Leaving Cert woes.

Saxo

Alright lads I know these type of posts have been put up time and time again but honestly I'm in a bit of a pickle. Zero motivation, no study done and mocks in a weeks time has made me turn to boards for advice, support and someone to talk to. I know its my own fault for not studying but I really can't get motivated for it, I'm not aiming to go to college but am constantly pressured into studying for high points etc etc, I know what I want to do already and that is to join the army, whether it be here or another country then so be it but all I've ever wanted to be was a soldier. Now obviously I also want to do good in my Leaving in case things don't go to plan but my careers teacher made me fill out a CAO form and my first choice was Music Production, I believe its around the 355 mark I may be wrong but will I need a lot of study and work to achieve 355-400?? I'd be delighted with 400 points and I just need advice guys, thanks.

dee_mc

You're dead right to have filled out the CAO form anyway.
Focus on this. A decent Leaving Cert and a good push for these last few months will do you no harm in the long run.
Get organised: look out all your notes and tests so far, and get them into folders if you haven't done so already.
Make a list of topics for each subject, in order of your level of confidence. Use this to guide your study for the mocks: focus on the areas which you feel are your weakest.
Plan your study/revision sessions, and test yourself.
Above all, try not to stress out too much!
As I'm sure you're aware, the mocks aren't the be all and end all: they're most useful for practicing your timing. Don't place too much store in your mock results, but make sure you correct each paper to make the most of them.
Best of luck!

Saxo

Thanks so much for the reply Dee!
I wasn't initially gonna fill out a CAO form as I wasn't interested in college but I can see the advantages of having one now so I'm glad I did. I've applied for a plc course in a community college near to me as I don't want to be sitting at home for a year while I wait for the army to recruit, supposedly its a course that betters your chances of getting in but who knows?
I've joined evening study so that's two hours study out of the way by the time I get home, homework only takes 15 mins or so we don't get much so that leaves a decent chunk of study time - not sure whether to do more when I get home as training starts fairly soon afterwards? I have folders organised for sheets but missed my last set of tests, basically the only subject that worries me for the leaving is maths, I'm horrible at it.

dee_mc

I know how you feel re maths! Is there anything you can do to improve? Have you spoken to your teacher about it? I'm sure you know re attempt marks, doing the correct combination of questions (and attempting all the other questions if you have time left over) and showing your calculations etc - that kind of logical approach was the only thing that got me a pass in OL maths!
To be honest at this stage I don't think 2 hours of combined homework and study time is enough - you should be aiming to do at least another hour of targeted, focused study each evening. How important is training at this stage? Can you scale it back in order to dedicate more time to your studies?

Saxo

dee_mc wrote: »

I know how you feel re maths! Is there anything you can do to improve? Have you spoken to your teacher about it? I'm sure you know re attempt marks, doing the correct combination of questions (and attempting all the other questions if you have time left over) and showing your calculations etc - that kind of logical approach was the only thing that got me a pass in OL maths!
To be honest at this stage I don't think 2 hours of combined homework and study time is enough - you should be aiming to do at least another hour of targeted, focused study each evening. How important is training at this stage? Can you scale it back in order to dedicate more time to your studies?

I'm not sure really, have spoken to him and he has suggested just studying my ass off but I really don't know how I can study something I don't understand! as far back as the junior cert I have been failing maths, I don't think its laziness or anything but then again maybe it is. I got a B in my summer exam last year and that was mainly on attempt marks! I'm trying to keep training up as I'm planning to apply for the army this year also - have heard they may be recruiting in april so fitness levels have to stay up! Am able to do a few hours at the weekend but find it hard with stuff I tend to do!

Melanoma

Saxo wrote: »

I'm not sure really, have spoken to him and he has suggested just studying my ass off but I really don't know how I can study something I don't understand! as far back as the junior cert I have been failing maths, I don't think its laziness or anything but then again maybe it is. I got a B in my summer exam last year and that was mainly on attempt marks! I'm trying to keep training up as I'm planning to apply for the army this year also - have heard they may be recruiting in april so fitness levels have to stay up! Am able to do a few hours at the weekend but find it hard with stuff I tend to do!

My sister did 10 grinds locked herself in her room for 8 hours every saturday I helped her when she asked and she got a B having always been bad at it.

Work your ass off. That sounds about right. For the army or any career you must get min of B in ordinary to open doors that otherwise will close later.

Saxo

Melanoma wrote: »

My sister did 10 grinds locked herself in her room for 8 hours every saturday I helped her when she asked and she got a B having always been bad at it.

Work your ass off. That sounds about right. For the army or any career you must get min of B in ordinary to open doors that otherwise will close later.

Not sure if I could do as much as 8 hours now! I'm not that dedicated to school, I find I study biology and engineering so much easier because I have genuine interest in them but wouldn't pursue careers in them I don't think, I'm gonna try my best if not for me then for my parents I want to make them proud.
What doors would it close if I didn't get the B? a pass would be an accomplishment for me.

