How many LC subects?

Laydee

I am thinking of going back to do the Leaving Cert.
Since it's probably fresh in your minds, how many subjects did you do?

pathway33

Most people do 7

Irish
English
Maths
1 Foreign Language
1 Business subject
1 Science subject
1 other favourite subject depending on timetabling.

Depends what you want your leaving cert for. If it's for points then do your best 6 making sure you cover matriculation requirements for college course entry.

If its for personal fulfilment, then 5 subjects would be considered to have 'passed the leaving' (even though there is no such thing really because everybody gets a certificate with grades)

Reilly616

I did 7.

gaeilgegrinds

I did 8, most seem to do 7. If it's for points make sure to choose carefully.

Laydee

I want it for points.
Is there any restrictions on me applying to CAO because I'm going back to study?
I'm assuming that you need Junior Cert science to do any Leaing Cert science subects?
Also, I was just on Wikipedia looking up CAO & it says that you apply for a course & they chose the college. Is that right?
Can I not chose the college that I want to attend?

djcervi

The CAO works on random selection i.e. you could get the minimum points needed for your course, but there's still an outside chance that if spaces are somewhat limited, and there is great demand over supply, that the CAO will choose people at random, and probably the people who did best and got the higher grades will be offered a place.

on CAO.ie you pay a small fee to apply to the different colleges. You put your no1 choice down of preference (which you most prefer) till 10 for level 8 (hons degree) courses; then there's another column for level 7/6 course (ord degree/ diploma). When the lc comes out in august CAO will give out the first round of offers from colleges. If you get your no1 choice then you cannot get your second choice. However if in the first round you get your no4... you are recommended to take it in case that's all you get. At the same time you are still within a chance of getting your no3,no2, no1 choice in the second round of offers after that.

Same As

6 is the minimum I think, that's what I did anyway. Probably better to do 7, the extra subject acts as a safety net just incase you were to make a mess of one of the exams!

pathway33

Laydee wrote: »

I want it for points.
Is there any restrictions on me applying to CAO because I'm going back to study?
I'm assuming that you need Junior Cert science to do any Leaing Cert science subects?
Also, I was just on Wikipedia looking up CAO & it says that you apply for a course & they chose the college. Is that right?
Can I not chose the college that I want to attend?

If you are applying through points you are entitled to apply for any course in the country just like the 50,000 thousand 2009 leaving cert students assuming you fulfil the minimum entry requirements for each individual course you put on your CAO

Are you over 23? If so you can apply for some courses through the mature student entry route where you do not need points.

You don't need junior cert science certificate to do leaving cert science subjects although the leaving cert books may assume a foundation at science junior cert level. Also if you are studying as an external student then you officially need to get your practical experiment book signed off by a teacher who supervised you doing the experiments. The department of education spot check 5% of experiment books and if yours isn't filled up they can stop you doing the exam. Having said this you could get away without doing the experiments and not getting inspected.

you choose the course AND the college

Websites you should look up: www.cao.ie , www.qualifax.ie , www.examinations.ie , www.education.ie

Laydee

Is this fee to apply all that you pay?
I am old enough to apply as a mature student but it would cost 6,000 p.a for 4 years
I won't have to pay this applying through CAO will I?
Do you apply for your CAO course before the results come out? What is you don't get enough points?

Same As

Had to do a bit of research on this before for somebody, this might be of help to you!

What is the C.A.O?

Based in Galway city, The Central Applications Office (C.A.O) is the administrative body that is entrusted with the handling of applications made by prospective Irish and E.U scholars for admission into first year undergraduate programs at Irish Higher Education institutions (H.E.I’s). The C.A.O is obliged to handle all applications in an unbiased, efficient and professional manner.
(*Students who have resided or continue to reside outside the European Union may be required to apply directly to the Institute at which they wish to study.)

The Application Process:

The entire application process takes approximately 10 months, with the applicants’ first correspondence from the C.A.O coming in November and their final communication received in August/September of the following year.

Each year, the C.A.O publishes a handbook containing the various courses/programs that are available to applicants at each of the many 3rd level institutes in the Republic of Ireland. All students who have registered to sit the Irish Leaving Certificate Examinations in that specific year will receive their own copy of the handbook from the C.A.O in November. This is the first correspondence that applicants will receive from the C.A.O. Copies of the handbook are also available to other applicants on request e.g. those who have sat the Leaving Certificate or other school leaving examinations in another country etc.
The handbook does not detail the content of each of the individual courses available. Therefore, applicants are advised to contact the Institute(s) that they hope to attend and obtain an undergraduate Prospectus from them for further information on their selected course(s). Applicants should do so prior to applying for the program via the C.A.O.

Prospective undergraduates can apply to the C.A.O in two ways:

1.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Written Application to the C.A.O,
2.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Online using the C.A.O online application service – www.cao.ie.

