excited about college

JRooster

So now that the Leaving Cert is over and we are well into our summer, is anyone really excited about starting college. Personally, I cant wait
What are you most looking forward to?

DancingQueen:)

Yeah I'm definitely excited, loved most of secondary school but it was time to move on. Some friends have been going on about how different/brillant college is and I thought all of the Open Days I went to were great too so if it's anything like them i'll be over the moon : ) Don't know where i'm going yet but it'll sort itself out.

Chuchoter

Well I'm only going into fifth year, but my general approach to the next two years is get in get out and run to college as fast as my legs can take me!! I really don't like secondary school, there are too few people and I can't wait to be in an environment with like a couple thousand. Also I can spend all day learning about things I'm really interested in, not crap like Irish and English.

**Timbuk2**

Anybody else slightly nervous about staying away from home? I am! But I can't wait to college - the freedom, college life, and studying only something you like will all be excellent! I don't think any of us will sit exams as large, important and stressful as the LC in college!

DancingQueen:)

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Anybody else slightly nervous about staying away from home? I am!

A little, I don't know if i'll have to move out straight away so maybe that's why I'm so calm! Depends on what college I go to and I won't know that until the end of August so until then i'm not thinking about it :cool: After staying with friends in Spain though I know it'd be tough but worth it if it does happen.

unknown13

I am excited because I don't have to do subjects like maths I hated and I can do something I actually like and enjoy.

musical.x

dreading college hopefully will meet some new (nicer) people though so that might be cool

musical.x

Liveit

Im just wondering if its all drugs, sex and rock'n'roll? :pac:

Crow92

If you want it to be

Orlaladuck

I can't wait to move out of my home though, I get to spend like 2 weeks by myself though which I'm not looking forward too but I'll probably just explore for that week. It's nice to know I'm certain about everything except accommodation but it looks like it's going to be very,very expensive.

Most of all I can't wait to be with people with all the same interests and just get to draw all day!

LovexxLife

im lookin forward to meetin new people!
About movin out-i may be movin to sligo (depends in aug) and from from louth so a longggggg way! That be a bit scary but i tink after da first month or so i get used to living away!

Curlyhatescurls

I'm not excited. I will be moving to the other side of the country and leaving my boyfriend behind to do his leaving cert. I'm dreading it, I'm dreading not having enough money, and not knowing anyone and having to make new friends and live with strangers and maybe not even being able to understand the accent! I'm quite close with my family so it's going to be really hard and I don't know if I can be so far away from my boyfriend. I am trying not to think about college, it's daunting.

gaeilgegrinds1

Don't know how much I agree with the last statement. I found the LC tough cos I hated some of the subject. It'd take a right eejit to do a few subjects they hated in college, we all had one or two modules perhaps but nothing hectic! I thought college was far easier, like minded people for the msot part and subjects I loved. Just do a little work regularly...saw so many try to do it all in a week, now that's stressful!

Sophsxxx

I'm scared! I'm the only one of my friends hopefully leaving Galway so I will literally know nobody in Limerick! That thought scares me after growing up in a small town for 18 years.

Improbable

There seem to be quite a few misconceptions here. Firstly, you're not going to love everything you study in college. You're obviously going to be doing a degree in a subject which you like (if you get the points) but there will be core elements in it which will still bore you. For example, I just finished my Biochemistry degree in UCD and while I love the subject, some of the classes were just dreadful in their uselessness. And especially in first year, they'll be trying to ease you in so you'll get more of the broad experience in your general field. Every single person who did a science degree of any kind in UCD has to do 2 maths classes, "Introduction to Calculus" and "Matrices and Vectors". Its well easy for people who did higher maths for LC but utterly useless for the chemists and biologists because we never had any use for it and the maths and physics majors already had classes in addition to that which were advanced versions.

As for the exams, totally agree with Mr.S. You're done with secondary school, you're in college and the standard expected of you is quite high. Continuous assessment such as essays and the like help to relieve some of the stress of exams but it means that if you want to do more than just pass by the skin of your teeth, you have to be working your ass off the entire year.

Also keep in mind that there is no teacher there to force you or remind you to do your assignments. Its up to you and if you don't, its a big fat 0.

Hank Scorpio

A small word of warning!

Anyone thinking of going to college and getting smashed all year beware

It wont work out! Make sure you balance your social and study work properly.

