Honours Maths... Is it worth it?

DDC1990

In 1 word, NO!

I consider myself fairly alright at maths, i didn't need higher for the LC, but did it anyway.
Think I failed, worried about it every day since the test (which was a week ago).
Getting Drunk tonight soely for the purpose of forgetting F**king Maths.

Moral of the Story: Drop down, get an A1 and 60 points. Don't worry, be happy!

9wetfckx43j5rg

I got a b in my Junior Cert, did honours maths for the leaving, found it very difficult for the two years, and kept meaning to drop but never did. I can only hope I passed.

If you don't need it I would drop, I don't think it's worth the amount of work that you have to put in.

aine-maire

1fahy4 wrote: »

Yeah, I suppose... I don't know, I got an A1 in the mock and worked really hard all year but I don't think I did quite so well in the real thing.

Me too actually... Just hope that we're both pleasantly surprised come August...:)

CRoche09

I'd say no. If you got a C in the JC then im assuming thats your level of maths which would need improving. I got a B in the JC but I say i dropped to a c in the LC....The annoying thing is I had done a hell of a lot for it ....Really if you are going to get a C, then think points especially if you are going to do medicine. Concentrate on other subjects. Do another subject out of schoool something easy like economics or business (basically just learning of stuff) theres a minimal amount of understanding needed..ok a bit but not a lot.

ironclaw

wayhey wrote: »

I'm going for medicine next year (going into 6th year) and I want to know if I should stick with Honours maths.

They go hand in hand to be honest. You need to be able to think as a doctor and maths is the most logical subject out there. It comes up alot in exams and apptitude tests.

Stick with it. I was failing in TY and I'm pretty confident of at least a B1 now.

You also don't know how the HPAT is going to go. You need all the points you can get to be honest. And say, if it came to the wire, and it was choice for the last place, the honours maths canidate would get it. Assuming he/she had that as an extra honour over you.

Plus, you need as many honour subjects as you can get.

pathway33

ironclaw wrote: »

And say, if it came to the wire, and it was choice for the last place, the honours maths canidate would get it. Assuming he/she had that as an extra honour over you.

surely if it came to the wire and both candidates has say 750 points then its just random selection, lucky dip, pull out the rabbit or is it different for medicine?

pathway33

ironclaw wrote: »

They go hand in hand to be honest. You need to be able to think as a doctor and maths is the most logical subject out there.

I'm going for an operation next week. Do you think I should ask my surgeon if he has honours maths? What will I do if he says no? :eek: Jump off the operating table and run like hell? :eek:

TanG411

you should stick at it, but only if you truly love maths

I did higher level for the L.C because i simply loved the subject. I loved working out problems logically and using formulas to calculate answers. I only did a week of study for it and i expect to get a C at least :pac:

KnifeWRENCH

It's worth sticking at it if you enjoy it and feel that it would be beneficial to you in the future. Just bear in mind that HL Maths does require a lot of working at it and a lot of study if you want a good grade in it. If you find that you can balance Maths with your other HL subjects I would stick with it, but if starts eating away at your study time and your other subjects are suffering because of this, then dropping to OL may be required.

I think you should at least stick with HL until the pres. If your pre is a disaster, then you can drop down. As far as I know there are only a few things on the OL course not covered at HL and you should pick them up easily enough.

OxfordComma

aine-maire wrote: »

Me too actually... Just hope that we're both pleasantly surprised come August...:)

Yeah, hopefully! We both got A1's... We're so cool!:D:D:D... Ahem...

djcervi

All I can do is repeat what most people are saying.. If you like it and are willing to put in the time.. then do it!

Otherwise I wouldn't.. particularly if you do not did it.

Personally I got an A in jc hl maths and on the basis of that I thought it was worth doing LC HL, but there was a huge workload. It was probably the subject I was pretty worried about throughout the year. In the mocks I got a C so I thought why not continue with it. I think Maths went ok.. P1 was ok but it is my best paper. As regards P2 I'm quite dubious as to how I did. P2 was never a good one for me. I'm hoping I got the honour but I would love to get a B3.

In short if you do have the natural mathematical ability for maths then do it. Otherwise if you are not willing to work at it or are finding it difficult.. then don't do it. It's one of the subjects that can stress you out if you are not in a comfortable position within the subject.

pathway33

djcervi wrote: »

Otherwise I wouldn't.. particularly if you do not did it.

out of curiousity what were you trying to say here?

