Physical Education in UL !!!!!

wiger toods

I have missed the deadline date to apply for the said course for 2011 as i discovered it too late:(, but i will apply for a place in 2012.
Now the hard bit is i have been warned tis a competitive course to get onto, so any info on what i can do for the next year and a bit to enchance my chances of earning a place on here would be great!
I would absolutely love to do it, Possibly give my right arm to do it!
Thanks in advance!

mascherano11

Hi Wiger... I am actually in exactly the same situation as yourself as I am applying for this course along with the PE dgrees in UCC and DCU but like yourself looking for what to do in the year in the meantime to better my chances at gaining entry.

wiger toods

mascherano11 wrote: »

Hi Wiger... I am actually in exactly the same situation as yourself as I am applying for this course along with the PE dgrees in UCC and DCU but like yourself looking for what to do in the year in the meantime to better my chances at gaining entry.

Ah mascherano! you did well against Madrid tonight! DAMN YOU!:mad:
Yeah, hopefully someone comes along and gives us a bit of info here.
Ive been onto the course leader at UL as well and i am waiting for a reply there too.
Dont have a clue as to what i can do to improve my chances, just badly want to get a place for 2012.
Would a Fetac level 5 Certificate in Sport and Recreation be a start, i wonder? Then move on from there?
Like yourself, id love to do it!

JCDUB

Ah jaysus, here I am having a convo about PE degrees with Wiger Toods and Mascherano, who'd have thought it eh??!:D:rolleyes::eek::o

I'd imagine that fetac level 5 course would be a very good grounding lads, and it'd be a valuable way to spend the year.

I also reckon getting involved in coaching/physio etc. in your local sports club (GAA, soccer, netball, hockey, rugby, basketball, whatever takes your interest) would be invaluable, and a great experience.

I'd also be looking at getting involved in sports camps this summer, there are literally hundreds of them going on every week.
It'd more than likely be on a voluntary basis but it'll look very good come application time next year, and you're out in the sunshine all summer!

Just my thoughts lads, but the same goes for anybody applying as a mature student, voluntary work in your chosen field is invaluable in giving you experience and looks great for an interview.

All the best:cool:

Lil' Smiler

I applied for the DCU course in Physical Education and Biology this year - I wasn't even shortlisted for an interview. This is despite having years of experience teaching & coaching, i'm a qualified gymnastics coach, have coached at numerous summer camps and coach 3/4 times per week. I was very involved in swimming when young. I love sport, I love science. I have several diplomas which I would have though would have helped me - Anatomy & Physiology, Sports Massage & Rehabilitation, Nutrition etc. Part of being a trained massage therapist is to teach people how to look after their bodies so there was more education experience.

I also had 2 absolutely shining recommendations from my college lecturer for Sports Injuries and my gymnastics boss. I didn't even get short listed for an interview and am gutted, absolutely gutted. I've emailed the chair of the department today to ask for some feedback so I'll let you know what she says if she gets back to me.

wiger toods

Lil' Smiler wrote: »

I applied for the DCU course in Physical Education and Biology this year - I wasn't even shortlisted for an interview. This is despite having years of experience teaching & coaching, i'm a qualified gymnastics coach, have coached at numerous summer camps and coach 3/4 times per week. I was very involved in swimming when young. I love sport, I love science. I have several diplomas which I would have though would have helped me - Anatomy & Physiology, Sports Massage & Rehabilitation, Nutrition etc. Part of being a trained massage therapist is to teach people how to look after their bodies so there was more education experience.

I also had 2 absolutely shining recommendations from my college lecturer for Sports Injuries and my gymnastics boss. I didn't even get short listed for an interview and am gutted, absolutely gutted. I've emailed the chair of the department today to ask for some feedback so I'll let you know what she says if she gets back to me.

WTF??? are you serious? there is something seriously wrong there then. what more do they want?
Im sorry to hear about it as well.
Here i was thinking i was a great man because i just signed up to a Fetac level 5 sport and recreation course, and have sorted out some under age coaching work with my local soccer club today, for starters anyway.:rolleyes:

mascherano11

Yeah I was thinking of taking a FETAC level 5 in Sport and Recreation myself as it is related to the course or maybe even an access course that is run by one of the Universities just to show how committed I am to returning to education. I am heavily involved in Sport and do a lot of coaching and have worked at summer camps so I was hoping that this stuff will stand to me... Did the head of the course get back to you yet Wiger?? are you going to apply for the 2 other PE degrees in UCC and DCU..?

wiger toods

mascherano11 wrote: »

Yeah I was thinking of taking a FETAC level 5 in Sport and Recreation myself as it is related to the course or maybe even an access course that is run by one of the Universities just to show how committed I am to returning to education. I am heavily involved in Sport and do a lot of coaching and have worked at summer camps so I was hoping that this stuff will stand to me... Did the head of the course get back to you yet Wiger?? are you going to apply for the 2 other PE degrees in UCC and DCU..?

Hi mascherano!
No, he didnt reply yet!:mad:
Yeah you should defo get one of those courses under your belt for a start anyway mascherano.
I didnt know UCC OR DCU ran it actually, il check them out though.
I had my sights firmly set on UL, but maybe shouldnt put all my eggs in one basket:pac:

mascherano11

Yeah you should definitely apply for all the degrees thats my plan anyway, and hopefully I will get into one of them but as you said PE is extremely competetive to gain entry to! have you done much coaching yourself or have much involvement in sport..?

wiger toods

mascherano11 wrote: »

Yeah you should definitely apply for all the degrees thats my plan anyway, and hopefully I will get into one of them but as you said PE is extremely competetive to gain entry to! have you done much coaching yourself or have much involvement in sport..?

