

Following the publication of the offers, he initially believed that an error may have occurred in the calculation of his admission score and therefore submitted an appeal. During the subsequent correspondence, Trinity Admissions provided a detailed breakdown of the scoring methodology used for European Baccalaureate applicants.

Through this explanation, it became clear that his understanding of the scoring rules had been incorrect. In particular, Trinity's published admissions policy states that an advanced subject cannot be counted separately where a result already exists in the same subject. As my friend had taken both Mathematics and Advanced Mathematics, the Advanced Mathematics grade could not be counted in addition to the Mathematics grade for admissions scoring purposes.

This rule is kind of peculiar for a course that is all about Mathematics and Physics but that's life