How can I get 600 points in the leaving Cert?

partyatmygaff

Minera wrote: »

A strict timetable and a genuine interest in your subject matter will make a huge difference! You won't learn if you don't understand it and after all that just remember there are alternative routes to studying medicine or any subject for that matter not just the leaving cert point system

For courses like medicine the alternatives (IMO) are not that that much easier.

There's UCAS which requires a lot of planning ahead when it comes to voluntary work for the personal statement and a decent JC. Not to mention interview skills and success in the college's equivalent of the HPAT.

There's mature student entry which is far from guaranteed and will delay an already very lengthy period of training.

There's graduate entry which is again far from guaranteed and incredibly expensive compared to just perfecting your Leaving Cert.

The only somewhat decent alternative that I can think of is finishing dentistry and then applying for advanced entry in to 3rd year med. The two degrees open up some more options in surgical specialties moreso than any other degree. There is the small problem of getting the ~580 points required for dental science.

There are alternatives but the fastest, cheapest and probably the easiest route is to just to do the LC/HPAT until you get what you want.

Seanf999

spurious wrote: »

Again, that depends on the person. Some people find Maths very straightforward, some people can't figure out Irish at all.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket yet and be mature enough to recognise if things are not working out the way you want.

My apologies I should have been clearly, I meant what came easier to me and what comes easy to me is biology yet higher level maths may be a bit difficult... That being said I feel I could pass higher level maths so I am just seeing what my teachers recommendations are if she thinks I can move up I will move up.

Squatman

Seanf999 wrote: »

Sounds like a child's question but it got your attention, I've just started 5th year and my goal is to study medicine at RCSI (but if I got accepted elsewhere I could live with it )

My Subjects are HL English, Irish, French, Biology, business and Geography and OL maths (I just plan on passing maths nothing more)

I'm actually aiming for 550 but when I'm there I may as well go for 600!

How can I get 600 points in my leaving?
How much study should I be doing on average daily/weekly?
And finally any tips on the leaving cert in general be it study wise, exam wise or socially?

Looking for to your answers!

6 A1's will do

Seanf999

Squatman wrote: »

6 A1's will do

550 minimum, 93% average and a bit more..
But if I'm going for 550 but I may as well head for 600..

Shoot for the stars at worst you'll hit a lamppost!

dumbyearbook

Learn the subjects so well you can re write the book by heart. Then do past papers till you know you can answer any question. Them go in and do it. Simples! My biggest tip is learn it all then prove to yourself you know it by writing it all out takes all the nerves away once you can do that. Answer the questions accurately and be a fast clear writer. If your hand writing is crap work on that.

Ompala

Would you consider studying medicine abroad?

EoghanIRL

I think it's fair to say that an" easy A " is relative to each individual . Some subjects were easier to get an A in than others . The difficulty of a subject depend on ones aptitude and ability .

lulu1

I really dont know if this healthy eating melarkey makes the slightest difference to exam results. And yes I did tell my daughter she could only do her best and there was no way she was worried about her leaving she was as relaxed as anything because she was confident she would do ok Maybe some wouldnt be happy with 440points but I think it was pretty damed good. And earlier today we dropped her off at NUI Galway to begin her first week .So proud.

EoghanIRL

Seanf999 wrote: »

550 minimum, 93% average and a bit more..
But if I'm going for 550 but I may as well head for 600..

Shoot for the stars at worst you'll hit a lamppost!

Is there any way you can pass hl maths .
You are at a huge disadvantage to other med hopefuls .
A lot of canidates will achieve more than 550 points .

Roquentin

lulu1 wrote: »

I really dont know if this healthy eating melarkey makes the slightest difference to exam results. And yes I did tell my daughter she could only do her best and there was no way she was worried about her leaving she was as relaxed as anything because she was confident she would do ok Maybe some wouldnt be happy with 440points but I think it was pretty damed good. And earlier today we dropped her off at NUI Galway to begin her first week .So proud.

i can guarantee she will go far in life. The best thing parents can give their children is not education or a comfortably living or straight teeth, but the confidence to go out into the big bad world and try and make something out of it.

I knew a guy who did ordinary level maths and now works in manhatten as an engineer. You may not get the top points in the leaving, but that doesnt mean you cant succeed in life. The real working environment is as much about good interpersonal skills as it is about the degree you have.

pwurple

For 600... I didn't get there myself, but i got fairly high. Picking your subjects is key. If there is any extra subject available outside school where the curiculum overlaps with what you already know, then do it if you can manage it. Calculate your points from every test you sit. Look at where you are losing marks. You need to get them all. Can't let a mark escape. Anyone i know who got 600 was doing 8 or 9 subjects.

