Irish Racism in Academia

Matilda600

I really must put on record my annoyance at new "racism" of Irish universities such as Trinity and UCD (and maybe others I don't know about). I have just been turned down for a place (6 year medicine) even though I got the UK A Level equivalent of 580 points (and I see that some applicants got in with 570).

I was told today by UCD admissions that they do have an exclusionist policy so that candidates from other EU countries are not given fair treatment as against the Irish leaving cert.

How times change and how short are memories. The so called "Celtic Tiger" is as a direct result of the subsidies obtained from the EU. Now the Irish are unwilling to "give and take". Perhaps it is time for other EU countries to discriminate against the Irish Leaving Cert. This would be especially helpful in the UK (after all, any Irish student who can get a place at a good UK uni is bound to take it). Remember, the Irish unis are pretty far down the league tables.

This message is written from a moral point of view not disappointment (my Irish application was an add on - I already have a place at a UK uni). I am just very annoyed by the arrogance.

The Irish leaving certificate is sooooooo great that most of the contributors to boards.ie have a major problem with writing in English (appalling spelling, grammar and punctuation!!!).

Matilda600

I really must put on record my annoyance at new "racism" of Irish universities such as Trinity and UCD (and maybe others I don't know about). I have just been turned down for a place (6 year medicine) even though I got the UK A Level equivalent of 580 points (and I see that some applicants got in with 570).

I was told today by UCD admissions that they do have an exclusionist policy so that candidates from other EU countries are not given fair treatment as against the Irish leaving cert.

How times change and how short are memories. The so called "Celtic Tiger" is as a direct result of the subsidies obtained from the EU. Now the Irish are unwilling to "give and take". Perhaps it is time for other EU countries to discriminate against the Irish Leaving Cert. This would be especially helpful in the UK (after all, any Irish student who can get a place at a good UK uni is bound to take it). Remember, the Irish unis are pretty far down the league tables.

This message is written from a moral point of view not disappointment (my Irish application was an add on - I already have a place at a UK uni). I am just very annoyed by the arrogance.

The Irish leaving certificate is sooooooo great that most of the contributors to boards.ie have a major problem with writing in English (appalling spelling, grammar and punctuation!!!).

Tayto2000

Matilda600 wrote:

The Irish leaving certificate is sooooooo great that most of the contributors to boards.ie have a major problem with writing in English (appalling spelling, grammar and punctuation!!!).

You mentioned arrogance? Glad to hear that the A-levels are so much better...

Matilda600 wrote:

(after all, any Irish student who can get a place at a good UK uni is bound to take it)

Because Irish institutes are all so obviously inferior? The league tables btw are rubbish.

Also, if you want to rant, you really only need to post it once.

Good luck in your course, assuming this whole post isn't a line of bulls**t.

Het-Field

Matilda600 wrote:

I really must put on record my annoyance at new "racism" of Irish universities such as Trinity and UCD (and maybe others I don't know about). I have just been turned down for a place (6 year medicine) even though I got the UK A Level equivalent of 580 points (and I see that some applicants got in with 570).

I was told today by UCD admissions that they do have an exclusionist policy so that candidates from other EU countries are not given fair treatment as against the Irish leaving cert.

How times change and how short are memories. The so called "Celtic Tiger" is as a direct result of the subsidies obtained from the EU. Now the Irish are unwilling to "give and take". Perhaps it is time for other EU countries to discriminate against the Irish Leaving Cert. This would be especially helpful in the UK (after all, any Irish student who can get a place at a good UK uni is bound to take it). Remember, the Irish unis are pretty far down the league tables.

This message is written from a moral point of view not disappointment (my Irish application was an add on - I already have a place at a UK uni). I am just very annoyed by the arrogance.

The Irish leaving certificate is sooooooo great that most of the contributors to boards.ie have a major problem with writing in English (appalling spelling, grammar and punctuation!!!).[/QUOTE]

Thats a great way to go about garnering support.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

tough titties?