I flunked first year miserably but luckily I turned it around to get my degree.

Good luck to ye all

WallyGUFC

I would LOVE to be leaving home but I'm staying in Galway doing Arts. Doss much?:p

ayumi

Improbable wrote: »

There seem to be quite a few misconceptions here. Firstly, you're not going to love everything you study in college. You're obviously going to be doing a degree in a subject which you like (if you get the points) but there will be core elements in it which will still bore you. For example, I just finished my Biochemistry degree in UCD and while I love the subject, some of the classes were just dreadful in their uselessness. And especially in first year, they'll be trying to ease you in so you'll get more of the broad experience in your general field. Every single person who did a science degree of any kind in UCD has to do 2 maths classes, "Introduction to Calculus" and "Matrices and Vectors". Its well easy for people who did higher maths for LC but utterly useless for the chemists and biologists because we never had any use for it and the maths and physics majors already had classes in addition to that which were advanced versions.

As for the exams, totally agree with Mr.S. You're done with secondary school, you're in college and the standard expected of you is quite high. Continuous assessment such as essays and the like help to relieve some of the stress of exams but it means that if you want to do more than just pass by the skin of your teeth, you have to be working your ass off the entire year.

Also keep in mind that there is no teacher there to force you or remind you to do your assignments. Its up to you and if you don't, its a big fat 0.

i totally agree with you.
this is what Im afraid of,exams and how will they be structured and the study for them.Also lectures and note taking.I always thought it would be diffcult to make new friends in big courses like science!
thats why im not looking forward to college

musical.x

Curlyhatescurls wrote: »

I'm not excited. I will be moving to the other side of the country and leaving my boyfriend behind to do his leaving cert. I'm dreading it, I'm dreading not having enough money, and not knowing anyone and having to make new friends and live with strangers and maybe not even being able to understand the accent! I'm quite close with my family so it's going to be really hard and I don't know if I can be so far away from my boyfriend. I am trying not to think about college, it's daunting.

where are you moving too? i wouldnt worry about accents tbh they'll make sense after a couple weeks.
oh and having to make new mates is going to be a big thing for pretty much everyone so your not alone.plus the people you going to live with will feel the same so they'll probably help you out

musical.x

WallyGUFC wrote: »

I would LOVE to be leaving home but I'm staying in Galway doing Arts. Doss much?:p

same here woo haha.what subjects you thinking of taking up?

Kersmash

I have to get the points/place first before I start thinking about college.

ayumi

Kersmash wrote: »

I have to get the points/place first before I start thinking about college.

yea soo true!

WallyGUFC

musical.x wrote: »

same here woo haha.what subjects you thinking of taking up?

Economics definitely anyway, thinging legal science, IT and really undecided on the 4th. You?:p

Improbable

ayumi wrote: »

i totally agree with you.
this is what Im afraid of,exams and how will they be structured and the study for them.Also lectures and note taking.I always thought it would be diffcult to make new friends in big courses like science!
thats why im not looking forward to college

I didnt mean to put you off, and don't get me wrong, college is a LOT of fun. Much more enjoyable than secondary school. But you do have to put in the work. Note taking isnt difficult, you get used to writing fast and using shorthand. And it also lets you focus on the important stuff. You probably wont need it for your first or second year, but what I did was bought a voice recorder and recorded the lectures (with the lecturers permission) so that I could go over them again in full and finish off any notes that I missed.

As for making friends, it's really not as difficult as you might think. Join societies and sports clubs, get talking to people before lectures and tutorials. There are usually plenty of events organised specifically to introduce you to new people at the beginning of the year and you all have one thing in common anyway, you're all new college students. Within about 2 weeks, I'd met some amazing people who went on to become amazing friends. By the end of the first month, you'll have more friends than you can shake a stick at.

leedsfan88

Sorry to all ye starry eyed kids, college is hard work. The exams are much harder than leaving cert stuff and projects are a serious pain, especially the ones where your in groups.

Also college live isn't that great, its expensive and if your moving for college, get ready to start living on a budget and say bye bye to all those luxuries that you experience at home with mommy and daddy...I said sorry

Leeg17

Mr.S wrote: »

Seriously:D?

Once you sit your first college exams, you'll quickly see that the lovely phrase "The leaving cert will be the hardest/toughest exams you'll ever do" is a complete lie;)

Not trying to scare you or anything, but they're hardly a doodle, and imo, more important then the leaving!