For example on chosing your subjects... I did physics and HL maths, and also took on applied maths as an extra subject because there was some overlap. Could have done similar with engineering , or physics and chemistry. Some people find an overlap with art, maths and graphic design.


I didn't do biology, so I don't know what the overlap subjects are. Possibly part of the home economics course, or argricultural science?
Do you play any instrument, or can you read music? If you have that already, then consider the music course.

Those extra subjects I used to buffer my weak subjects... Which for me, were irish and my european language. With Languages, I struggled to pick up the straggling marks. I would answer the question, but the teachers note nearly always said 'expand more'.


I would highly recommend doing a private career guidance session.

Roquentin

Seanf999 wrote: »

550 minimum, 93% average and a bit more..
But if I'm going for 550 but I may as well head for 600..

Shoot for the stars at worst you'll hit a lamppost!

Thats really the mentality you need. You will try and do your best and thats all you can do. Study hard and you will succeed. You may not achieve the points, but you always have other options. There are more than two way to skin a cat

I wouldnt start looking at the 600 points threshold and worrying. take each day at a time. The LC is overhyped and in ten years time when you are a GP, you will say i was right

rainbowtrout

Roquentin wrote: »

In case you dont realize it, that is scaremongering. You are basically insinuating covertly that he will have to study study study to get by. No. As i said. if he does the work and he will know himself, he will get the points.

It's not always the case. Any student scoring more than 500 points would be well capable of coping with the coursework in medicine. But many just don't get in because of supply and demand.

Even though the HPAT was brought in to level the playing field, the reality is that the vast majority of students don't have a shot at medicine unless they are in the 550+ bracket, so straight As are required. Not an easy task by any means. A smaller number of students get medicine that have <550, but that is because they have done an exceptional HPAT. But by and large, students are still heavily reliant on their LC results pulling them through.

The OP said he arsed about in JC, if I remember rightly he posted a number of threads on this topic a few months back and said that he had done multiple subjects at OL for Junior Cert, getting Bs and Cs. Regardless of ability, intelligence or determination, it's one thing to arse about in Junior Cert and get Bs at higher level when a student is capable of As, it's another to be coming from an Ordinary Level base and attempt to move to HL and score straight As.


I commend the OPs drive to succeed, but I would also be mindful of the massive gap in knowledge that has to be bridged in the core subjects that were taken at OL for JC.

Seanf999

EoghanIRL wrote: »

Is there any way you can pass hl maths .
You are at a huge disadvantage to other med hopefuls .
A lot of canidates will achieve more than 550 points .

My thinking was to ignore maths entirely and just pass it ad focus on my other subjects for points, but our teacher is reviewing us to see if any of us should be doing higher level, I think I'd be a good candidate as I find OL easy and I got a B in ordinary level for the JC..

LauraaWhelann

Hi I got 595 this year (not quite 600 ) but if you have any questions feel free to PM me

Seanf999

rainbowtrout wrote: »

It's not always the case. Any student scoring more than 500 points would be well capable of coping with the coursework in medicine. But many just don't get in because of supply and demand.

Even though the HPAT was brought in to level the playing field, the reality is that the vast majority of students don't have a shot at medicine unless they are in the 550+ bracket, so straight As are required. Not an easy task by any means. A smaller number of students get medicine that have <550, but that is because they have done an exceptional HPAT. But by and large, students are still heavily reliant on their LC results pulling them through.

The OP said he arsed about in JC, if I remember rightly he posted a number of threads on this topic a few months back and said that he had done multiple subjects at OL for Junior Cert, getting Bs and Cs. Regardless of ability, intelligence or determination, it's one thing to arse about in Junior Cert and get Bs at higher level when a student is capable of As, it's another to be coming from an Ordinary Level base and attempt to move to HL and score straight As.


I commend the OPs drive to succeed, but I would also be mindful of the massive gap in knowledge that has to be bridged in the core subjects that were taken at OL for JC.

Thanks for the answer really appreciate it! All that you have said is true, and I genuinely do regret not trying , when people say 'oh I didn't bother for the JC' they mean they did a bit of study and homework etc but I genuinely did nothing..

I have been told by teachers of all subjects about that huge jump and they all said that I can do it so long as I work in 5th year and 6th, and if I don't get in repeating is certain..