Sangre

Umm right.

Any medicine student will tell you that their class are nearly always 50% foreign students. In fact, people joke about how the Irish are nearly in the minority in RCSI,UCD and Trinity. Of course this isn't exclusive to caucasion non-nationals and includes students of all colours.

Maybe you were turned down because of your obvious lack of research skills?

Actually its probably because you didn't do any science subjects.

Matilda600

Sangre wrote:

Umm right.

Any medicine student will tell you that their class are nearly always 50% foreign students. In fact, people joke about how the Irish are nearly in the minority in RCSI,UCD and Trinity. Of course this isn't exclusive to caucasion non-nationals and includes students of all colours.

Maybe you were turned down because of your obvious lack of research skills?

Actually its probably because you didn't do any science subjects.

Sangre,

The correct spelling is "caucasian".

Research skills? Science subjects? Neither are required for the six year course.

Analyse that!

Sangre

Delighted you didn't get in.

Why don't you analyse the fact that your original assertion that UCD is racist is wrong? Or would you rather attack people's spellings and ignore the fact you're completely wrong?

Het-Field

Matilda600 wrote:

Sangre,

The correct spelling is "caucasian".

Research skills? Science subjects? Neither are required for the six year course.

Analyse that!

Matilda, you are endearing yourself to the UCD Boardsies, in a way similar to David Duke's attempts at endearing himself to the non caucasian population of the USA

Zamboni

Matilda600 wrote:

I have just been turned down for a place (6 year medicine) even though I got the UK A Level equivalent of 580 points (and I see that some applicants got in with 570).

I was told today by UCD admissions that they do have an exclusionist policy so that candidates from other EU countries are not given fair treatment as against the Irish leaving cert.

Hi Matilda,

UCD would be hammered by the European courts if they had an exclusionist policy.
You use the word racism very flippantly. If UCD rate A-Levels lower than the Leaving Certificate that is not racism. That is a difference of academic opinion based upon criteria.
To suggest that is simply a case of 'racism' shows a level of immaturity and poor education, even if you can spell properly.

Good day.

stolenwine

If I'm not mistaken every course has a quota of how many overseas students they will allow onto a particular course. It is possible that the quota was filled and the larger percentage was taken up by leaving certificate students which is the norm. This is also the case in the U.K.

Sorry that you feel hard done by but it is not racism.

armada104

Though you claim you had UCD as an "add on", whatever that means (you either wanted to go to a university or you didn't), I find it difficult to believe that you could even consider coming to Ireland with the kinds of attitudes you hold. Your obvious disdain for a whole nation would not have served you well had you found yourself living in it for six years.

You may have a point about unfair admission practices (please don't bother to correct my spelling on that one), but you've cancelled out your argument by spouting xenophobic rubbish. Economic upturns are generally anything but the direct result of subsidies. Subsidies help along the way, but only slightly.

As has been pointed out to you, and as you chose to ignore, much of the places on Irish medicine courses are taken by people from abroad. Perhaps positive discrimination is used to increase the number of doctors in Ireland, as there is a huge shortage of consultants at the moment. Perhaps not. But for someone intelligent enough to get 3 As and a B in their (supposedly superior) A-Levels, you don't seem to have given this much thought.

Paul Tergat

this makes me laugh.

Yeah i get really inferior treatment for not being from Ireland. they make me sit outside during lectures, I have to sit a harder exam then the rest of my class etc....

if i'm very honest the a-levels are a complete joke in comparison with the leaving cert. I don't really understand why you're coming on here and ranting but if it makes you feel better....unlucky on not getting in!

Tellox

Delighted you didn't get in

Thomas_S_Hunterson

The A-levels are a joke to be quite honest, I think it's unfair on Irish students that they are given so much weight in the CAO system.

To be able to do medicine with only 4 subjects under your belt to what is really a lower standard than the Irish leaving cert is ridiculous.

