Heading for a dead end.

LegacyUser

Basically the LC is in 3 months and I'm f'ed. I've never studied in my whole life, I just can't, education is not for me. I'm very intelligent but I just can't do any work in school. This wouldn't be so much of a problem only I've been attending a fee paying school this year. The total cost of the school including expenses with travel etc is around 8g's. I'm doing worse here than in my old school, but if I'd stayed in my old school I wouldn't be bothered about doing a poor LC. The money has been paid by my parents, who have made sacrifices for me to go here. I'm in a rut now, don't want to go to college at all. It's all getting me very down.

Victor

Then talk to people - your parents, guidance counsellor, teachers.

There is no certainty that you have failed. Some assistance and hard work could amke all the difference between nothing and something or between something and something better.

Lets face it you are a teenage who was able to write a post without resorting to txt spk, only two abbreviations and no material grammar mistakes!

Overheal

Victor wrote: »

Lets face it you are a teenager who was able to write a post without resorting to txt spk, only two abbreviations and no material grammar mistakes!

+1.

RedXIV

you remind me of me! i was never able to study (still can't really) in school, used to get by on general knowlege and bulls**t. Was waiting for something to scare me into studing but nothing did. i failed 4 of my mocks and nothing. but i went on to get an ok LC (420) so there's hope yet! If your like me, study is practically impossible and constantly putting you to sleep till the day before when serious cramming happens. just letting ya know, your not the first!

turbot

btw, check out:

http://www.examsuccesstips.com/

There are some simple exercises that may help you focus better.

Often people find studying in school difficult because they've habituated distraction. You can look up EFT or TFT techniques online and try them to change your feeling about study.

Good luck!

Krsnik87

I was in the same boat, parents spent lots of money on school and I just pissed about for 2 years. I only started studying a few weeks before the exams even then I wasn't doing much. It helped alot though and I managed to pass everything. With 3 months you shouldn't have a problem in doing well. Just get the finger out while you have the time, you'll regret it otherwise...

Worst case scenario is you do a PLC course in whatever subject you like. I did one and they are great. Going into an honours degree next year and I did **** in the LC.

Best of luck!

b3t4

Boy, do I remember the horror that was the leaving cert. I had the most horrendous two years leading up to it and still managed to get on ok in the thing. I also barely attended a full week in the entire two years leading up to it due to stress and other circumstances.

Take it from me you can and will do well in your LC. It is possible. Make a plan of attack for the study. Make it realistic as well. You aren't going to spend every minute of every day of your spare time studying. Put in time for sports, hobbies, watching telly, going to the cinema, going out with your mates etc

From reading your post, I can almost feel the amount of pressure you've put on yourself. Take it from me it's never worth it.

Oh and if/when you get to college is a whole lot different to being in school.

A

dr.bollocko

Dude many successful people have never gotten on well in school. Lots drop out before the LC. There is always work with your hands, trades to learn, and the opportunity to work right out of secondary school.
The LC is not the be all and end all it is made out to be. You can get very far in life without it. You sound like the sort that could be motivated by an alternative to this standard education.

fits

I know this is easier said than done, but drop the guilt.
Looking back at all the things you could and should have done really wont help and will only stress you out more. Guilt is the most pointless stress-inducing emotion and feeding it wont help you. Just let it go.

Take each day as it comes. If you manage to do a bit of study, reward yourself.... just even by saying to yourself, 'well done you'. If you didnt get anything done, just forget about it, and start afresh the next day.

The leaving cert may seem like a big deal now, but in the grand scheme of things, it really isnt, so just dont put so much pressure on yourself. Even if you dont do terribly well, there will be ways around it. And you still have loads of time to pull it out of the bag Best of luck!

Elessar

Really, the LC is not an important exam in the long run. If you dont want to go to college, don't. There is less pressure on you then to get good points.

