Getting over 560 points

Huell

Well lads im under a bit of pressure at the moment, doing 7 honours(maths,english,biology,physics,dcg,applied maths) taking up chemistry now as i need it for pharmacy and 2 pass. So i need to at least be breaking 560 in the leaving to have a chance with getting the course. What tips can you give for me now I'm going flat out doing physics and biology papers and getting around b3-b1's on them. Im doing extra essays for my teacher in english but only getting c1-b3's. Maths and applied maths is scaring me as one paper i can do flawlessly and the next get nothing. If i want to get pharmacy i feel i need to work harder so what would you recommend?

rainbowtrout

You are already doing 9 subjects which is a crazy workload and are attempting to do 10. You don't say whether you are in 5th or 6th year, assuming 6th if you are doing exam papers, but it is likely that your work will suffer with the increased workload.

If applied maths is causing you problems would you not be better to drop it in favour of chemistry, if you really need chemistry and really want to do pharmacy. It's also a bit late in the day to be taking up chemistry if you are sitting the LC in June.

Alternately if you are hell bent on doing all of these subjects it might be better to drop to ordinary level in at least one that you won't be counting for points.

Mr Pseudonym

Huell wrote: »

Well lads im under a bit of pressure at the moment, doing 7 honours(maths,english,biology,physics,dcg,applied maths) taking up chemistry now as i need it for pharmacy and 2 pass. So i need to at least be breaking 560 in the leaving to have a chance with getting the course. What tips can you give for me now I'm going flat out doing physics and biology papers and getting around b3-b1's on them. Im doing extra essays for my teacher in english but only getting c1-b3's. Maths and applied maths is scaring me as one paper i can do flawlessly and the next get nothing. If i want to get pharmacy i feel i need to work harder so what would you recommend?

The only secret to Biology is work; identify your problem with Physics (i.e. is it the mathematical element), because, as well as being not particularly challenging, almost all q's are repeats; I encountered the same with App Maths: the only solution is to do the questions repeatedly (RBM q's are a steal).

I think Chem in six months, with other subjects, will be very challenging. However, thinking positively: the first three questions are experiments - so they can be learnt easily; the fourth q consists of short-answer questions (all repeats); and Atomic Theory always gets its own question; Organic Chem is probably half the course, so recommending it is hardly helpful, but it also gets ~2.5 q's. But, giving so much effort to a subject you won't be using for points is folly, IMO.

I think you should be a little bit concerned that you seem to be sub-par in most of your subjects. But, best of luck! It definitely is possible.

Btw, are you sure you only need a pass in Chem. I know, for instance, that it's a HC3 in TCD.

picador

You can discount a subject if you're doing 8 subjects. I did 8 subjects and pretty much forgot about Irish after the mocks. You're better off concentrating on subjects that you know you will do well in. If I were you, I'd discount English. I absolutely loved English, but I still spent months learning off quotes and writing essays and notes. The exam itself can be very unpredictable so it's difficult to know how you'll get on.That said, examiners are looking for specific things every year, so it might be a good idea to ask your teacher if you could talk to her after class or at lunch about exactly what you're doing wrong and how you can improve. I'd put effort into DCG if I were you. I did technology and it was by far the easiest of all my subjects. Admittedly I put a hell of a lot of effort into my project, but overall I spent less than half the time studying it than I spent on any other subject and still got an A1. I'm not sure how similar the subjects are, but I presume it's a good bit easier than chemistry...

As for overall tips, set yourself realistic goals and stick to them. Don't overwork yourself. I know people who burned themselves out completely last year and fell apart by June. I took every second weekend off to go to visit my boyfriend up until the mocks last year and it was the only thing that kept me sane. I also never studied at lunch and made sure I did at least half an hour of something nice every day, whether that be going for a walk or watching The Big Bang theory while having a sandwich for dinner at 10 o'clock after coming home from study (I would not go back if you payed me).

Finally, have a few back up options too. Not because your going to need them, but because knowing that there are other options besides pharmacy will calm you down and make you focus on doing your best rather than getting X amount of points. My course was 510, and I was by far the least stressed of any of my doctor-wannabe friends. I ended up getting 580, and I honestly think it's because I kept calm throughout the year (well until May anyway, after that I crammed and lived on coffee and chocolate just like everyone else).

If you want any notes or anything along those lines, I'm selling my English and Biology notes from last year. Let me know if you're interested, and good luck. P.S. This time next year you'll be sitting at home, enjoying your 6 week break, smugly messaging Leaving Certs at half 3 in the morning while simultaneously planning a house party. Your time will come.