Im big into my football alright, and the odd round of golf(im useless at that though:mad:) heading over to england the end of next month for a football trial so who knows, might not even be in ireland at the end of this year.
Having said that i think its wise to think about doing something in 'the real world' career wise. Wouldnt be smart to be relying on a football club to sort me out.
I did a small bit of underage coaching with my local soccer club, more assistant coaching really and that was only for two weeks, ages ago.
Il be doing that again now, hopefully for a bit longer this time!:D
What about yourself mascherano?

kob29

PE is probably one of the most competitive areas to get into of all the courses in the country. Dont forget that it is a VERY academic course and that you would be studying a second subject, so they have to take this into account too when selecting candidates for scarce places. They will most definitely take into account proven academic ability because there are plenty of 3hour written examinations to be passed.

UCC reserve about 2 places for FETAC Sport & Rec grads. You would need a minimum of 5 distinctions to even be considered and most likely 8.

Dont forget that with a FETAC award or as a mature student IT Tralee is also an option as the health and leisure course has a follow on path that can lead you to PE.

Lil' Smiler

Hi Guys,

So I got an email back from the chair of the department in DCU and I'm really disappointed. The registry told me that she would give me feedback on my application but she's told me she can't give individual feedback.

In DCU for Biology & PE there were 120 applicants and only 8 got interviews and only 4 got places. See the below response, see if it helps you. Unfortunately it doesn't help me and I'm just completely lost as to what I have to do.

Unfortunately I am not in a position to offer you individual feedback as as a matter of policy I had to return all application forms to Registry once short-listing was complete, Registry should be aware of this. I can inform you however that we had one hundred and twenty applicants for four mature places on our programme. Of these one hundred and twenty eight were short-listed for interview.

The criteria for mature application is that the candidate is over 23 years of age, there is no upper limit and indeed we routinely have applications from candidates from a wide range of ages. When considering mature applicants we are keen to look at what they have done in the intervening years, to see why we should consider them for the course. It is up to the applicant to make the case. I would often advise candidates to get some experience shadowing a PE teacher in second level schools, and perhaps assisting them in teaching some of their lessons if appropriate. They should also have a strong background in sport themselves and get as much experience working with young people of second level school age as possible, be it through coaching or in another fashion. In addition it is important that applicants would prepare themselves for the Biology element of the degree, if an applicant had weak, or no, leaving certificate Biology I would recommend that they up skill themselves in the area through a leaving certificate or pre university science course.
All information re. application as a mature student to courses at DCU is available at http://www.dcu.ie/registry/mature.shtml . <http://www.dcu.ie/registry/mature.shtml&gt;

I guess my only option is to do an access course and hope that it helps with the biology. I did LC bio, did very well and have diploma's in Anatomy & physiology which is = to the same amount as a second year nurse has. I'm really bummed, just feel lost now!

wiger toods

well this is what i heard back from UL!

A) Send in all relevant details that you deem appropriate and relevant in the context of the appliciation process.

Also attach any further quailifications or work experience that you may have achieved in the past. (coaching certs, etc.)

C) Try to get some experience in an educational context, ideally in a PE envoirment such as shadowing a PE teacher or simply observing them at work. (Fair enough, but how do you do that? just ask the school or something?)

D) All experience with an adolescent population is also quite relevant, even if it is outside the traditional envoirment. Eg. coaching, youth clubs.

Thats it folks!

mascherano11

Yeah Wiger I got the exact same reply from UL, sounds like it is going to be ultra competitive to get into even more now with the downturn in the economy. seems to be a massive ammount of applicants for just a few places according to the e-mail I got from them.

rebel girl 15

wiger toods wrote: »

well this is what i heard back from UL!

A) Send in all relevant details that you deem appropriate and relevant in the context of the appliciation process.

Also attach any further quailifications or work experience that you may have achieved in the past. (coaching certs, etc.)

C) Try to get some experience in an educational context, ideally in a PE envoirment such as shadowing a PE teacher or simply observing them at work. (Fair enough, but how do you do that? just ask the school or something?)

D) All experience with an adolescent population is also quite relevant, even if it is outside the traditional envoirment. Eg. coaching, youth clubs.

Thats it folks!

As for C, go and ask a school, especially if you have a contact in there. Call into the school and see, you could be told no, but try anyway. If you can't do that, then when you are coaching, make a file with lesson/coaching plans as well. Maybe try the primary school if you don't get a secondary school, especially if you have coaching qualifications. Go to the school and offer yourself as a coach, and you can put it down that you have been in a school at least.

Get involved in coaching, and try and gain certification. The UCC course takes in about 10 or 11 mature students at the moment. I got entry via the traditional route, but one of my friends is a mature student who got in. Just from the UCC side, there is an aptitude test plus an interview, my friend had a lot of GAA coaching under her belt and certs, and did the shadowing of a PE teacher because she had a contact, and got into the course first go. Its the most subscribed course in the college. Best thing to do is to keep an eye on each of the three colleges for the open days in the Autumn, there is always a mature students stand there as well as one for the course. They can give you advice about things. If you've any questions about the UCC one, I'll answer them no bother. I've a friend in the UL one as well, so we compare notes alright!

Lil' Smiler

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

Best thing to do is to keep an eye on each of the three colleges for the open days in the Autumn, there is always a mature students stand there as well as one for the course. They can give you advice about things. If you've any questions about the UCC one, I'll answer them no bother. I've a friend in the UL one as well, so we compare notes alright!

Yeah I'm definitely going to go to the next DCU open day, I might even get to speak to the head of the department then about applying for the DCU course, since I can't understand why I wasn't even offered an interview when I have everything they asked for