Subjects outside of school

Jimlad

Hello folks,

I am just wondering for the leaving cert can I study another subject out of school because the school i go to i might not get a certain subject ..has anyone any ideas or can someone explain about doing another subject outside of school? how often i should study/take grinds for etc. .

I am wanting really good points for leaving cert and I was wanting to maximise my chances. .

Thanks

AlmightyDublin

Jimlad wrote: »

Hello folks,

I am just wondering for the leaving cert can I study another subject out of school because the school i go to i might not get a certain subject ..has anyone any ideas or can someone explain about doing another subject outside of school? how often i should study/take grinds for etc. .

I am wanting really good points for leaving cert and I was wanting to maximise my chances. .

Thanks

I'm doing music outside school, but I sit the exam in my school in june. I have a 7-9 class on Monday and a 8-8.30 class thursday. Hope that helps ha

prettygurrly

a friend of mine used to spend her saturdays studying for music. my brother did applied maths on his own but only cos he could choose not to do irish and still get into NUIs so he used to use irish classes as a chance to do applied maths.

what subject are you thinking of studying?

if you do choose to do an extra subject, about february of 6th year you'll be given a form to fill in with the subjects and levels you plan to take for the leaving cert, at that time you can tell the department that you plan to study an 8th subject.

all i would say is that there is only so much time in a week. the leaving cert is v difficult especially if u have a part time job like i did. so think carefully before you take on more work. will the subjects that you can choose not do? or are there two subjects out of 7 that you're not strong in?

prettygurrly

oh yes forgot to say...another friend of mine was in my chemistry class for a year, not by choice. he was rubbish in it. he however was fluent in spanish as his mother was spanish speaking. spanish wasn't taught in our school so i persuaded him to ask the teacher if he could study spanish at the back of the class while the rest of us did chem. he got an A1 at honours instead of doing chem at ordinary and possibly failing it. there's ways around stuff if you really want it. luckily our chem class was super small and he didn't interfere with the teaching so the teacher was happy

Jimlad

No, I will be doing 7 subjects and plan to do an 8th, which i would like to do outside of school.. .

I was just wondering how to be able to do the exam outside of school, which you say i fill in a form when the time comes.. Because i really want to maximise points!

prettygurrly

afaik you do the exam in your own school or the department will assign a seat to you somewhere in your locality. maybe another school that does the subject that you want to do.

what is the subject anyway, you never said.

and just cos you do 8 subjects doesn't mean you get more points you know. it's still your best 6! if you get 400 points from 6 out of your 8 or 420 from 6 out of 7 then it would be better to just do 7 unless you need the subject as a prerequisite to get into a course. however, prerequisites are usually irish or maths at certain levels and certain results. you can do science in university without sitting any science in school...i know cos i met someone is 1st yr science in nuigalway in this position

rainbowtrout

Jimlad wrote: »

No, I will be doing 7 subjects and plan to do an 8th, which i would like to do outside of school.. .

I was just wondering how to be able to do the exam outside of school, which you say i fill in a form when the time comes.. Because i really want to maximise points!

It all depends, from the exam point of view, there's no problem, after christmas in LC, you fill in a form stating the subjects you are taking for LC. The school will already have your regular seven, so you just add whatever your extra subject is to the list. You sit the exam in your own school even if you are the only one doing it. If say, you take spanish (like the example above) an examiner would be assigned to your school for the spanish oral.

The information you haven't given here is this:

Are you fifth year or sixth year, i.e. are you doing the LC in 2012 or 2013, because if you are doing it this year you haven't left yourself much time to take up a new subject.

What subjects are you doing currently and what would you like to take up?

Are you motivated and able to study by yourself or do you need a bit of supervision/guidance/grinds. Some subjects are easier to study on their own than others, some you may find you need help with.

Do any of the subjects you are considering have a practical aspect to them (music, woodwork, art) or have a project component which needs a teacher to sign off on it. Does your school have the facilities for a subject you are considering taking? E.g. Does your school have a woodwork room if you want to take up woodwork, if not you would need to register with another school.

Some subjects require that a teacher signs off to say you did a project, history, geography, ag science. In the case of ag science your teacher grades your project.

In terms of the time you spend on your chosen subject each week, well that's down to your own ability. You might pick things up very fast or not, it also depends on the subject.

Jimlad

im in 5th year.. Im currently doing chemistry, i would like to do biology or ag science.. i know there is a project involved in ag science. .

if i was going to do ag science (maybe), i would certainly be able to study that on my own. .i would be able to get a teacher to grade my project if i was going to do it. .

biology i would like to do for the leaving cert as i am very interested in that subject.

prettygurrly

well if i were you i'd do biology. just rote learning all the way. no practical needed as the most you'll be asked is to describe an experiment which is outlined in your text book. i did ecology as part of my options for biology and we went into a field (the grounds of the school) with a quadrat and i did some catching bugs in my back garden. a quadrat is just a square metre of wood. if you're unsure about anything in ecology (if you choose it), just post up here and one of us lot will answer you.
my boyfriend did ag science, it was easy apparently but if you're interested in biology and want to continue it'll be easier on you in 1st year science if you already have the basics....

rainbowtrout

Jimlad wrote: »

im in 5th year.. Im currently doing chemistry, i would like to do biology or ag science.. i know there is a project involved in ag science. .

if i was going to do ag science (maybe), i would certainly be able to study that on my own. .i would be able to get a teacher to grade my project if i was going to do it. .

biology i would like to do for the leaving cert as i am very interested in that subject.

Well if you decide to go ahead with either of them I suppose there's no time like the present to get started. The more time you have the better, and it allows you to get a reasonable part of the course done before you finish fifth year. Also if you go the ag science route, you will want to sort out details with your teacher well in advance. Good luck.