Slow Motion

I didn't get in to college ! Racists ! :mad:

I didn't get the job I applied for ! Racists ! :mad:

I didn't get snogged in the club last night ! Racists ! :mad:

I didn't get support from boardsies ! Racists ! :mad:

I didn't........ ! Racists ! :mad:


Yawn ! :rolleyes:

RuggieBear

lol

that is all

Paul Tergat

Sean_K wrote:

The A-levels are a joke to be quite honest, I think it's unfair on Irish students that they are given so much weight in the CAO system.

To be able to do medicine with only 4 subjects under your belt to what is really a lower standard than the Irish leaving cert is ridiculous.

do you mean that for example you learn more from leaving cert business than a-level business...if so then im sure this is wrong. in a-levels we study more on less subjects, whereas the LC study a wider range but in less depth IMO. having said this i do believe that LC is superior to a-level due to the broadness of education offered.

i agree what you're saying but if that weight is not put to a-levels then it would not be possible for UK students to get into Irish uni's (although many may like that ).

Thomas_S_Hunterson

What I mean is that I don't feel the amount 'extra' studied on the A level course is anywhere near enough to warrant the 150% weighting it is afforded.

RuggieBear

when i considered going to Queens A levels were worth twice as much as the leaving.

so my leaving cert 4 As and 2 Bs were the same as an "A" Level 2 As and a B:(

Paul Tergat

Sean_K wrote:

What I mean is that I don't feel the amount 'extra' studied on the A level course is anywhere near enough to warrant the 150% weighting it is afforded.

yeah i wasnt sure what you meant.

i agree with what you're saying


when i did my a-levels 3 years ago now (getting old) i was in school for like 15 hours a week and did absolutely no work and still got into a very good course.

it really is a joke the lack of effort needed to get the "same" as someone in the LC

is_that_so

I think the OP will find that an Irish university in the same way as a UK university, must ensure that they provide for their own first. I see nothing wrong with that at all. That said I am bemused as to why you have chosen boards to vent your spleen. The Irish Times where they can spell might be a better forum.

Flume

To the original poster, how about you take you and your racist attitudes towards the irish and their educational system onto another board.One that maybe gives a ****e!

BKtje

The Irish leaving certificate is sooooooo great that most of the contributors to boards.ie have a major problem with writing in English (appalling spelling, grammar and punctuation!!!).

So because people on boards decide not to take the effort to double check their spelling the irish leaving cert sucks? ok...

iwincosimcool

Matilda600 did'nt get in as she/he is a naughty naughty person and stinks of the poo poo, and therefore needed to be punished.

panda100

Sean_K wrote:

The A-levels are a joke to be quite honest, I think it's unfair on Irish students that they are given so much weight in the CAO system..

Im going to put this myth to bed once and for all.I went to a grammer school in London and took my GCSEs there (equivalent to junior cert) and then came over to do my leaving cert in Ireland.I would equate the Irish leaving cert to being only slightly a bit above English gcse's. I had four older brothers and sisters who did a-levels and from looking at their books and seeing how they studied the a-levels are extremely tough.

Sean_K wrote:

To be able to do medicine with only 4 subjects under your belt to what is really a lower standard than the Irish leaving cert is ridiculous.

For his a-levels my brother(whose now a doctor) did biology,chemistry and physics
The majority of people getting into medicnce in Ireland took home ec,french,woodwork,geography or whatever the latest easy point subjects are.....its not the quantity of subjects you study for leaving/alevls that matters,its quality.


Matilda,my brother got three A's in his a- evels in biology,chemistry and physics and he got UCD no problem. I am almost 100 percent sure that for medicne in Ireland you have to have at least one offer from an English university before they will accept you here.If you werent offered a place in medicince in England then I dont think they allow you to take a place in an Irish college. (this is just for medicine).Perhaps this is why they rejected you?

FionnMatthew

Sangre wrote:

Umm right.

Any medicine student will tell you that their class are nearly always 50% foreign students. In fact, people joke about how the Irish are nearly in the minority in RCSI,UCD and Trinity. Of course this isn't exclusive to caucasion non-nationals and includes students of all colours.