I don't want to get all emotional and sentimental but in JC I had no plans to do anything after school simple because I thought I was far too stupid, but when every teacher in the school (literally even ones I did not have) started saying I was wasting potential etc I started to believe them, and I'm now trying to repair what damage I've done and get into the single career I can see myself in.

Roquentin

Seanf999 wrote: »

Thanks for the answer really appreciate it! All that you have said is true, and I genuinely do regret not trying , when people say 'oh I didn't bother for the JC' they mean they did a bit of study and homework etc but I genuinely did nothing..

I have been told by teachers of all subjects about that huge jump and they all said that I can do it so long as I work in 5th year and 6th, and if I don't get in repeating is certain..

I don't want to get all emotional and sentimental but in JC I had no plans to do anything after school simple because I thought I was far too stupid, but when every teacher in the school (literally even ones I did not have) started saying I was wasting potential etc I started to believe them, and I'm now trying to repair what damage I've done and get into the single career I can see myself in.

no offense, but there isnt a huge jump. In that case college then would be a quantum leap and the real world would be another galaxy. You are given notes. You are solving what has already been solved and trying to learn what has already been learned.

In college i would keep an eye on things, do my assignments on time, attend the lectures. Then 6 weeks before the exam, you would tear into it. And i got first class honors. And the funny thing is about two weeks after the exam you have forgotten it all.

The leaving cert is not some impossible series of exams. If you prepare properly you will do well. Chance favors the prepared mind.

All this is scaremongering by teachers, which happens in college as well. Teachers want students to do better, because they are held accountable to a degree for the students they teach. They also say it to err on the side of caution. At the end of the day a teacher cant learn it for you, you have to do that yourself.

spurious

I'm sorry, there is no way the difference between OL JC Maths and HL LC Maths could be described as anything other than a huge jump. Likewise History - OL JC requires no real essay style answers at all, whereas HL LC is all long essays.

Not sure what your issue is with teachers, but you are doing people a great disservice if you mislead them on the differences in standard.

rainbowtrout

Roquentin wrote: »

no offense, but there isnt a huge jump. In that case college then would be a quantum leap and the real world would be another galaxy. You are given notes. You are solving what has already been solved and trying to learn what has already been learned.



All this is scaremongering by teachers, which happens in college as well. Teachers want students to do better, because they are held accountable to a degree for the students they teach. They also say it to err on the side of caution. At the end of the day a teacher cant learn it for you, you have to do that yourself.

When you go to college you are no longer studying 7 subjects, some of which you had no choice in. You are specialising in an area of your choice where you are generally choosing a course you are interested in, and plays to your strengths. That's a completely different ball game from doing Irish, English, maths and four others.

Teachers don't scaremonger. We speak from experience. Yes of course I want students to do well, who wants to see students fail, but if the LC was such a breeze everyone would be going higher level and sailing into college.

We don't say it to err on the side of caution. We say it because we don't want to see people fail a level they are not able for/ haven't done any work for. That's not to save my own skin. It's to ensure they end up with a passing grade at some level rather than a fail which is no use to them if they are applying for college.

LoveChanel

Seanf999 wrote: »

Sounds like a child's question but it got your attention, I've just started 5th year and my goal is to study medicine at RCSI (but if I got accepted elsewhere I could live with it )

My Subjects are HL English, Irish, French, Biology, business and Geography and OL maths (I just plan on passing maths nothing more)

I'm actually aiming for 550 but when I'm there I may as well go for 600!

How can I get 600 points in my leaving?
How much study should I be doing on average daily/weekly?
And finally any tips on the leaving cert in general be it study wise, exam wise or socially?

Looking for to your answers!

I got into medicine this year and this is the amount of study I did. I sat 9 subjects altogether two pass and the rest were honours.
In 5th year I did three and a half hours on school days and 6 hours on saturday with sunday being my day off.
In my lc year. I did my homework and studied for 4 and a half hours on school days except friday which was my day off. On satudays I studied and did homework from 9am to 2pm. On sundays I studied from 11am to 6pm.
This sounds like a lot of work and it is but if you want medicine and your hungry enough for it you will want to study even more than I stated above. My best advice is hit the ground running in 5th as there are too many things happening in your lc year: grads orals projects due for submission.
Best of luck and I hope you get medicine!