Jay P

djcervi wrote: »

Otherwise I wouldn't.. particularly if you do not did it.

Eh...wtf?!

errlloyd

Drop it mate, unless your doing physics and applied maths too

Jay P

errlloyd wrote: »

Drop it mate, unless your doing physics and applied maths too

Any reasons?

I really wouldn't agree with this btw. Certainly with this year's paper, it would be very possible to have done very well without honours maths, I think anyway. Learning off formuale doesn't require honours maths. As for Applied mats, again, not necessarily. I'd be one of the better people in my honours maths class, but I did applied maths until Christmas and had to drop out. The other guys doing applied maths in my maths class were pretty good at applied maths but were not as good at regular maths as me. Different strokes.

errlloyd

Hmm it was more from the point of view...

"if you are a mathsy kind of person, do honours maths"

Babbit

I did ordinary level maths for the leaving along with ordinary level Irish a couple of years ago. I say drop it if your not satisfied (Although this is obviously a moot point now, seeing as the leaving is over and all ) I'm an artsy type person, not mathematical. Depends on your brain type I guess. Work out which best suits your points plan - you should aim to maximise your points and kick out any of the dead weight which might drag you down, as I'd imagine having to study for higher maths may do to some people who are not naturally inclined for it.

Delta Kilo

I think it is a decision that YOU are going to have to make OP. Don't stress out about it yet. Things begin to fall into place as you progress through 6th year.

Another question: Why Medicine?

Tbh, I cant really figure out why everyone wants to be a doctor and do medicine. Your going to be spending the next year stressing out trying to get A1s all over the shop and fearing that you wont get a place. The HPAT is another hurdle that will cause more stress, especially because you wont know how well you did until after the exams.

Then your in for SEVEN years of possibly the most difficult college course in the country. Thats seven years of exams and trying to keep your QNH up! Easier said than done I think. After seven years you STILL AREN'T finished. Then you will be a junior doctor for another year... beeing beeped at all hours of the morning, doing 24hour shifts and under more stress!

And for what, I ask? So that you can have some nice house in a posh part of the country and be respected by "society". It seems everyone wants the status or title associated with being a doctor but have you ever thought about the daily realities of such a job? Examining an 82 year old's prostate, telling someone their illness is terminal, telling a young couple their new-born is seriously ill or has a rare condition meaning the child will never live a normal life. It is all part of it. Its not just about swanning around a hospital with a stethoscope dangling around your neck and a clipboard under your oxter, making yourself look busy, you know.

Look at those three doctors that were killed in the plane crash. Enjoy life and stop worrying!

But hey if you want it, I aint gonna stop you. Just don't go into 6th year with the attitude "oh God, study, study, study, where's my books, I need 6A1s!" You are in for a very tough year. the actual exams aren't all that bad but the year itself is pretty crap. Loads of stressful times... CAO, HPAT, Mocks, projects, orals. Just let it be... if you get into medicine, great, if you don't, great...your still in one piece now keep going. What's for you won't go by you. There is more than one way to get into medicine if you REALLY want it.

RELAX

CallMeDoctor

Delta Kilo wrote: »

I think it is a decision that YOU are going to have to make OP. Don't stress out about it yet. Things begin to fall into place as you progress through 6th year.

Another question: Why Medicine?

Tbh, I cant really figure out why everyone wants to be a doctor and do medicine. Your going to be spending the next year stressing out trying to get A1s all over the shop and fearing that you wont get a place. The HPAT is another hurdle that will cause more stress, especially because you wont know how well you did until after the exams.

Then your in for SEVEN years of possibly the most difficult college course in the country. Thats seven years of exams and trying to keep your QNH up! Easier said than done I think. After seven years you STILL AREN'T finished. Then you will be a junior doctor for another year... beeing beeped at all hours of the morning, doing 24hour shifts and under more stress!

And for what, I ask? So that you can have some nice house in a posh part of the country and be respected by "society". It seems everyone wants the status or title associated with being a doctor but have you ever thought about the daily realities of such a job? Examining an 82 year old's prostate, telling someone their illness is terminal, telling a young couple their new-born is seriously ill or has a rare condition meaning the child will never live a normal life. It is all part of it. Its not just about swanning around a hospital with a stethoscope dangling around your neck and a clipboard under your oxter, making yourself look busy, you know.