Maybe you were turned down because of your obvious lack of research skills?

Maybe you were turned down because you're not from Africa.

FionnMatthew

Matilda600 wrote:

Analyse that!

"Analyze" that, according to the Oxford English Dictionary Online.

FionnMatthew

Matilda600 wrote:

The Irish leaving certificate is sooooooo great that most of the contributors to boards.ie have a major problem with writing in English (appalling spelling, grammar and punctuation!!!).

Besides the rather glib fact that you spelled the word "so" with six superfluous "o" letters, it shall be interesting to note the omission of the word "the" in the following sentence, which you managed to write on your own.

I really must put on record my annoyance at [!!!???] new "racism" of Irish universities such as Trinity and UCD (and maybe others I don't know about). I have just been turned down for a place (6 year medicine) even though I got the UK A Level equivalent of 580 points (and I see that some applicants got in with 570).

I should expect, however, that these particular mistakes have less to do with the quality of the state exams in the United Kingdom, and more to do with an entirely native dullardry on the part of the OP.

May illiteracy keep you awake at night. You certainly won't be going to Oxford.

Sangre

My Maths/applied Maths teacher was a English guy who went through the English system right up to doctorate level at Oxford. He said we definitely had a harder time of it in Ireland. That might have been when an A level was 200% though.

Fallen Seraph

Matilda600 wrote:

*stamps feet becuase of not having got the place I wanted*

/thread.

Edit (to be more concise): I could rebut the post more thoroughly (despite the flak that has been thrown her way I don't feel that all the fallacies/hypocrisy in her post have yet been pointed out exhaustively), but it seems more like hit and run idiocy than a serious argument.

m1ke

The so called "Celtic Tiger" is as a direct result of the subsidies obtained from the EU

That's complete garbage. Maybe it is your ignorance of this country and its education system that is holding you back from receiving a place here.

stereoroid

OK, there's something I'm not getting here: are there really people going in to Medicine who have not taken Biology and Chemistry all the way to high LC scores? I'd have thought them indispensable fundamentals.

Unless, I suppose, Medicine is not really a Science? In that case, Prof. Richard Dawkins, the esteemed evolutionary biologist, would like a word with you: Channel 4, 8PM tonight. He has a few points to make about "complementary and alternative medicine" :rolleyes:

PS: I moved to Ireland from the UK, 8 years ago, and had no trouble being accepted as a mature student. OK, the CAO points on my Engineering course (DN078) are "only" 500 this year, but I was interviewed at UCD, and felt no prejudice of any kind about my nationality.

seraphimvc

stereoroid wrote:

OK, there's something I'm not getting here: are there really people going in to Medicine who have not taken Biology and Chemistry all the way to high LC scores?

it's an interesting question ,isnt it??

i once asked myself about this question and i tried to ask 1 or 2 person who is doing medicine,guess what?they said the same thing!!but i think they at least took a biology or chemistry....

and so i heard a myth that you could Art in 1st yr,take and pass all those medicine subjects(of course you need to pay for those extra),qualified to do medicine in his next year!!

overall,i think this is one of the most obviously 'backdoor' of our 'flawless' CAO system:rolleyes:

snickerpuss

Even if they didn't take those subjects for the leaving, they'll still have to do Bio, Chem and Physics in university so I wouldn't worry about it. They'll be studying them regardless. Whats the big deal really? It has the highest points, of course they'll do what subjects will get them in.

They might not do the science subjects for the leaving but they'll be doing them in their degree so whats the problem?

pretty*monster

Matilda600 wrote:

I really must put on record my annoyance at new "racism" of Irish universities such as Trinity and UCD (and maybe others I don't know about). I have just been turned down for a place (6 year medicine) even though I got the UK A Level equivalent of 580 points (and I see that some applicants got in with 570).