Roquentin

spurious wrote: »

I'm sorry, there is no way the difference between OL JC Maths and HL LC Maths could be described as anything other than a huge jump. Likewise History - OL JC requires no real essay style answers at all, whereas HL LC is all long essays.

nonsense ok. In that case if you were studying maths in college, it would go into the realms of the impossible. As i said, you are trying to solve in maths what has already been solved. A student is not trying to come up with a method to merge quantum mechanics with general relativity. There is so much fear of maths in the leaving brought upon by people like you saying it is a gigantic leap.

There is method in the questions they ask. Repetition, repetition, repetition. The exam would be impossible if there were not repetition in the questions they ask.

You my friend are scaremongering by saying there is an overwhelming difference in standard. That is psychology that feeds into the mind of the students. No wonder students dont attempt maths, because they are so afraid of it by external pressures put on them by sources within schools and outside hype.

Not sure what your issue is with teachers, but you are doing people a great disservice if you mislead them on the differences in standard.

You dont even have a clue who i am so dont even go there...

Roquentin

When you go to college you are no longer studying 7 subjects, some of which you had no choice in. You are specialising in an area of your choice where you are generally choosing a course you are interested in, and plays to your strengths. That's a completely different ball game from doing Irish, English, maths and four others.

When i was in college, i had about 11 modules one year. And they go much faster in college. An in some courses they now put in languages because knowing french and spanish can be of help. You also have to write essays in lots of courses.

So a student takes his knowledge of english and maths and may apply them in college, despite being on a course that has predominantly maths in it. If you were doing engineering lets say, you would have to write reports with good language and clarity.

Teachers don't scaremonger. We speak from experience. Yes of course I want students to do well, who wants to see students fail, but if the LC was such a breeze everyone would be going higher level and sailing into college.

So you are the ASTI is it? You speak for all teachers. This scaremongering is covert as it is overt. The hype generated by the LC feeds into the minds of students and given their young age they believe everything.

Part of the reason why people dont do so well in the leaving is simply down to the fact that they dont study for it. They are maybe too busy been engrossed in adolescence. It doesnt mean they wont achieve in life, because they do a bad leaving.

Second of all its all relative. The powers that be can only hand out certain amount of marks every year. So they adjust there correcting standards to facilitate the percentage of A's and B's and so on. If they really wanted to correctly mark english, they would have the paper marked by at least 5 people and get the average.

We don't say it to err on the side of caution. We say it because we don't want to see people fail a level they are not able for/ haven't done any work for. That's not to save my own skin. It's to ensure they end up with a passing grade at some level rather than a fail which is no use to them if they are applying for college.

There you go again with "we." By "err in the side of caution," i meant you wont tell a student that the LC is over hyped because you could get in trouble for that if mammy finds out, that the teacher said that. Now that is understandable. You will protect your interests at all costs and your income.

But i stand by my arguments. The LC is made out to be some defining moment in a persons life. Not at all. Even if you dont get the first choice, there are other routes. If you cant go over the mountain, you may have to go around it.

My time in school was very enjoyable, despite what the mod is insinuating and two teachers stood out. One was a maths teacher who was a straight talker and said it as it was. he couldnt do the exam for us. He couldnt learn or solve the stuff for us. All he could do was direct us in what to study. But we had to study ourselves. The second teacher was an english teacher who basically said find your own voice, not just in english, but in life. One of my mates who got an A in english said he was the best teacher he had, because he would let students critically think for themselves rather than learning something 20 times from a book and then writing it out the 21st time in the exam.

One of the problems that is now happening is students are told to chase points rather than enjoy what they are studying and one wonders then why medicine has a high suicide rate!

spurious

Roquentin wrote: »

nonsense ok. In that case if you were studying maths in college, it would go into the realms of the impossible.

Studying Maths in college has nothing to do with the difference in standard between OL JC Maths and HL LC Maths.

Do you have any idea of what is involved in either syllabus?

Please don't drag this off topic with obvious agendas and please do not mislead people.

Seanf999

LoveChanel wrote: »

I got into medicine this year and this is the amount of study I did. I sat 9 subjects altogether two pass and the rest were honours.
In 5th year I did three and a half hours on school days and 6 hours on saturday with sunday being my day off.
In my lc year. I did my homework and studied for 4 and a half hours on school days except friday which was my day off. On satudays I studied and did homework from 9am to 2pm. On sundays I studied from 11am to 6pm.
This sounds like a lot of work and it is but if you want medicine and your hungry enough for it you will want to study even more than I stated above. My best advice is hit the ground running in 5th as there are too many things happening in your lc year: grads orals projects due for submission.
Best of luck and I hope you get medicine!