Hey me again. I find this comment very sad and I feel sorry for this person. Sure it's going to be difficult but if you have a dream you go for it and you give it your all. All top athletes say that the regret of never trying at all is far worse than the pain of trying your best and failing.
This sounds like someone who wanted to do medicine at a stage but didn't have the diligence or the belief in themselves so they reassurred themselves by only focusing on the negative aspects of the career.

I failed most of my subjects for the 5th year exams but when I set myself the goal of wanting to help people as a career I got to work. I studied and I got 510 in my mocks and I am delighted with my leaving cert.

So in short follow your heart and worry about logistics and years later.:cool:

Babbit

CallMeDoctor wrote: »

Hey me again. I find this comment very sad and I feel sorry for this person. Sure it's going to be difficult but if you have a dream you go for it and you give it your all. All top athletes say that the regret of never trying at all is far worse than the pain of trying your best and failing.
This sounds like someone who wanted to do medicine at a stage but didn't have the diligence or the belief in themselves so they reassurred themselves by only focusing on the negative aspects of the career.

I failed most of my subjects for the 5th year exams but when I set myself the goal of wanting to help people as a career I got to work. I studied and I got 510 in my mocks and I am delighted with my leaving cert.

So in short follow your heart and worry about logistics and years later.:cool:

To be honest thats a very unfair comment. The above poster was just pointing out that some people go for medicine because it is high points and a very respectable career, but don't really consider what the career itself is all about. Its important that people really consider what it means to be a doctor before applying to do the course.

djcervi

pathway33 wrote: »

out of curiousity what were you trying to say here?

Basically if you do not like hl maths and are not willing to put the time into it, then Don't bother.

yeah I don't know what the hell I was trying to say it. "did" was supposed to be do as in "Do Not Do it" I think.

Sorry for the confusion pathway33 :pac:

CallMeDoctor

Babbit wrote: »

To be honest thats a very unfair comment. The above poster was just pointing out that some people go for medicine because it is high points and a very respectable career, but don't really consider what the career itself is all about. Its important that people really consider what it means to be a doctor before applying to do the course.

Ya probably was a bit tbh but I was just pointing out the otherside aswell because you will never do anything in life if you only focus on the negatives

Babbit

CallMeDoctor wrote: »

Ya probably was a bit tbh but I was just pointing out the otherside aswell because you will never do anything in life if you only focus on the negatives

Would you rather people wandered about naivly? Ignore negatives at your peril!

Delta Kilo

CallMeDoctor wrote: »

This sounds like someone who wanted to do medicine at a stage but didn't have the diligence or the belief in themselves so they reassurred themselves by only focusing on the negative aspects of the career.


So in short follow your heart and worry about logistics and years later.:cool:

Nope I've never wanted to do medicine. Both my parents work in the Health Service and it is not all it is cracked up to be. In fact, I would hate it.

I agree, follow your heart, if it is what you want then go for it. But first ask yourself why you really want it? People think that doing medicine or similar high points courses reflect the type of person you are and how well you are doing in life, yet fail to see beyond the wages and status of such a job.

I was just trying to give the OP some advice. S/he is struggling with honours maths. People have pointed out that you need it that logical reasoning and medicine go hand in hand. Maybe then medicine isn't for her. She will be doing 6 higher level subjects of which she will need at least 5 A1s. I have done the leaving cert. I know the stress involved, especially if you need 5 A1s. It could all go sideways if what s/he studied for Irish history doesn't come up...or she freezes in an oral.

I am just trying to get the OP to relax and not to worry. Work hard but don't put yourself under huge pressure. The most important thing is that you come out of 6th year intact, not under stress and having panic attacks... then being 10 points short and having to face the prospect of repeating. Its not worth it unless you REALLY want it.

xOxSinéadxOx

Delta Kilo wrote: »

I think it is a decision that YOU are going to have to make OP. Don't stress out about it yet. Things begin to fall into place as you progress through 6th year.

Another question: Why Medicine?

Tbh, I cant really figure out why everyone wants to be a doctor and do medicine. Your going to be spending the next year stressing out trying to get A1s all over the shop and fearing that you wont get a place. The HPAT is another hurdle that will cause more stress, especially because you wont know how well you did until after the exams.

Then your in for SEVEN years of possibly the most difficult college course in the country. Thats seven years of exams and trying to keep your QNH up! Easier said than done I think. After seven years you STILL AREN'T finished. Then you will be a junior doctor for another year... beeing beeped at all hours of the morning, doing 24hour shifts and under more stress!

