If I could give some advice.....

Randomness

hey everyone, i didnt even know this leaving cert thread existed when i was doing the l.c last year but i think it's a great way to get some advice.

here is what i think about the whole thing anyway....maybe it will be helpful to someone.

firstly: RELAX, its 100% not as bad as it's made out to be, once you get to the exams your there, you do them and its over, next thing your out celebrating with all your friends.

secondly: YOU WILL DO BETTER THAN YOU THINK, no joking, everyone i know did way better than they thought they would

thirdly: ASK FOR HELP, never be afraid to ask your friends/older siblings/parents/relations etc for help. always ask the "STUPID" questions in class, agh i loved asking questions!!

ok im not gonna keep going with numbers!!

HAVE A LAUGH your leaving cert year should be the best year of school, i had so much fun, get involved in stuff, volunteer and have some fun, cos next thing you know it will be over!!

USE THE MOCKS FOR TIME/EXPERIENCE ETC who cares what results you get, the mocks should be used for time management and as a way to make sure you don't freak out

EAT FOOD, DRINK WATER im a big fan of food etc so don't forget to eat! no amount of shakepeare or statistics should be a subsitute for good grub!

DON'T OVER DO IT WITH THE STUDY if you don't have time to watch prison break, desperate housewives and grey's anatomy then you are STUDYING TOO MUCH

READ NEWSPAPERS it actually true, they are great because so many random articles pop up about things you are covering in 90% of your courses

SLEEP/ EXERCISE they are so important, 8 hours sleep and a 30 minute exercise every day during the week, weekends.......well that's just not gonna happen at the weekend but at least you did it during the week!!

BE ORGANISED i know organisation doesnt come easy to some people but you will save SO MUCH time/effort/energy etc if you get more organised

finally be enthusiastic/interested in what your doing and mostly importantly have fun!

there is so much more i could say so if people have any questions just post them here............

:|

Good advice

artanevilla

Good advice, but much easier said than done, especially the relax bit.

I dont agree with.. basically all of your points.

Especially the one about tv and study.

Would you rather watch "greys anatomy/prison break" or get into college?
Its your decision. Those few hours a day DO make a difference.

You can never do too much study. Its not even one full year of major studying.. like. Its not going to kill you.

It IS a big deal. You are dependent on these exams if you want to get into College. How is that not a big deal?!!!

"You'll do better then you think" .. WTF! BAD BAD BAD ADVICE!!!
I personally dont want to work in tesco for the rest of my life.

europerson

Deleted User wrote: »

I dont agree with.. basically all of your points.

Especially the one about tv and study.

Would you rather watch "greys anatomy/prison break" or get into college?
Its your decision. Those few hours a day DO make a difference.

You can never do too much study. Its not even one full year of major studying.. like. Its not going to kill you.

It IS a big deal. You are dependent on these exams if you want to get into College. How is that not a big deal?!!!

"You'll do better then you think" .. WTF! BAD BAD BAD ADVICE!!!
I personally dont want to work in tesco for the rest of my life.

Well, at least the OP won't have suffered stress and exhaustion.

Randomness

Deleted User wrote: »

I dont agree with.. basically all of your points.

Especially the one about tv and study.

Would you rather watch "greys anatomy/prison break" or get into college?
Its your decision. Those few hours a day DO make a difference.

You can never do too much study. Its not even one full year of major studying.. like. Its not going to kill you.

It IS a big deal. You are dependent on these exams if you want to get into College. How is that not a big deal?!!!

"You'll do better then you think" .. WTF! BAD BAD BAD ADVICE!!!
I personally dont want to work in tesco for the rest of my life.

firstly i think you should learn how to quote because it comes in handy in exams!

to answer your questions, i DID watch greys anatomy/prison break/des. housewives AND got into college, there was no choice of which i'd rather do!

my point about watching those or any programmes you may enjoy is that they are on at a time when your not going to be studying anyway and they give you a break and a laugh. the extra time people spend between 9:30-11 slaving over some stupid chapters are useless if you haven't taken a proper break.

you 100% can study TOO much, i've seen people do it. the key to success is to get smart about what you need to study, not what you think you need to or what EVERYONE else says their doing.
i never said study was going to kill you, in my opinion consistency will get you through.

yes of course you need the l.c to get into college but omg relax it is not the end of the world if you have to get to where you want to go by a different path. i know people who chose the high points courses and now don't like them, people who got there second or third and are lovin it, people who went for something different and are glad they didnt follow the "set" path to college.

