Is there a point in doing a plc if you got over 400 points in the LC?

Danny94

Hi

So i was researching PLCs and seen something about PLCs being worth a maximum of 400 points? Is this true? If so is there a point in a student who got 400 or above doing a PLC or are they treated differently to the CAO?
Thanks

looksee

More important is why you want to do a PLC. If you do not have enough points for the course you want to do, and can find a PLC course that is linked to a third level course that you want to do then that might be an advantage.

If you are interested in a particular area and want to get a bit of a start on it before third level, then a PLC would be good.

Without knowing your thinking behind it it is difficult to say whether is any point or not. I have seen people with degrees doing PLC courses, usually because they wanted to try a different direction.

Danny94

Hi, thanks for replying
I accepted a course that i was keen on a few months ago, but not so much now. I was considering reapplying to the cao next year and hoping he points dont rise too much. The course i now want to do is computer science, but a lot of the courses require points of 400+, and as far as im aware the best you can do in a plc is the equivalent of 400 points.

(btw the plc im looking at are in dunboyne, i not sure what colleges their courses are linked to.)

castaway_lady

Some degrees in the universities in particular reserve places for plc grads and the points for these courses are often 400+. You'd have to check the status of each of the courses that interests you with the particular college.

Other than that students on plcs have often deferred college places for a variety of reasons:
- test out their vocation for a particular area before committing to 4 years
- get a qualification in the area which may give them the option to work part time to fund future studies
- don't feel ready to move away to college yet

Danny94

Thanks,

Another thing i was thinking about was what would happen if I did a plc and didnt do too well, would i have to apply to the cao using the score i got from the plc, or could i choose to use my LC points?

implausible

Danny94 wrote: »

Thanks,

Another thing i was thinking about was what would happen if I did a plc and didnt do too well, would i have to apply to the cao using the score i got from the plc, or could i choose to use my LC points?

You could use your LC points. The 'points' that you get in a PLC cannot be used just anywhere. They can only be used in IoTs. Now, the system is changing, but it is not going to change enough that you can use PLC 'points' to get into, let's say, an Engineering degree.

Read through some of the threads here for an explanation of how you can use a PLC to gain entry to 3rd level.

jrmb

Just make sure the modules in your course match the requirements for the university course you're hoping to do. For example, Trinity only accepts PLC applications for health professions and in that case, a Liberal Arts certificate would be useless. Also, you can enter UCD Social Science with Liberal Arts but not without Social Studies as a module.

Whatever you choose to do, returning to education is very difficult when you haven't studied for quite a while. You should definitely take a course in something that interests you, even if it's only to keep disciplined.

Good luck!