Although the C.A.O is a not-for-profit organisation, an administrative fee is charged in order to cover its costs. The current cost of both online & paper applications is €45, with a discounted rate of €35 for those who apply online before January 20th. The provisional closing date for applications is normally February 1st, with applications thereafter incurring a financial penalty.
Once an application has been made to the C.A.O, it is possible for the applicant to alter their choices until the 1st of July. There is no charge for changing your choices and it can be done by either filling out a change of mind form and returning it to the C.A.O by July 1st, or by logging on to your application on the C.A.O website, www.cao.ie.

The programs which applicants can apply for are divided into two sections:

1.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Level 8 Courses,
2.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Level 7/6 Courses.

The Level 8 section represents honours bachelor Degree programs. These programs are offered at all Universities and at a number of institutes of technology. The Level 7/6 section represents ordinary Degree programs and higher certificate courses. These courses are normally available at Institutes of Technology and other further education institutes.

The Application Process:

Applicants can apply for a maximum of 10 courses in both the Level 8 section and the Level 7/6 section (20 in total). Each applicant will be offered a place on the first program that they are eligible for from both sections. Therefore, applicants are strongly advised to put their choices in order of preference, i.e. applicants should put the program they would most like to do as their number one choice.

Each course is given its own code in the C.A.O handbook, which all applicants will have received in advance. When completing the application form, the applicant is required to put the specific course code(s) on their application form and not the name(s) of the course(s). For example, CK201 is the course code applicants should enter on their application form if they wish to apply for Commerce at UCC.

After these applications have been made, receiving an offer for a place on a program hinges upon the applicants’ fulfillment of two requirements:

1.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]The applicant must meet the minimum entry requirements for the program, as specified by the H.E.I,
2.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]The applicant must obtain at least the minimum leaving certificate points requirements as specified by the C.A.O.

Before an offer can be made to an applicant, the minimum entry requirements as specified by the H.E.I must have been achieved by the applicant, otherwise they will not be eligible for an offer. The H.E.I may specify that the applicant should have taken particular subjects for the leaving certificate AND achieve the specific grade or above in that subject(s).
Applicants must also meet the minimum leaving certificate points for their chosen program. Should the demand for places on a certain course surpass the number of available places on that course, an applicants’ order of merit will be compiled by the C.A.O. This consists of a list of all applicants for the specific program in order of their Leaving Certificate results.




The minimum points requirement for the program is then decided by the applicant(s) who obtained the lowest point score, for whom there was an available place(s) for on the program. However, should an applicant obtain the minimum points requirements for the program, they are not guaranteed an offer of a place on the program. It often occurs that a number of applicants obtain the minimum points requirement and there are not enough places remaining on the course to accommodate them all. In these circumstances, the remaining place(s) on the program are offered at random to a select number of the applicants by the C.A.O. This lottery like process called is random selection. Should this occur, an star (*) will be present alongside the points requirement to signify that not all applicants on this points score will be offered a place on the program. For example, CK201 – Commerce – 445*.

The Offers Process:

Should the applicant meet both requirements, an offer will then be issued to them following the release of the Leaving Certificate results in mid August.

The applicant will receive correspondence from the C.A.O, offering them a place on the first program from their choices that they fulfill the criteria for. Offers are issued by the C.A.O in 3 rounds. The majority of courses will be full after the 1st round of offers. However, it often occurs that those who receive an offer for a course in Round 1 may not accept it for various reasons. In the 2nd round, the offers that haven’t been accepted are re-offered to other applicants. This often results in the points requirements dropping in order to fill the program. Few offers are issued in the third round as most places will be have been filled at this stage.

Should the applicant accept an offer, they will receive confirmation from the C.A.O, who will then inform the H.E.I. The applicant should receive some correspondence from the H.E.I within the following two weeks.

If no offer is received by the applicant, they can apply again next year or perhaps re-sit their Leaving Certificate. Also, the C.A.O issue details in October of programs/courses that have vacant places remaining in them. In these circumstances, the applicant can contact the C.A.O if they are interested in any of the courses and apply for the vacant places.

All in all, the C.A.O is a very efficient service. Without it, applying to 3rd Level institutions would be a lot more stressful than it already is!

In conclusion, I would like to offer 5 tips on how to get through the C.A.O:

1.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Applicants should research their options prior to applying to the C.A.O. This can be done by attending open days at your chosen College/University and by obtaining Undergraduate Prospectuses.

2.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Be vigilant when writing/typing course codes on your C.A.O form. It is very easy to misread codes/or write them down incorrectly - Be sure to double check them.

3.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Don’t leave your application/change of mind to the last minute. It is beneficial to get your application in early as many people will leave it until the very end. You don’t want to run the risk of your application being lost due to a system failure or being lost in the post!

4.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]If you change your mind about which course you want to do, do not hesitate to change your choices. The last thing you want is to regret not changing your choices and waiting a whole year to eventually re-apply. Remember - it’s free to change until the 1st of July!

