Don't need points for my course..

LegacyUser

(6th year student speaking)


After the LC, I want to do a PLC. It's not points based, and I will have an interview soon.

There's alot of pressure, with the LC in a few months. What should I do, with regards to study etc.? Teachers are stressing everyone out with horror stories about bad results and no course entries.

My career guidance teacher said I don't need to be stressed; I should just work enough to satisfy myself and once I know I have the course, the stress is gone.

I know I want to do this course too, it's something I already love doing.


Any help? Should I study like mad? Take it easy?

It's confusing me..

kawaii

You should still work and do your best - keep your options open in case you don't succeed in your interview or at some point want to change course. They may seem unlikely now but you never know where you'll be in 3 or 4 years time.

Good luck!

muboop1

Honestly, not working as hard as you can could be a big mistake.

Firstly, you have no guarantee you will pass the interview (although i wish you the best of luck), so points really are the back up to get you into your second choice.

Secondly, although you love this now... who knows what you will love in the future! I wanted a particular job for years and last minute changed my mind. Thank god i had the points for it.

Thirdly, for some unknown reason when applying for jobs they can ask you your points... I'm graduating from a 4 year degree this year. And subsequently applying for jobs. My prospective employers still ask what points I received in the Leaving Cert. Now they aren't important compared to my degree. But still they ask the question for a reason.

Basically, its like 3 months left, then it's done. Why would you not work your hardest to try open as many doors for yourself as possible? You might regret it some day if you don't.

LegacyUser

Basically I agree with what others have said

Just try your best, op! Give it your best shot regarding study and what have you. Theres only a few months left now and then you're free. You'll have the whole summer to relax.

In a few years time you may look back and regret not putting the most into the next 3 months, which in comparison to the rest of your life is miniscule amount of time.


Best of luck!

tenchi-fan

It's generally expected for you to put your LC on your CV, at least when you're applying for your first few jobs.

My last job had a points requirement.... when I started it went by grades (at least 3 or 4 higher level C's) but they changed it to a 275 points requirement.

It was the kind of job that most people who worked in it came from various backgrounds and probably did not think they would end up working there... so a good leaving cert can come in handy sometimes.

minidazzler

Study away, but don't kill yourself with it!! Time is the only commodity we can't get back! So work hard, just for yourself more than anything if you want to.

You might find in a few years you want to do something else and need the points so do your best...even if just to show off!

I'd just aim to do as well as possible. You don't know what the future will bring, and a good LC will never do you any harm. A bad one could close doors for you.

AvaKinder

Hi OP,
I was in just the same position as you are, only in 2004! Because I didn't need any points, I decided I would be happy just to pass the LC. And I did, but only just. I found myself really disapointed to be honest, and although I did get into the PLC course I wanted I ended up hating the course itself. I then did another PLC course, and found myself graduating that but deciding I didn't want to work in that area either. So I was forced to wait until this year until I could apply to place as a mature student. In the mean time I spent two years paying 3300 to do the DCU/Oscail degree course as I now have my heart set on a degree.

My advice would be not to stress yourself, but to put in a decent amount of marks, maybe aim for a similar amount of points to a friends? But I strongly urge you to try and get a decent number of points because no matter how set your heart is on the PLC, you have no idea how you'll feel in six months let alone in the next five years.

Firetrap

The one thing that I've learned in life is that you can assume nothing. You might think you've got things sorted. That all you need to do is pass the interview, scrape a leaving cert and then you sail into the sunset. If you do go this route, you're limiting your options and selling yourself short.

As has been pointed out here, who's to say you won't realise you hate your course and it's not for you? Alternatively, you might find that you can't get a job in your chosen field so you might have to change tack. What if you decide a couple of years down the line that you want to train in something else that has higher course requirements?

Another thing to bear in mind is that if you apply for jobs, you could well be asked for your leaving cert results. You'd be surprised how long down the road some employers will still be wanting to know what grades you got. They're not going to know/care why you've got a mediocre LC. I'm not an HR person so I can't say if your grades could come against you.

Bottom line is, I think you should put in some effort and get a Leaving Cert that you won't be ashamed of.

Jordan Berbatov

The L.C aint the end of the world, do whatever you feel up to, I done shag all study, got 355, needed 355, happy days! worst thing that can happen is you have to repeat.