An English person, whose race would, I presume, not have been disclosed on his/her application playing the race card. I'd like to say that that's a new one but this kind of childishness is all too familiar. Crying 'racist' makes you sound like an idiot at best, at worst you come off as a cynical and/or petulant manipulator of the worst excesses of political correctness.

The Irish tax payer funds Irish universities, should they not hen expect that Irish people will get the most benefit out of them?

Dave!

The bitterness is oozing through from the OP.

FionnMatthew

stereoroid wrote:

In that case, Prof. Richard Dawkins, the esteemed evolutionary biologist, would like a word with you: Channel 4, 8PM tonight. He has a few points to make about "complementary and alternative medicine" :rolleyes:

Esteemed evolutionary biologist and rubbish philosopher.

Actually, from what I've read, as an evolutionary biologist, he's a bit of a dinosaur too, being a gradualist. Whatever esteem he holds is honorary at best.

FionnMatthew

pretty*monster wrote:

The Irish tax payer funds Irish universities, should they not hen expect that Irish people will get the most benefit out of them?

So does the overseas student. Hiked fees and so forth.

I say let them have our second rate, modularized, third-level-by-numbers universities, and we'll take their best ones. Fair's fair.

pretty*monster

FionnMatthew wrote:

So does the overseas student. Hiked fees and so forth.

It's not really the same though, is it. Overseas subsidies Irish students by choice and can take their money elsewhere if they don't like it. Irish tax payers have to fund our universities, and do so, theoretically, for the benefit of the country.

pretty*monster

FionnMatthew wrote:

"Analyze" that, according to the Oxford English Dictionary Online.

Don't tell me you're in favour of the US backed letter 'z's ruthless war on esses?

FionnMatthew

Just a few more pointers from the world of literate Anglophones.

How times change and how short are memories.

You might have arranged this sentence better: "How times change and how short memories are." Additionally, an exclamation mark is conspicuously absent from what is, ostensibly, an exclamation. Unless you were doing something else with it?

The so called "Celtic Tiger" is as a direct result of the subsidies obtained from the EU.

You didn't need the "as" in "is as a". It should have been:"The so called "Celtic Tiger" is a direct result of the subsidies obtained from the EU."

Don't worry though. With a bit of work, you might become an adequate user of your own native language.

FionnMatthew

pretty*monster wrote:

Don't tell me you're in favour of the US backed letter 'z's ruthless war on esses?

OED backed. The phonetic "z" originates with the OED, which is a very British institution.

I'm not normally a ruthless authoritarian about language use. Shakespeare used 's's and 'z's interchangeably, so either's good enough for me.

But given the circumstances, I thought it was appropriate to point out that the strictest authority on the spelling of "analyze" uses a 'z'. So if stones are going to be thrown...

pretty*monster wrote:

It's not really the same though, is it. Overseas subsidies Irish students by choice and can take their money elsewhere if they don't like it. Irish tax payers have to fund our universities, and do so, theoretically, for the benefit of the country.

This is true and correct.

What is the Irish university system for, first and foremost, but the education of Irish students?

I mean, it's just as hard for an Irish student to get into an English University as it is for a non-national here.

I get the impression the OP feels that Irish universities are beneath her, and hence was guaranteed an offer, even though she didn't expect to take it. Rather than being from "a moral point of view" (ha!! Do you even understand "moral"?), the post stinks of indignation. I expect it was like being turned down by your fall-back smooch at a teen disco. The attitude is "How dare you?? You're ugly. You should be honoured I asked you!! I'm doing you a favour!!"

It must have been really humiliating that a university as far down the league tables as UCD wouldn't have her.

I expect it irks to think that there were probably a good few students from the UK who were just better. Mediocrity bites. Ouch.

pretty*monster

FionnMatthew wrote:

OED backed. The phonetic "z" originates with the OED, which is a very British institution.

I'm not normally a ruthless authoritarian about language use. Shakespeare used 's's and 'z's interchangeably, so either's good enough for me.