5.[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Finally, my biggest piece of advice – Put your choices in order of your preference! You don’t want to regret putting ‘X’ as your first choice when you would really have loved to have done ‘Y’. Do not let previous Leaving Cert points requirements dissuade you from putting a particular program/course as your number one choice.

pathway33

Laydee wrote: »

Is this fee to apply all that you pay?
I am old enough to apply as a mature student but it would cost 6,000 p.a for 4 years
I won't have to pay this applying through CAO will I?
Do you apply for your CAO course before the results come out? What is you don't get enough points?

the fee to apply to the CAO is all that you pay to the CAO. However you then have to pay the university as you say. If this would be your first undergraduate degree then depending on you financial income in the year before entry to college you may be entitled to a means tested grant. Your local county council will tell you about this.

You don't pay the 6,000 to the CAO (is that what you were asking?). You pay the college direct.

Yes you appply for CAO by january of the year you do the leaving cert (some restricted entry courses may be earlier but i think this is for overseas students...not sure). You can change your course choice up to 30 june. You will get your leaving cert results in august and your CAO results 5 days later. There are then 2nd round and 3rd round offers after that date.

If you don't get enough points for any of your 10 choices you either accept it or repeat. However as a mature student points shoudn't concern you unless you didn't get in through the mature entry route because there are limited places for mature students.

aine-maire

There's actually another thread in this forum 'how many higher level subjects are you doing', so check that out for some kind of indication.

I'm doing 8, but everyone else does 7 in my school..

Secoundrow

Im doin 9 would ya beleive about 30 in my school are though...

1 Math
2 English
3 Irish
4 French

5 Construction Studys (woodwork)
6 Engineering (metalwork)
7 Biology
8 Links Modules

9 Im doing Ag sceince outside school €20/week its pure easy
covered the entire course by april and only started in september.

Laydee

Right, see I thought that you didn't need to pay these 6,000 p.a fees if you had the points.
If that's the case I could just apply as a mature student & save myself 2 years that I would have spent doing the Leaving Cert.
I'll need to look into grants ect as if I didn't qualify for them I could just get a CU loan as a Mature student.

tootyflutty

You will need to pay either way.
But there are grants available for if you are mature student or not. The grants are available from your local V.E.C office of County Coucil offices, but the open date is not until mid July. This is the link to my V.E.C just so you can have a look at the criteria http://www.meathvec.ie/en/index.cfm/do/grants
There is allot of paper work involved so you might want to start filling the work now and gathering all the relevant information.
There are also a number of "return to learning" grants available from different organisations, so you might want to google that and research that before you apply to the colleges

pathway33

Laydee wrote: »

Right, see I thought that you didn't need to pay these 6,000 p.a fees if you had the points

if you had loads of points (close to 600?) you might get a scholorship...dunno

I think NUI Maynooth do a thing whereby every 1st year undergraduate who gets 500 points gets €1,000

gaeilgegrinds

What would you like to do?

mufc4lfe

7 subjects..............

xxcocochanelxx

i repeated my leaving cert this year and i have to say it was a year well spent-would really recommend repeating to everybody who will be let down in august... but as regards subjects, i did 6 this year english, irish, maths french, geography and biology- i studied chemistry the first time round but gave it up this year becoz it was so time consuming! id advise repeats to just study 6 subjects-forget about taking up new ones..the pressure is so much less and u will be able to focus on ur other subjects..

errlloyd

Did 8.

I don't do Irish, and don't have to do French

Ord

French
Maths

Higher

English
Religion (outside my school timetable, 30 a week since Christmas, looks like an A1)
Classical Studies
History
Physics
DCG


Incidentally, if I was repeating with core subjects already passed, I would drop them all. English is a whole new course, and the workload is more than the options, Maths is impossible, Irish is just annoying. The European Language is more a personal preference, but I am linguistically useless.

Option subjects tend to be easier.

Laydee

What would you like to do?

If I was to go as a mature student I would do counselling & psychotherapy.
I wanted to go back to do the leaving cert & study the science subjects as I have always wanted to do nursing.
Killester college do a foundation science course that I will do if I decide to go back & do the leaving cert.


If I could go back & shout at my 17 year old self to do the leaving, I would.

orangetictac

I did 9. Applied Maths and Economics as extra subjects.
I did pass Irish however.
So i didnt do anything for french physics or Irish.

So..it depends on subjects....you can only do a certain amount of french imo...whereas you can keep practicing maths(use mathsbank....its a good challenge) and applied maths.

English probably needs the most time of the subject i did. Accounting and Business dont need much but like maths and applied maths, you can keep practicing accounting

almostnever

Just the seven for me. English,Irish,maths,French,chemistry,physics and economics,all at higher.

OxfordComma

Eight for me: English, Irish, Maths, French, Business, History, Chemistry and Music (outside school...)


In general, avoid History if at all possible