If you search "IB points to CAO points," you'll find a real, official conversion table -- and if you're a US applicant, it's very likely the wrong number to be looking at. This is the same kind of mechanism mismatch we already found with how the CAO points system relates to US applicants generally: a real, official Irish system exists, but it's scoped to a different applicant pool than the one most of this site's readers are in. See our full guide to how the CAO works for the points scale itself, if you want the underlying mechanism.

The real, official CAO IB conversion table

The CAO does host an official IB Diploma-to-CAO-points conversion table, jointly produced with Ireland's participating universities. It runs up to a maximum of 45 IB points converting to 600 CAO points, with a further +25-point bonus available for a grade 4 or higher in Higher Level Mathematics -- bringing the real ceiling to 625 CAO points, matching the scale used across the rest of the CAO points system. A few reference points from the full table:

| IB score | CAO points | |---|---| | 45 | 600 | | 40 | 553 | | 36 | 496 | | 30 | 411 | | 24 (minimum Diploma) | 350 |

The minimum eligibility floor is the same 24-point Diploma pass used everywhere else, with a specific alternate route (3 subjects at grade 5 Higher Level, 3 at grade 4 Standard Level) also accepted.

The catch: this table is for EU/UK fee-status applicants, via the CAO

Here's the mismatch. The document hosting this table states plainly that it's produced for applicants who go through the CAO system at all -- and per Trinity, UCD, and DCU's own pages, that's specifically the EU/UK-fee-status applicant pool, not US applicants. All three universities confirm this directly on their own sites:

  • Trinity College Dublin's own submission to the IB's international recognition database states: "EU applicants must apply via CAO, IB results will be converted to a CAO points score... Non EU applicants can see our IB requirements in our Admission Guide for non EU undergraduate students."
  • University College Dublin's own international page is explicit that its CAO-based route applies only to "applicants who are granted EU fee status," and separately publishes its own direct, per-programme IB point thresholds for non-EU applicants.
  • Dublin City University's admissions page states: "Applicants who have taken the IB in a country outside the EU must apply directly to DCU... IB applicants who have taken the examination within the EU must apply through CAO."

If you're a US applicant, you are almost certainly in the "non-EU, apply directly" group at all three universities -- which means the 625-point CAO table, however official, isn't the number your application is actually scored against.

What US applicants actually get instead: direct, per-programme IB thresholds

Bypassing the CAO conversion, each university instead states its own IB Diploma point requirement per programme, aimed directly at non-EU applicants:

  • Trinity College Dublin: a range of "30-40 points (including bonus points), depending on the course," with a baseline of 3 subjects at grade 5 HL and 3 at grade 4 SL, including English, Mathematics, and a language.
  • University College Dublin: published programme-by-programme, e.g. 24 points for most Arts programmes, 33 for Commerce, 39 for Economics & Finance, up to 42 for Actuarial and Financial Studies.
  • Dublin City University: a general minimum of 24 points (with either 2 HL5 + 4 SL4, or 3 HL5 + 3 SL4 depending on programme), and specific programme minimums such as 39 for Common Entry Engineering and 42 for Actuarial Mathematics.

These numbers sit in the same 24-45 range the IB Diploma itself uses -- not the CAO's 0-625 scale -- which is worth noting if you've seen both numbers and weren't sure which applied to you.

What this means for you

  • If you're a US applicant, ignore the 625-point CAO scale for IB -- it's real, but it's the EU/UK-fee-status conversion, and Trinity, UCD, and DCU all route non-EU applicants around it.
  • Look for that university's own direct IB requirement instead, stated in the same 24-45 point range as your actual Diploma score -- Trinity, UCD, and DCU each publish one.
  • The requirement varies significantly by programme, the same as it does in the UK -- UCD's own range alone runs from 24 points (Arts) to 42 points (Actuarial and Financial Studies).
  • This is the same EU-pathway-vs-direct-pathway split that shows up elsewhere in Irish admissions for US applicants -- see how the CAO points system works, and doesn't, for US applicants generally and how Irish universities score US applicants without the CAO at all for the GPA/SAT side of the same pattern.

Sources

The CAO's official IB conversion table appears in the jointly-produced Entry Requirements Criteria for EU/EFTA/UK Applicants document hosted at cao.ie. Trinity's non-EU IB scoping is confirmed via its own statement in the IB's international recognition database and its own non-EU admissions guide. UCD's IB requirements are from its own International Baccalaureate Diploma page. DCU's requirements are from its own International Undergraduate Admissions page.