Do your best, that's all you can do. That was my mindset and I was not nervous at all about the exams. I passed everything, which was the main thing, but I didn't care about points because my diploma course did not require them. So if you're not going to college, relax. Just do what you can do.

dudara

Concentrate on the Leaving Cert and get it out of the way. You may not want to go to college but you do need to get a LC under your belt. Once you have that, you can take some time out, talk to professional guidance people and figure out what you want to do in life.

kev_s88

i was the exact same mate.i failed 4 of mocks and went on to get 370 points although i did fail maths (have to repeat maths this summer).its not as big a deal as everyone makes it out to be.ive been working in a high paid job since the summer.the exams are not the most important thing in life and always remember that.

as a wise teacher of mine used to say, "we live in a country when even the most un-educated person can get a job, a home and keep food on their table.we will never go hungry"

Sleepy

OP, a secret your teachers will never tell you - the Leaving Cert isn't actually that hard. I know it's changed a bit since I did it in '98 but from what I hear one thing remains a fact: the Leaving Cert is little more than a memory test. For the vast majority of subjects you don't need to understand what you're dealing with (though it certainly helps), it's mainly a test of how much information you can cram in and regurgitate.

I know it can be hard to see the point in doing such a pointless exercise but in the long run it will make your life a hell of a lot easier if you can get the head down for the next three months and at least pass the thing. You may not want to go to college right now but that could change over the next few years (anyone here past school leaving age can tell you how much you'll change over the next 3/4 years) and even if you never go to college having that piece of paper will help you in virtually any other career path you choose whether that be becoming a lawyer, a doctor, a soldier, a cop, a plumber, plasterer, civil servant etc. etc. etc.

Three months is plenty of time to get yourself sorted. Instead of bemoaning the money your parents have spent on your education use it as motivation to not let it be wasted and, more importantly, USE it. Your teachers will be only to happy to help a student that actually asks them for it. Put yourself in their shoes - who'd be easier and more enjoyable to teach: the guy that asks you for help because they need it (regardless of how they've behaved in the past) or the guy who buries his head in the back of the classroom and daydreams/carves his name in the desk/whatever?

You can do this. All it takes is a few months of work.

whatsgoinon

as a wise man said to me only last night, "it's always better to have options". I know it's easier said than done, but do your best for the next 3 months, you can take all the time out you want after that to do whatever you want to do.
I remember doing the leaving 10 years ago, crying onto my dads shoulder, telling him I was sorry for being such a waster, he told me the points didn't matter, he'd love me no matter what. Got 460 at the end of it.

The LC puts an awful amount of pressure on young people, moreso than college exams imo.

stick with it, do your best, nobody will expect anymore from you.

good luck with it

all the stars

Well, try the leaving cert... if you dont do well there are many many options... even if you dont pass it you can still go do other stuff..

your teachers say if you dont do your leaving cert you wont get into college & all that .. rubbish.
I know a very close friend who left school after 3rd year, and sevral years later did a plc and is now doing a degree course in college.

There are many many ways to get into whatever it is you want to do. If you dont want to go to college, then chat your parents who wll be supportive and help you get where you wanna go. You are not alone, and take your time. Just chat your parents.

MIN2511

OP, this is me 6 years ago. I was confused, I hate studying but I am intelligent and i don't think exams are the best ways to test your knowledge and understanding.

Was at the institute; folks wanted me to study medicine I wanted to study engineering ended up in Computer Science.

My advice would be write the exams, see what happens next if you don’t get into college take the year out and go figure what you want to do with yourself. And try to pay your parents some money back but then you might do well (maybe not as expected) and then go on to college.
Only time would tell, just don’t give up yet

rain on

I'm poxy at studying and exams, didn't start studying for the LC till Easter of sixth year, but still managed to scrape 470 points and get into a college course I wanted and subsequently a masters (which had no exams, score). It's definitely not too late to start.

It's not the end of the world not to have your LC (mate of mine dropped out of school at 16 and later got into Trinity as a mature student) but it does keep more doors open to you if you do have it. It's okay not to want to go to college as well; too many people go into college courses that don't suit them just for the sake of being in college. There's nothing wrong with doing your Leaving and then working for a while till you figure out what you really want to do.

Mr. Incognito

Get off your arse and get studying instead of making excuses.

If you are very intelligent, prove it. Three months is loads of time.

all the stars

SetantaL wrote: »

Get off your arse and get studying instead of making excuses.