I can't believe you don't think you will to better than you expect???? have a bit of faith in yourself will ya!

having a good/productive/funny/relaxed etc leavin cert year doesn't mean ya gonna work in tesco for the rest of your life (i don't know what you've got against tesco). it means you will do the best you can, your healthy , enjoying life and most importaantly having the best final year with all your friends together, through laughter, good days, harder days and to lend a hand.

in the end i was offering advice but i think you need to consider some of the points i made cos that's what got me and many others through!

have a nice day!:D

HungryJoey

Randomness wrote: »

firstly: RELAX, its 100% not as bad as it's made out to be, once you get to the exams your there, you do them and its over, next thing your out celebrating with all your friends.


thirdly: ASK FOR HELP, never be afraid to ask your friends/older siblings/parents/relations etc for help. always ask the "STUPID" questions in class, agh i loved asking questions!!

ok im not gonna keep going with numbers!!

HAVE A LAUGH your leaving cert year should be the best year of school, i had so much fun, get involved in stuff, volunteer and have some fun, cos next thing you know it will be over!!
e covering in 90% of your courses

BE ORGANISED i know organisation doesnt come easy to some people but you will save SO MUCH time/effort/energy etc if you get more organised

finally be enthusiastic/interested in what your doing and mostly importantly have fun!

there is so much more i could say so if people have any questions just post them here............

Just want to say I agree with these points I quoted. Especially when it comes to it being over so quick! I can still remember the day I began the LC back in 5th year. I couldn't beleive how quickly it was over. I just did my LC and It was the best time I ever had in school. I really liked secondary school and what I did in it. I can't stress how important I think it is to make the most of it while your there and enjoy it. Its a different ball game altogether when your in college (although college is great.. ).

Personally I don't believe in all this crazy amount of studying, parents making their children study radicilous hours, forced studying. I never had to be forced to study but nor did I kill my self. But then again I guess thats down to each individual person and their requirements and what they want to do after the LC. Remember to enjoy your self while also not loosing concentration on the LC.

Organisation is very important. I wish I could go back to 5th year and start again and keep more organised although, I'm not quite good at organising work and notes. I now understand when it comes to studying, how important it would have been.

Pay attention in classes, Stay focused because teachers are constantly giving you vital information that you will need for the leaving cert. Believe me, they are.

Hj

regob

artanevilla wrote: »

Good advice, but much easier said than done, especially the relax bit.

agreed

nc0987

Deleted User wrote: »

Would you rather watch "greys anatomy/prison break" or get into college?
Its your decision. Those few hours a day DO make a difference.

You can never do too much study. Its not even one full year of major studying.. like. Its not going to kill you.

It IS a big deal. You are dependent on these exams if you want to get into College. How is that not a big deal?!!!

"You'll do better then you think" .. WTF! BAD BAD BAD ADVICE!!!
I personally dont want to work in tesco for the rest of my life.

That is the worst attitude you can have to these exams!
My friend is trying to do everything all at once, be brilliant, etc. but all shes doing is burning herself out. She gets overtired, finds it difficult to sleep, worries about the LC every day! and is steadily driving herself crazy!
You really have to look at things objectively, after all that study in one night, you're tired, frustrated, bored! And reality is you wont remember half of it in a few months as you werent really in a good frame of mind to learn it.
You need set times, study for hour or half hour blocks with breaks (5-10 mins) inbetween and occassional 1 hr breaks. BALANCE IS EVERYTHING! And Relaxation is a major part of balance!

DONT BURN YOURSELF OUT BEFORE THE EXAMS HAVE EVEN STARTED!

HungryJoey

nc0987 wrote: »

That is the worst attitude you can have to these exams!
My friend is trying to do everything all at once, be brilliant, etc. but all shes doing is burning herself out. She gets overtired, finds it difficult to sleep, worries about the LC every day! and is steadily driving herself crazy!
You really have to look at things objectively, after all that study in one night, you're tired, frustrated, bored! And reality is you wont remember half of it in a few months as you werent really in a good frame of mind to learn it.
You need set times, study for hour or half hour blocks with breaks (5-10 mins) inbetween and occassional 1 hr breaks. BALANCE IS EVERYTHING! And Relaxation is a major part of balance!