I agree with you there, they are more important, and can be more stressful. But I think that by the time most people go to college they've matured more, and are way better able to deal with the pressures of the exams, most of which are spread out. I had only 5 exams over 3 weeks. Plenty of time to cram study. (They were only 1st year ones btw).

First few days / week can be a bit akward if you're going alone (I went with a friend, different course though). Best bit of advice I can give is if you know someone going with you, don't just hang around with them for the first week while you settle in, in the first week most good friendships are formed

Enjoy college, it's awesome

**Timbuk2**

I can't see how college exams would be any more stressful than the leaving cert. Everything is spread out, and some of the mark comes from continuous assesment.

For the Leaving Certificate, I had 11 exams to study for (I'm counting Paper 1 and Paper 2s as separate exams, because let's face it - they are!) in addition to two tapeworks. A lot of these subjects I hate (I'm looking at you, Irish and French) so it is difficult to study for. College exams decide how quickly you advance through the course, and may decide if you have to repeat the whole year, but the Leaving Cert decides whether you get into the course you want. It's more important, in my eyes.

I'll probably be singing a different tune, though, once I start doing the college exams. But as I will be doing a course that I like, it will be much more manageable and enjoyable to study for the exams, so it shouldn't be as stressful.

Improbable

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

I can't see how college exams would be any more stressful than the leaving cert. Everything is spread out, and some of the mark comes from continuous assesment.

For the Leaving Certificate, I had 11 exams to study for (I'm counting Paper 1 and Paper 2s as separate exams, because let's face it - they are!) in addition to two tapeworks. A lot of these subjects I hate (I'm looking at you, Irish and French) so it is difficult to study for. College exams decide how quickly you advance through the course, and may decide if you have to repeat the whole year, but the Leaving Cert decides whether you get into the course you want. It's more important, in my eyes.

I'll probably be singing a different tune, though, once I start doing the college exams. But as I will be doing a course that I like, it will be much more manageable and enjoyable to study for the exams, so it shouldn't be as stressful.

College exams are more stressful because if you want to do well, you can't just rely on the material that you're given. For people looking for top marks, the lecture notes with the additional recommended reading is not gonna cut it. That will get you a pass and not much more. If you're looking for the high B's or any type of A, you're going to have to go and do research on your own, know the required, recommended and optional material cover to cover. In addition to having all the knowledge, college exams require you to understand the material, something which wasn't required for any of the LC exams I sat 4 years ago(all subjects at higher level including all the sciences and applied mathematics). Understanding involves a whole lot more than you might think and it's kind of difficult to explain. You have to be able to draw out ideas from the material that isn't explicitly expressed in the material or even asked for in the exam question but which you are required to provide in your answer all the same.

I don't know how it works for different colleges but in UCD, if you don't obtain a GPA of 2.48 or higher for third year, you don't get to go on to 4th year. You're chucked out with a lvl 7 qualification in whatever your general field was i.e. "science" as opposed to "biochemistry". Now it was a long time ago that I did the LC but if I'm not mistaken, you can take it more than once. Not so with us in third year. You got one chance and one chance only. The classes you take through the 4 years and the results you get can affect what choices are available to you further down the line.

musical.x

WallyGUFC wrote: »

Economics definitely anyway, thinging legal science, IT and really undecided on the 4th. You?:p

psychology and maybe spanish? i dont know tbh haha only going with it because i have no chance of getting the 530ish needed for the actual psychology course

musical.x

WallyGUFC

musical.x wrote: »

psychology and maybe spanish? i dont know tbh haha only going with it because i have no chance of getting the 530ish needed for the actual psychology course

musical.x

You're given two weeks anyway to go to the lectures and pick what ya like, I think! I was thinking maybe Irish too because it's piss but could be a waste of time. Worst thing to look forward to? Living at home for 1st year at least!:rolleyes:

musical.x

WallyGUFC wrote: »

You're given two weeks anyway to go to the lectures and pick what ya like, I think! I was thinking maybe Irish too because it's piss but could be a waste of time. Worst thing to look forward to? Living at home for 1st year at least!:rolleyes:

see i dont mind living at home!saves money :cool: hate the bus in though its like 7.30 in the morning so will be at the college at like 8-8.20 :rolleyes: not fun. yeh irish is boring...easy though haha.

musical .x