If you are very intelligent, prove it. Three months is loads of time.

dont go bein supportive or offer any type of understanding..

dumbyearbook

SetantaL wrote: »

Get off your arse and get studying instead of making excuses.

If you are very intelligent, prove it. Three months is loads of time.

+1

Tired of hearing of the guy with 'loads of brains who did nt do the leaving' if your intelligent the LC will be no bother to you and wont be you might be very intelligent but if you cannot study for the LC your not academic hence you'll bomb out if you go to college as you need to pass more exams and you cannot fluke them out of common sense like the junior cert.

Tip- write an essay for each topic and learn it off (you should know some of the content just from memory ie you'll know the headings and will just need to learn the extra bits) - write 90% of this when the questions come up on the paper and then adapt it to the question where possible the general difference between the A and B students is that the A show they can add a little of their own ideas and link subject topics together to show how they work and what they mean, this applies in LC Business Economics Geog and English in a way.

to get Cs all you need it to puke up an essay - this only takes average intelligence never mind someone who is very intelligent as you profess to be.

Your parents will expect you to go to college - you should have told them your not able for it/suited for the leaving cert prior to them spending 8 grand when they had to push to pay it. Maybe the leaving cert applied would suit you? If not then just suck it up and study for the (lots and lots) of time thats left. best of luck

Splinter

hi Mate, listen, i was the same, i didnt and still dont know how to study. failed my mocks (actually got kicked out of one for suspected cheating but thats a different kettle of fish) and the leaving cert came up and i got myself a female and that just screwed me up even more... got 230 points through luck... managed to get into a course in college (didnt know what it was when i started it) but i did it... got a degree out of it and never worked in the area since. listen, its not the end of the world talk to folks and your parents and see how things go

spinandscribble

i agree with dumbyearbook. oh i hate the ones who go around saying what success they could have had if they had been bothered.
tbh its 3 months of your life and nobody likes studying so dont even think of using that as an excuse. at the end of the day its hard graft and if you can do something even though you dont want to it shows character.
your parents forked out 8 grand and your excuse is you dont like study? get a hold of yourself its literally 3 months. do you know what course you want or do you have any interests that you could follow up?? your parents clearly spoke to you before sending you to a private grinds school did you tell them you planned to do nothing? no im sure you said you'd do your best and make them proud. im sure they only want to make sure you pass so why dont you at least try?
i had learning disabilites that went undiagnosed until this year at college in my final year. i still got a good leaving and am sitting pretty on a 1.1 without any help until now. everyones got problems but you cant let them hold you back. you need to find a way to cope and figure out your own method to learning. damn it i got so good at figuring out my own way to learn that i fooled everyone lol. maybe you dont like reading? mind maps my friend, mind map it to high heaven. im guessing at your grinds school you've got study tip classes i know i did. now pick yourself up and stop feeling bad for yourself. figure out what you want to do next year or what plc sounds fun and just pass.

estar

3 months is long enough to pass

perhaps Lc isnt for you. some of the most successful
people i know did a sh%te LC

so what.

the most important thing is to try and pass in the time you
have left.

that means talking to you teachers and explaining the situation
and asking for their help, possibly investing some money in
those crammer books, and learning them off which you should
be more than capable of doing

and swapping to pass in any subjects where that would be useful

this isnt a dead end, its just a detour.

the worst case scenario is that you have to repeat.

although if i were your parents and you had to repeat
you would be getting a proper job for a year afterwards
to repay the debt and learn the value of education
in the workplace before repeating. and learning why you
need either an average to good LC or a good trade.

which might be the best place for you. the workplace
for a year or a trade.

there are always options. but face the issue now before you
fail without having discussed it