But given the circumstances, I thought it was appropriate to point out that the strictest authority on the spelling of "analyze" uses a 'z'. So if stones are going to be thrown...

I just think z is an ugly letter.

bright

Matilda600 wrote:

The so called "Celtic Tiger" is as a direct result of the subsidies obtained from the EU. Now the Irish are unwilling to "give and take". Perhaps it is time for other EU countries to discriminate against the Irish Leaving Cert.

I Must sincerely apologise, as I did not quite catch where you said you read economics.


I am afraid the subsidies of which you ignorantly speak of were not, infact, the spark for the growth period in Irelands core over the last 15 years. Of the subsidies Ireland has received in the past 20 years, in excess of 70% of the EU payments were allocated to CAP. The Implementation of REPS, REPS 2, and The Watercourse Framework and Nitrates Directive have all actively helped mainatin the high standard of rural environmental protection, expected and deemed quite neccessary by the concensus of EU citezens.

Farming and Eco-tourism unforunately were not the basis of the celtic tiger economic growth. It is generally accepted that the extremely cheap, well educated, english speaking working force in close proximity to sound transport infrastructure and corporation tax rate of 12.5%, were the pull factors for MNC's in the geo-economic climate of the time.

This cupled with reducing predisposition towards Neo-Colonialist trade patterns, resulted in the attraction of a huge amount of foreign investment (Not, as you would have us belive, handouts from the EU). This Investment has largely come from North America, hence why we are seeing the effects of collateralised debt obligations and bridged loans in the sub-prime-meltdown-credit-conscious American markets, absolutely drilling the iseq since June 10th.

Matilda600 wrote:

This would be especially helpful in the UK (after all, any Irish student who can get a place at a good UK uni is bound to take it). Remember, the Irish unis are pretty far down the league tables.

This message is written from a moral point of view not disappointment (my Irish application was an add on - I already have a place at a UK uni). I am just very annoyed by the arrogance.

This is essentially an unfounded, incendiary, vignette of your verismiliitude.

I do find it quite hard to conceive how you believe this statement to objective. I highly doubt your Irish application was an add-on at all. Surely you would have applied to a university with greater International acclaim before UCD. While the NUI constituent university in Dublin is largely considered on a par with all other med. schools in Ireland. RCSI and Trinity are International brand names, and as such are generally more appealing to international students.


Personally I have experienced both education systems- the English and the Irish. I am highly thankful that I received and Irish Leaving certificate in 9 subjects as it has already served me as a very broad educational platform. A platform, that I am sure, has afforded me the tact and dignity to comport myself in relation to a foreign application system and all those who utilise it, without a shameful display of childishness.

While this recondite abstraction may now be alien to you, DO,
for the benefit of us all, think before you post again.

Malmedicine

panda100 wrote:

For his a-levels my brother(whose now a doctor) did biology,chemistry and physics
The majority of people getting into medicnce in Ireland took home ec,french,woodwork,geography or whatever the latest easy point subjects are.....its not the quantity of subjects you study for leaving/alevls that matters,its quality.

1 the majority of people getting in to do medicine in Ireland aren't from Ireland.
2. Easy points subjects no such thing IMO not when you have to do 7 subjects.
3. To do medicine in Ireland as a student you must take at least 1 science subject often 2. Its a prerequsite for some colleges to have 2 sciences. 3 languages Irish, English and another foreign language. Plus then 2 other subjects.
4. To do medicine you need roughly 570/600 points i.e practical perfection in 6 subjects and the time it takes to learn these. Not just in 3 subjects. I also find its impossible to equate a langauge such as Irish or french to a subject such as geography. Student A might be good at 1 not the other, Student B vice versa and Student C good at both.
5. Difference between A2 and A1 in Leaving cert is what destroys students hopes of doing medicine.
6. To the OP. What are you on about. 1 science subject is needed to do medicine in UCD regardless of A-Level or Leaving Cert and that's for the 6 year course. For the 5 year its a minimum of 2 plus either 590 or 600 points. As an aside Chemistry is far more important than the other two and those without struggle with it.