And for what, I ask? So that you can have some nice house in a posh part of the country and be respected by "society". It seems everyone wants the status or title associated with being a doctor but have you ever thought about the daily realities of such a job? Examining an 82 year old's prostate, telling someone their illness is terminal, telling a young couple their new-born is seriously ill or has a rare condition meaning the child will never live a normal life. It is all part of it. Its not just about swanning around a hospital with a stethoscope dangling around your neck and a clipboard under your oxter, making yourself look busy, you know.

Look at those three doctors that were killed in the plane crash. Enjoy life and stop worrying!

But hey if you want it, I aint gonna stop you. Just don't go into 6th year with the attitude "oh God, study, study, study, where's my books, I need 6A1s!" You are in for a very tough year. the actual exams aren't all that bad but the year itself is pretty crap. Loads of stressful times... CAO, HPAT, Mocks, projects, orals. Just let it be... if you get into medicine, great, if you don't, great...your still in one piece now keep going. What's for you won't go by you. There is more than one way to get into medicine if you REALLY want it.

RELAX

I think you're the one that needs to relax, clearly you have never watched scrubs.

Waaahhh

Don't believe for a second honours maths is a necessary prerequisite for doing medicine. If it was, it would be part of the entry requirements, and its not. Of course logical reasoning is important, but there are plenty of people with little or no logical reasoning ability who do just fine in honours maths- like other subjects on the Leaving Cert, it's more about rote learning than anything else. Matrices and De Moivre's Theorem don't count for much in an A & E, that's for sure!

To the OP's original question. I know a few pretty bright people who decided that the time and effort required by honours maths-and make no doubt about it, unless you're a maths genius, it does require lots of time and lots of effort- was affecting their performances in other subjects, and therefore dropped it. I know a few others who hung on to Honours out of pride. That is understandable, but will more than likely be very detrimental in the long run. If it's consuming too much of your time, drop it. Like I already said I doubt it matters jack in college whether you did honours maths or not.

As for making the decision to go into medicine, of course it should be considered carefully, but the same goes for any career. Of course with medicine we are talking about a much longer -and with fees coming back, more expensive - educational route, but if you feel medicine is right for you after careful consideration, go for it. Don't be scared off by those who talk it down, who want to do something completely different- it's their choice and one they're fully entitled to make.

P.S. Scrubs rocks, but please don't let this determine your career path!!!:D:D;)

ALincoln

wayhey wrote: »

I'm going for medicine next year (going into 6th year) and I want to know if I should stick with Honours maths. I got a C in the Junior and my LC teacher is god awful, I'll be getting grinds this summer if I am going to stick with it. I need to make my mind up next week though and I'm not sure.
I found 5th Year HL Maths tricky enough, but it was the time thing more than anything (I'm all honours and I was holding down a 3 nighter part time job which I hope to either drop or shorten for 6th Year). Anyway, what do you guys n gals think, seeing as you're all but done? Haha I doubt many'll actually come back to the Leaving Cert. forums but it's worth a shot...

Should I play the points game and drop down to pass? My other subjects are English, Irish, French, Geography, Chemistry and Biology. Should I get Maths grinds off this guy who's supposed to be good? Or go to Leeson St. on Saturdays and take up Geography with it (not so great teacher either). Opinions? I'm really confused on this one.

TBH, it's like this:

You don't need higher level maths for med.
You do need points for med.
Study what will get those points for you and forget irrelevant stuff, that's what I did.

SligoBrewer

Cutting your options by dropping Hons Maths is very foolish. A c3 in maths opens possibilities everywhere. Engineering and in some science courses for example.

Cutting your options by going all out for Med, a course which you could realise is full of delusions of grandeur, is rather silly. Maths is a very satisfying subject, very easy to study and people studying it are becoming few and far between.

lou91

Delta Kilo wrote: »

Look at those three doctors that were killed in the plane crash. Enjoy life and stop worrying!

What an incredibly stupid thing to say...

Kareir

xOxSinéadxOx wrote: »

I think you're the one that needs to relax, clearly you have never watched scrubs.

Haha, yeah, scrubs kinda made we want to be a Doctor, but it's really.. romantised, i guess. Supposedly it was voted the most accurate medical drama by doctors, though, so i dont know :P

_Kar