Another alternative is to do what my friend done, not do a tap of study and instead read The Secret! Done the job for him.

LegacyUser

Like others have said I would say work hard its only three months more and remember working hard does not cause the stress its worrying about getting what you want. Also you never know when the extra points may come in handy, what if you dcide to study your area of interest further you may find you need points then. As someone else said don't take it for granted that you will get the course even though it only requires an interview. I am sure they will require a basic standard in the LC and consider the fact others will be applying for the course and may have a good LC and it may become a factor in choosing between candidates.
An example of needing the points later, my sister wanted to go back as a mature student (about 15 years after LC) to do primary teaching but some grades were just a little to low in one subject and she would have had to do it again before they would accept her. She decided not to pursue it in the end but it is an example of what the extra points would have brought her.

PhysiologyRocks

Do your best.

I know it's a cliche, but if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.

As others have said, you never know what's down the road.

Even if you never need the points, you probably don't want to look back on your life and think "I could have done better."

Best of luck. Leaving Cert will all be over soon!:)

ztoical

I had the same situation running up to my LC....PLC course I was doing was portfolio based for entry so all I really needed was to pass but I still made the effort for the LC. I ended up doing most of my study away from everyone else as I did find the teachers stressing people out far more then needed but I still pushed myself to do well. While you may not need good LC results at this stage you may need them further down the line. I ended up doing another college course over seas after my PLC course and they converted my LC results [just the grades not the points] to work out a grade point average as most education system recognize LC results while the PLC course grades weren't. I was glad I'd made the effort and got decent enough results and not just gone for the pass.

ogriofa

Hi,
you sound like you're in a good position and got things worked out, fair play!!
Sounds like you've got your head screwed on.

You only do this set of exams once, do yourself justice. If you aim low you'll get lower- if you follow that! And a very low score will bum you out.
Also, if you have a subject that you kinda like (don't laugh) try to do really well at that. Braging rights
Good luck chief!

Dubs

Coming from someone whos repeating the leaving cert this year, its not the end of the world if you dont get your course. Obviously it would be great for you to put in the work and get it but even if you dont theres always other options.

In all honesty I'm quite glad that I did'nt get into my course last year and decided to repeat as I didnt do the work last year and I'v had this year to mature and get myself into studying on my own. Theres still just under 3 months left so my advice is to do what it took me an extra year to do and mature, get into the studying and in 3 months you'll have the whole summer to relax.

The exams themselves arent that bad either, just like doing summer or chistmas exams.

LegacyUser

Okay friends, thanks for the help:)

The main reason I'm worried about this really is the fact that I don't know how to study. Every exam since 5th year has been hard for me, due to me being unable.

What do I do? How long a night?

PhysiologyRocks

Don't fuss about hours.

Stay hydrated. Eat. Take regular breaks.

Make out notes.

Recite things.

Practise papers.

Put up post-its.

Repeat previous steps.

ztoical

Anonymoose OP wrote: »

Okay friends, thanks for the help:)

The main reason I'm worried about this really is the fact that I don't know how to study. Every exam since 5th year has been hard for me, due to me being unable.

What do I do? How long a night?

Set a time limit for yourself and stick to it. Do 2 to 3 hours a night [what ever suits you] but make sure you do that set time every night. Doing less then an hour a couple of nights or nothing at all and then trying to do 5 or 6 hours in another just messes everything up. Set an alarm and when it goes off, get up and walk away, even if your not finished. You'll find you'll be able to recall what you've studied better after a couple of weeks then trying to cram information in in massive study sessions.

Watched people in my year study till the wee hours [boarding school so was able to see people sit in their beds with torches at 2am] getting up at 6am to study before class, skipping all PE classes, lunch breaks, and after school activities to study more. Seriously no exam is worth that. You'll find as your not aiming for a set number of points you'll just aim to do your best in each subject rather then freaking and stressing out over points.

LegacyUser

hey OP,

I was the same last year, was doing the leaving then found out i got into my preferred course which was a PLC so didnt really study after that.
but when everyone else was in study i'd skim through the books,
personally i think you should still just look through the books even if youre not taking notes or whatever, it sorta stays in the brain.

and i got 310 in the leaving which i was over the moon about, i was expecting less than 200.

so do a bit of work, enough to pretend like youre doing stuff to the rents,
pass all your exams, and get into the course you love.

good luck