That's according to documents released by the Department of Education.
Many college places are set to be awarded on the basis of random selection, meaning a student with enough points still may not secure a course place.
An additional 1,000 college places in specific courses is being looked at by the Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris this year.
Irish Times Journalist and Mother of 7, Jen Hogan says this magnifies stress on students:
"I was speaking to parents actually about it earlier today, and it's just adding huge stress on a huge amount of stress that already exists, particularly for this cohort. It's that additional pressure at an already highly pressurised time and parents are reporting to me that they're noticing that at home... they're walking on eggshells around and they're [the students are] losing belief that they'll get there."