DONT BURN YOURSELF OUT BEFORE THE EXAMS HAVE EVEN STARTED!

Agreed 100%.

It is the total wrong way to think, its natural. How are you meant to cope under such stress.

Hj

thed4king

Yep, good advice! Keep it coming!

Randomness

thed4king wrote: »

Yep, good advice! Keep it coming!

ok well here a few more things,

if you feel you have a mountain of stuff to climb, break in down into smaller sections. don't go by what you have to have done by christmas or mocks, think about what you can get done today.

before you sit down to work write a (realistic) list of what you want to have completed by the end. tick things off as you go. it could even be a simple as a) learn "x" definition b) draw "x" diagram.

the last thing on your list for the day should be, get organised for tomorrow. have i got homework done, books, even lunch sorted? i know it sounds like basic 1st year stuff but it will make a big difference.

realise how important it is to do your homework, a good attempt is better than nothing.

never ever leave a classroom not understanding something, whether that means asking the teacher or one of your friends.

don't write 8 page english essays because you think you have to, it's quality not quantity all the way. my essay was 4 pages in june.

the listening and oral are such importants chunks of marks, don't let them slip by. if your prepared you can control the whole conversation by linking from one topic to another. of course you'll be nervous but just go in there with a big smile on yor face and give it your best shot.

if your painting your toenails/tidying your room/sitting staring into space/ have a few minutes to spare, stick on a track from the listening cd. subconsciously it will go into your head.

always try and think of questions from different prespectives, put yourself in other people's shoes, thinking outside the box goes a long way.

DO NOT leave projects till the last minute, omg soooo many stressed out people because of them last year. they are well worth the effort cos of the high percentages going for them.

you don't have to write full answers for every past question in things like eng,geog,hist. just look at the ones you haven't done and write a few bullet point ideas etc.

however in things like maths,acc i really think you need to attempt as many questions as you can get your hands on,

ok i'll stop now but will have more in a while

ZorbaTehZ

Really good advice there from Randomness.

Nehpets

do whats needed and have fun!

alan_simon

I agree 100% with OP. Cuz im doing the english system (not long left now:D) ive had to do far more exams than my LC conterparts and to everyone doing their LC out there, DONT STRESS!!! it is a big deal, yh. But if u f**k up, heaven forbid, its not the end of the world. you can always re-sit.

But to make sure u dont have to resit, just (as the OP said) become organised. Theres no point sitting down and trying to study for 6-7 hours at a time (as some ppl i know do). Rather, do a couple of hours every day. And remember to vary ur subjects. Do an hour math and an hour history. Take good notes (whatever u do, dont just write page after page of unbroken text. use colours, draw stupid things in the margin, make crappy jokes in them, WHATEVER HELPS U!!) and read over them when uve got the chance. Then remake them. U'll remember 20% of what ur writing, each time u write it, so u should be continuously writing notes! Believe me, when u just read stuff, it won't stick. Ive tried it.

Best of luck to y'all!!

al

angeldelight

I do think the OP had some really really good advice. If you burn yourself out too early you're going to make a mess of the year and you really have nobody but yourself to blame. I worked consistently through 5th and 6th year, saw my then bf every weekend on Fri and Sat, had my fav tv programs that I enjoyed and am currently 6 months away from finishing my Pharmacy degree.

6th year was probably one of the best years of my life, got on so well with the teachers and other students as we were all in the same boat. Now yes of course things were stressful at times but not all the time.

I didn't sleep a wink the night before my English exam because I was silly and stayed up til far too late cramming then had all these random jumbled Macbeth quotes flying round in my head. By the second exam I'd realised I was an idiot and went to bed at 10pm having finished last minute revision at 9. And English was the only result I was disappointed in! Not saying it's a direct link but it definitely had an impact

manicmonoliths

Randomness you are completely right!

I did the LC last year and the best advice I could give to anyone, is not to overdo it! You have to work to your own ability.

One of the problems I had last year was concentrating at home, no matter what I couldn't do any work at home at all, because I'd see the TV or computer and just get drawn in completely, I'd even begin to find the wallpaper interesting, anything but study!

So I started going to my local library straight after school and working there, I started right around November, just going in doing my homework, practice some Maths questions and maybe reading a bit of Biology. I started off staying maybe an hour or two. Then I started slowly building up more and more time there, in April I was there until closing time each day. I started going on a Saturday too and staying maybe about 5 hours or so. I never even attempted to study at home after discovering that library!