As of my first proper week of 5th year (last week was 2 days) I am currently doing 2 1/2 hours on week days Monday to Friday and 4 hours minimum on weekends

Beca19

Seanf999 wrote: »

As of my first proper week of 5th year (last week was 2 days) I am currently doing 2 1/2 hours on week days Monday to Friday and 4 hours minimum on weekends

How can you have that much to study after a week of material?!

Seanf999

I agree that leaving cert is hyped to a degree but if it wasn't then students wouldn't put in the effort the majority of them would say something along the lines of 'as Mr/Mrs ......... Said it's only the leaving cert it's not that bad' (I know simply because of the fact that I spend my Mondays to fridays on a premises with these such people.
Higher level LC maths is of course harder then JC OL that's a given but it is not an impossible feat, as my maths teacher said 'it's not easy but it is manageable' and I already knew that before I went into Higher level today.
Overall I've got some great answers and some interesting but off topic points,

Overall I'm greatful to everyone who posted as they all gave me some insight into whether getting 600 in the leaving cert is doable , from what I gathered it's not impossible but it's not easy.

Roquentin

Studying Maths in college has nothing to do with the difference in standard between OL JC Maths and HL LC Maths.

If you are saying that there is a gigantic difference between OL maths and HL maths, then you are insinuating that college maths is another jump. Im saying its not. I know of guys who struggled at maths in the leaving, who went on to become engineers and accountants.

There is repetition to the exam. So if you apply yourself and train yourself properly it can be achieved. I dont buy into this whole well some people are better than others at maths naturally. They are better because they practice and put time into maths. Frankly making HL maths to be some gigantic subject that is very hard to do well in, is rubbish. If you wanted to become a pianist or a football player, you have to practice.

I got an A in maths, because i put time into it. I also got an A in chemistry and biology and accounting, because yes, you guessed it, i put time into them.

This whole honours maths thing is hype generated by teachers and students alike. They would not have the maths course the way it is, if it wasnt achievable.

You keep going on as if i have a hidden agenda. You do realize you are talking to a computer screen and dont even know me. And if you dont know me, dont judge me.

Do you have any idea of what is involved in either syllabus?

dont be condescending please

Roquentin

Seanf999 wrote: »

I agree that leaving cert is hyped to a degree but if it wasn't then students wouldn't put in the effort the majority of them would say something along the lines of 'as Mr/Mrs ......... Said it's only the leaving cert it's not that bad' (I know simply because of the fact that I spend my Mondays to fridays on a premises with these such people.
Higher level LC maths is of course harder then JC OL that's a given but it is not an impossible feat, as my maths teacher said 'it's not easy but it is manageable' and I already knew that before I went into Higher level today.
Overall I've got some great answers and some interesting but off topic points,

Overall I'm greatful to everyone who posted as they all gave me some insight into whether getting 600 in the leaving cert is doable , from what I gathered it's not impossible but it's not easy.

dont fear it and you will do well.

Now im not answering any more on this subject. Some people will be delighted i suspect:D

spurious

Roquentin wrote: »

If you are saying that there is a gigantic difference between OL maths and HL maths, then you are insinuating that college maths is another jump. Im saying its not. I know of guys who struggled at maths in the leaving, who went on to become engineers and accountants.

I know nothing of Maths at college and am making no such insinuation. YOU are making the leap in saying I am.

Not quite sure what your agenda is here to mislead people as to what is involved in trying to go from an OL JC to a HL LC, but I'll leave it up to others here to judge for themselves.

dumbyearbook

pwurple wrote: »

For 600... I didn't get there myself, but i got fairly high. Picking your subjects is key. If there is any extra subject available outside school where the curiculum overlaps with what you already know, then do it if you can manage it. Calculate your points from every test you sit. Look at where you are losing marks. You need to get them all. Can't let a mark escape. Anyone i know who got 600 was doing 8 or 9 subjects.

For example on chosing your subjects... I did physics and HL maths, and also took on applied maths as an extra subject because there was some overlap. Could have done similar with engineering , or physics and chemistry. Some people find an overlap with art, maths and graphic design.


I didn't do biology, so I don't know what the overlap subjects are. Possibly part of the home economics course, or argricultural science?
Do you play any instrument, or can you read music? If you have that already, then consider the music course.

Those extra subjects I used to buffer my weak subjects... Which for me, were irish and my european language. With Languages, I struggled to pick up the straggling marks. I would answer the question, but the teachers note nearly always said 'expand more'.


I would highly recommend doing a private career guidance session.

Could'nt agree more with this. Particularly the guidance session we did them, were very good.