Melanoma

Saxo wrote: »

Not sure if I could do as much as 8 hours now! I'm not that dedicated to school, I find I study biology and engineering so much easier because I have genuine interest in them but wouldn't pursue careers in them I don't think, I'm gonna try my best if not for me then for my parents I want to make them proud.
What doors would it close if I didn't get the B? a pass would be an accomplishment for me.

A B is what you need later in your career for progression otherwise they chuck you out after a few years. Its not like the army in the old days. You got to have ambition.


To pass then maybe you have to get some topics and make sure you know them.

As for difficulty yes its hard, it is a subject that is hard to start with but if you work at it it gets easier to be motivated. Just remember you might not feel like it but the more you do the easier it gets. Sure look up youtube videos online with leaving cert questions done and explained. Seriously if you have good broadband its never been easier to get yourself back in the game. Unless you fancy another year in school .

BTW have you done the intelligence practice tests and looked over the drills required, if your lacking motivation to do maths then maybe you wont have what it takes for the army.

Your not a boy start behaving like a man and man up.

Now get down and give me 20... :P

Good luck with it.

Saxo

Melanoma wrote: »

A B is what you need later in your career for progression otherwise they chuck you out after a few years. Its not like the army in the old days. You got to have ambition.


To pass then maybe you have to get some topics and make sure you know them.

As for difficulty yes its hard, it is a subject that is hard to start with but if you work at it it gets easier to be motivated. Just remember you might not feel like it but the more you do the easier it gets. Sure look up youtube videos online with leaving cert questions done and explained. Seriously if you have good broadband its never been easier to get yourself back in the game. Unless you fancy another year in school .

BTW have you done the intelligence practice tests and looked over the drills required, if your lacking motivation to do maths then maybe you wont have what it takes for the army.

Your not a boy start behaving like a man and man up.

Now get down and give me 20... :P

Good luck with it.

Thanks for the advice and tips! I'll get myself into a routine now over the next few days of doing exam questions and studying. I wouldn't see another year in school as feasible, I've already done TY so I'd be 20 getting my results if I repeated :eek: I've practiced the aptitude tests and have a program made up for the fitness test, I've only a couple of minutes to shave off the run and I should be good to go. I am very motivated in fitness and sports I've trained my ass off the last 3 years to get where I am now in kickboxing it's just school that kills me Thanks man!

HuiChi Mann

well goog thing is that you filled in your CAO but the mocks are just nearly over now, just see how you do, then just simply study a little everyday! by the time it comes to the leaving, you'll be grand!

Saxo

HuiChi Mann wrote: »

well goog thing is that you filled in your CAO but the mocks are just nearly over now, just see how you do, then just simply study a little everyday! by the time it comes to the leaving, you'll be grand!

Just have french and maths left now! Did fairly well in my pre's I reckon although English Paper 2 was a bit of a mess for me! Ordinary Level French is handy but I'm dreading maths, I am stone useless at it

Saxo

Couldn't remember my password for ages so only getting back to this now! Failed maths, teacher recommended foundation level but I'm unsure. passed everything else though..

Melanoma

What did you get in the mocks exactly?

spurious

Melanoma wrote: »

For the army or any career you must get min of B in ordinary to open doors that otherwise will close later.

Can you give a source on the army needing a B in OL Maths? Never heard that before. Not everyone wants to be an officer.

Saxo

Sorry lads I am ridiculously bad at checking back here on time! I had a mock french oral and I passed that easy I just have to learn my document to rake in more marks, I have my real irish oral next week kind of worried about that! Have my Army fitness test the day before it so could be a bit iffy really.

Saxo

Got my report card sent home today - Didn't realise how bad I did failed 3 subjects by 5% or less and Maths by 20%. Seriously In need of help!! I'm awful at Maths and I pretty much can't comprehend anything that we're doing even when explained by the teacher it fails to make sense to me! Felt like I should of passed Biology but I was 5% off has anyone got advice for me? I really don't want to repeat next year..

spurious

5% is easily made up. Don't take it as a given you will fail them in June.

Talk to your Maths teacher about the Maths paper. See where you lost your marks. Work out which questions or parts of questions are more or less guaranteed to come up.

Practice, practice, practice past and sample questions on those topics. Your Maths teacher will want you to pass. So much of Maths is to do with confidence. If you go in knowing that for some questions at least, you know exactly what to do, it will help you think more clearly about the others.

Saxo

spurious wrote: »

5% is easily made up. Don't take it as a given you will fail them in June.

Talk to your Maths teacher about the Maths paper. See where you lost your marks. Work out which questions or parts of questions are more or less guaranteed to come up.

Practice, practice, practice past and sample questions on those topics. Your Maths teacher will want you to pass. So much of Maths is to do with confidence. If you go in knowing that for some questions at least, you know exactly what to do, it will help you think more clearly about the others.

Thanks I realise how silly it sounded Just got Easter holidays there - flew through my French Oral today I'm really happy with it! teacher gave us a lot of maths questions to do over Easter I'm gonna try to do 5 or 6 on Sunday I need the weekend to just relax. so much to do over the two weeks!