That was the most I ever did. I didn't do anything on Sundays, because I needed a break now and then.

I think I needed that focused environment to help me study and you need to build up your hours slowly. You can't just suddenly start doing 5 hours study a night tomorrow! No-one could take that. Start off slowly.

Also don't listen to idiots who say things like, 'Yeah I study all night when I get home and all weekend too', these guys are morons and the majority of the time they're full of it, most of the guys I knew like this got fairly good results but you couldn't call them phenomenal. Don't listen to people like that just work at your own pace.

Also I was one of those people who ignored all the study tips until the 'panic stage', I could never see the point in time tabling study, but I found that it really worked because it allows you to focus, I could have easily sat there for half an hour extra doing more Biology then realise that I'm completely burned out and I was just wasting time. I tried to study subjects I liked in between ones I didn't like, so I would study Biology for half an hour then Maths for half an hour, then English and so on, just so you don't lose patience studying stuff you hate!

Randonmess you're completely right about alot of things, I still had time for my favourite shows aswell, I never missed an episode of Prison Break, Lost, Greys Anatomy or Desparate Housewives all last year, I also found time to complete Final Fantasy XII, you've got to make time to relax aswell otherwise you'll just lose it completely.

I was pleasantly suprised by my LC results at the time, but looking back I think that going to the library and making just a few small sacrafices is enough to get what you want. Now I'm in Trinity studying BESS and I couldn't be happier!

Enjoy 6th year! In my opinion it was my best year in school. Make the most of it!

Mikeyt086

Deleted User wrote: »

I dont agree with.. basically all of your points.

Especially the one about tv and study.

Would you rather watch "greys anatomy/prison break" or get into college?
Its your decision. Those few hours a day DO make a difference.

You can never do too much study. Its not even one full year of major studying.. like. Its not going to kill you.

It IS a big deal. You are dependent on these exams if you want to get into College. How is that not a big deal?!!!

"You'll do better then you think" .. WTF! BAD BAD BAD ADVICE!!!
I personally dont want to work in tesco for the rest of my life.

Would you rather pop a vein due to stress?

If your anywhere near as high strung as your post, you need a bean-bag, a TV and tub of ice-cream. Now.

x-Shaz-x

Really good advice randomness!!!!:D;)

and Ava-Adore YOU REALLY NEED 2 RELAX you dont be SO... stressed bout the LC

annie19

but what if every1 is studyin Vhard and ur not? then surley every1 else's ans will be of much higher standard

cocoa

annie19 wrote: »

but what if every1 is studyin Vhard and ur not? then surley every1 else's ans will be of much higher standard

no. Their pissed off -ed -ness will be of a much higher magnitude when you get a higher grade through working smarter, not harder.

j/k...

Comparing your own work to everyone else's is foolish to be honest, unless you know someone of very very similar level to you. Some people are smarter than others, no other way to put it. I breezed through the LC while others worked their asses off and I got more points than most of 'em.

You, and only you know, how much you want to get and how much you have to do to get it. Don't worry about how much work others are doing, in fact, stop f*cking measuring how much work anyone, including you, is doing. Keep an eye on your marks in homework and sample questions and keep that as your measure of how well you're doing, not how many hours you or anyone else puts in.

Overheal

Deleted User wrote: »

I dont agree with.. basically all of your points.

Especially the one about tv and study.

Would you rather watch "greys anatomy/prison break" or get into college?
Its your decision. Those few hours a day DO make a difference.

You can never do too much study. Its not even one full year of major studying.. like. Its not going to kill you.

It IS a big deal. You are dependent on these exams if you want to get into College. How is that not a big deal?!!!

"You'll do better then you think" .. WTF! BAD BAD BAD ADVICE!!!
I personally dont want to work in tesco for the rest of my life.

Shall we get into the concept of endorphine (sp?) secretion, or will I let you get back to your biology book?

Putting yourself into a constant state of dread: very, very bad. Seriously, you need a few hours daily to unwind and relax and have fun - it keeps your brain functioning properly!

As for doing better than you thought - yeah, not always true.

Let me knock you off your feet right here bud: "Its just one year..." that gets you access to 4 MORE YEARS of the exact same thing.

Find out how to make study and fun coexist peacefully or else it will come back to haunt you for the next 4 years. Don't believe me? Ask your college buddies.