Dudess

I agree with the people who say you have plenty of time left - you have, and that's part of your problem. Some people (most I'd say) find it so, SO difficult to get motivated when they've a lot of time on their hands. I'm an absolute prime example. I remember when all my masters assignments were handed in I had ten weeks to do my thesis - didn't actually start making a good effort til about a month to go, and I got on fine, was delighted with my mark.
Cramming is what I've always relied on - and it's always worked for me. When the pressure's on, I'll do the work. And that applies to everything in my life. I'm not lazy - if I was lazy I'd only make a half-arsed effort. I actually make a massive effort - I just do it late on and in a short space of time. But I do need that red-hot fork up the arse to get me cracking.
And like you I just couldn't get focused coming up to the leaving. However I did an Easter revision course in one of those tuition centres and found it hugely beneficial. Also, when I was in college I was crap for studying but I made an effort to attend the vast majority of lectures - just being in the class and paying attention meant a huge chunk of the work was already done. So bear that in mind while you're in your new school. The problem is, college lectures can be interesting but the leaving cert is so frigging boring. It really is the most tedious exam I've ever had to do. And like someone said, it's not that hard and it is just down to learning things off, but... Jesus, it's so painfully dull. Well it is 12 years since I did mine, but I haven't heard of any drastic overhauls since.

So you've 11 or 12 weeks left: even if you just did a little bit every day it would help. Look at old exam papers, see if a pattern emerges. What subjects are you doing? I know people who got an A1 in history simply by learning off a bunch of essays.
I used the cramming technique in my leaving and got 430 points - got into university to do an arts degree with several points to spare. Looking back I wish I'd done Film and Broadcasting in DIT but I didn't realise that at the time. If I had known that, I would have worked harder and got the 480 points or whatever it was. But I did a media postgrad anyway. The beauty of postgrads is that you may not have a clue what you want to do when you leave school but by the time you finish college you're far more likely to know. It's particularly hard to focus on the leaving when you don't have a specific career path in your head though. On the CAO I just put down arts in UCC and business studies in CIT - the colleges were close by and those were "good, broad" degrees (yes, I consulted the folks).
When I was in college I swore I'd do a bit every day - lol :rolleyes:. If you're not gonna study in school you're most definitely not going to study in college, considering all that college life entails. But there is a cramming culture - and it works. I rarely got less than a 2.1 in essays, and got plenty of firsts. Ultimately I was able to get on a masters course with limited places.

Also, the fact that the leaving is hyped up as "the decision that will affect the rest of your life", "the most important exam you'll ever do" and it's a STATE exam :eek: - what a load of arse. That sort of pressure is very unfair on people who aren't even adults yet and should be enjoying life. It's none of the above (well it is a state exam - big deal though). But such overplaying of it is causing LC students to feel like they have this MASSIVE obstacle ahead of them and it's all just too overwhelming for them which also affects their study. Understandably so.

So, between now and June 4th or 11th: just do a little bit of study every day, pay attention in whatever classes you've got left, as the exams get closer increase the bits you do everyday, when they're really close start cramming like you've never crammed before (I think you'll do it once the pressure's on), have faith in yourself - you say you have brains, and most of all... don't think of the leaving as the scary big deal you're told it is.

It doesn't take that much to get on a degree course so keep remembering that. If nothing interests you or it's too late for the CAO (although isn't there something you can fill out before some date in July?) look into PLC courses. There are lots of them and some really good, interesting ones. I also did a PLC course in media studies and I absolutely loved it.

If you're unsure what you want to do with your life, think about what interests you, what you're good at. These may seem like obvious things to do but often people don't even think about them, rather they think about what's the best paying job, the "coolest" course etc. My best subject was English and it didn't occur to me til several years later to get into journalism/media.
Edit: I've just seen you're not interested in college at all. Well in my opinion you should go - if only just for the experience. It's great fun and you would so regret not going, especially when you've brains. You say academia isn't for you but not all courses are academic. There are practical, hands-on courses.
Or else get a trade - great money eventually, but the only thing: you're missing out on the college experience. My advice would be do a PLC course anyway and take it from there.
Finally, I'd also like to echo what Victor said about your non textspeak-riddled first post. That is enough to give me hope for you!

The very best of luck with it anyway...

LegacyUser

If studying isn't for you but you have faith in your intelligence go and do a good apprenticeship like electrician and you'll be able to pay your parents back sooner anyway.

Miss Fluff

You have plenty of time to turn around. If you give a sh1t, get the finger out and start studying in earnest from Monday, you have ten weeks to give it socks and do well.