OP UCD racist maybe but its only against Irish students.

I do not agree with the OP in any way but the sheer ignorance about A Levels on this forum is amazing. I went to Trinity and the whole time heard people who had done the LC going on about how A Levels were soo easy. Utter rubbish. People are overlooking the fact that A-Levels are more in depth than LC subjects. Just how much more in depth is up for debate, but I've seen the language (French, German, Spanish) exam papers, having tutored LC students during my time in Dublin, and they were a lot easier than the stuff I was doing at A-Level.

Also, people seem to forget that we have GCSE exams two years before the A-Levels, which cover over TEN subjects. These are definitely not equivalent to the Junior Cert, I have heard people educated both in the republic and the north (there were many people who had moved from the republic at my school in Tyrone) say they are somewhere between the JC and the LC in difficulty. Some people in my class thought GCSEs were almost as difficult as the Leaving. I had to do 3 sciences, 2 languages, English, maths and my chosen subjects - more than what is required for the LC. I had to do well in these before I even got to A-Levels.

As far as I understand, you pick what you want to count for points in the LC - not too different from choosing subjects you know you'll do well in for A-Levels? Also, you to get into Medicine, you MUST take 3 sciences, as far as I know. You would never get into a UK university for medicine with one science subject. There are many other points to make but these are the ones that come to mind.

2. Easy points subjects no such thing IMO not when you have to do 7 subjects.

Yes, there is such a thing. In A-Levels there are no 'easy points subjects', you have to do well in everything, and most people have 4 subjects. Like I said, we do 10 subjects (sometimes more) for GCSE so it's not like you can coast through secondary school only doing subjects that interest you. I had to pass all my GCSEs to even get onto the A-Level course.

3. To do medicine in Ireland as a student you must take at least 1 science subject often 2. Its a prerequsite for some colleges to have 2 sciences. 3 languages Irish, English and another foreign language. Plus then 2 other subjects.

To do medicine in England you usually need 3 sciences. Most people will have a GCSE in at least one foreign language, no reason to do an A-Level in one if you intend to be a doctor.

Mutant_Fruit

Amelia Dry Glob wrote:

Yes, there is such a thing. In A-Levels there are no 'easy points subjects', you have to do well in everything, and most people have 4 subjects. Like I said, we do 10 subjects (sometimes more) for GCSE so it's not like you can coast through secondary school only doing subjects that interest you. I had to pass all my GCSEs to even get onto the A-Level course.

And for my junior cert i also sat 10 subjects. Some students sit more. Big whoop. I fail to see the difference

Whilest the A-levels are inarguably more in-depth, the prevalent opinion is that they do not cover 50% more material than the equivalent course in ireland. In fact, some colleges have stated quite publicly that they will refuse to accept A-Levels as an acceptable measure of a students worth because they are too 'dumbed down'.

This makes for some interesting reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-levels#Criticisms_and_Reform

You may notice the lack of a similar section on the irish Leaving Cert. It makes you wonder if, just maybe, the LC is actually a better test than the A-Levels...


EDIT: "On June 8th, 2004 it was decided that a Leaving Certificate (higher) subject will be worth two-thirds of an A-level (UK)." Interesting stuff.

themole

Amelia Dry Glob wrote:

As far as I understand, you pick what you want to count for points in the LC - not too different from choosing subjects you know you'll do well in for A-Levels?

Just to inform you for the leaving you must do maths, english, irish and a foreign language if you intend going to a university.

That leaves 3 subjects to choose. One of which should be a science subject to keep your options open.

So, now you have 7 subjects, which is the minimum . 6 of which count for points. Its possible to do more that 7 subjects if you like.

What i don't like is the over reliance on language in the LC, 3 languages, boo. I'm crap at languages

themole

Amelia Dry Glob wrote:

I had to pass all my GCSEs to even get onto the A-Level course.

We also have to pass our junior cert before continuing to do the leaving cert.