Need Info on Repeating at 22 Years old

jg3114

So as the title states Im 22 years old (23 this December) ad I have had anything but a straight forward life since finishing my leaving cert in 2011.

I just about made it through school was about to drop out but managed through it and got 290 points in my exams I wasnt really that pushed about it I didnt care about education and I just wanted to be left alone in my room tbh...

Since then I have been diagnosed with High functioning Asperger's syndrome have got help dealing with it and am ready to move on with my life! Now that I am more focused on where I want to go in life and what I want to make of myself I know that repeating is really the only option for me as I want to study medicine in UCC which can only be obtained with enough points, so please dont advise a fetac course or something!!

I have sat a IQ test in UCC with no prep work done and tested @ 90% which I was ok with I wanted to test in the top 2% as I believe its achievable for me but like I say I purposely did no prep work so when I sit it again next year I can see how much I improve ( random but hey) so in terms of general aptitude it shouldnt be a issue.

My problem is I live in Cork and I have contacted Bruce College about repeating (I asked to do 5th and 6th year) and they said 22 is to old for them to go repeat in college of commerce however im trying to achieve 600 points and I really dont see myself having the support I need to achieve this in College of com. No huge offence is meant to the college but a few of my mates from school went there after they didnt do great in their leaving and lets just say they where not the hardest working bunch of lads.. I was always taught for a B in secondary school and I literally cant afford that this time around I need to be achieving for a A in every exam!

I am yet to contact Hewitt college as I am scared I will receive the same answer from them and am looking for any advice with regard to how best approach it or if there is any other places that would accept me for my leaving cert that would be extremely focused on 600 points. Fees arent an issue for the most part I can pay the 6000-7000 a year but with regard to 100% private tuition thats out of the question! so no solution more than that please I dont have the luxury of parents its out of my own pocket and savings!

The way things are looking right now I am just going to be home schooling myself for the rest of this year through 5th year and then next year repeating 6th year in college of com which like i say isnt the best formula for getting 600.... So any advice or thoughts would be gratefully welcomed!!

Incase it makes a difference the subjects im looking at repeating are Maths, Applied Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Construction Studies. I have already passed English and french and have a exemption in irish so I was free to 100% pick my subjects

Thanks

NormalBob Ubiquitypants

I went to the Institute of Eduction at 19. They had a room only for mature students and were more set up. It was like a cross between uni and school. Pick classes, teachers etc. But the advantage for mature students was the study space dedicated only to mature students. Might be worth a phone call to them. There were some people there who were older. Specifically I remember a guy who did a degree and decided to repeat the Leaving for medicine as well. Last week there, after working his ass off he was accepted as a mature student. I think he needed a C in chemistry or something.
Maybe try Galway or Limerick for private places as well?

Edit: Saw your subject choice included construction studies. I think by picking this you are limiting yourself as not many places will be set up for this subject.

spurious

Not sure what your issue is with the College of Commerce. They have students of all ability levels - just because you never met them doesn't mean they don't exist.

Spending money is no guarantee you will get what you want.

jg3114

spurious wrote: »

Not sure what your issue is with the College of Commerce. They have students of all ability levels - just because you never met them doesn't mean they don't exist.

Spending money is no guarantee you will get what you want.

My issue is with PLC colleges as a whole I was previously in one and is was disgusting to consider it education I dropped out after 3 months I was learning a ordinary level junior cert course the teachers didnt care and half the students ether didnt turn up or just disrupted the class.

Intelligence has nothing to do with the simple fact that people who attend plc colleges typically dont really care as opposed to a grind school where you are surrounded by others who for the most part have the same intention to work hard with teachers who want to be at work...

You can have 180 IQ but if all you want to do in life is smoke weed and sit on your ass thats all you will ever achieve.

rainbowtrout

jg3114 wrote: »

My issue is with PLC colleges as a whole I was previously in one and is was disgusting to consider it education I dropped out after 3 months I was learning a ordinary level junior cert course the teachers didnt care and half the students ether didnt turn up or just disrupted the class.

Intelligence has nothing to do with the simple fact that people who attend plc colleges typically dont really care as opposed to a grind school where you are surrounded by others who for the most part have the same intention to work hard with teachers who want to be at work...

You can have 180 IQ but if all you want to do in life is smoke weed and sit on your ass thats all you will ever achieve.

That's a pretty disgusting attitude you have right there. There are lots of excellent PLC courses and college in the country that have hard working teachers and hard working students. But you are passing judgement on a whole area of education based on one experience.

Not every student who enrols in a PLC will work hard. Not every student who enrols in a degree will work hard.

Grind schools are filled with people who don't want to be there either but are there because their parents have made them go there. The students who get 590 points from the grind school are publicised, not the ones who got 300.


As for applying for Medicine. When you apply for medicine you have to pass all your exams in the same sitting of the Leaving Cert, so that's Irish (where applicable), English, Maths, foreign language and your remaining options including science subjects.

Scoring at the 90th percentile in an IQ test is all well and good but understanding college entry requirements is key.

EoghanIRL

jg3114 wrote: »

My issue is with PLC colleges as a whole I was previously in one and is was disgusting to consider it education I dropped out after 3 months I was learning a ordinary level junior cert course the teachers didnt care and half the students ether didnt turn up or just disrupted the class.

Intelligence has nothing to do with the simple fact that people who attend plc colleges typically dont really care as opposed to a grind school where you are surrounded by others who for the most part have the same intention to work hard with teachers who want to be at work...

You can have 180 IQ but if all you want to do in life is smoke weed and sit on your ass thats all you will ever achieve.

You good sir win all the roll eyes. :rolleyes:
Going to a grind school won't make you intelligent.
Going to a grind school won't make you hard working.

Some anecdotal evidence. So you went to one Plc and decided to paint them all with the same brush based on a single experience? Ignorance is bliss so to speak.

jg3114

To everyone who criticizes my opinion I base my opinion off facts which is something quite clearly none of you have looked into I never said I pay 7k and get 600 points.. My view is 7k gives me the best opportunity at 600 points... BASED OFF THE FACT that 37% of student who sat their leaving cert in Hewitt college last year got over 500 as opposed to 7.1% of the general public and 22% got over 550 as opposed to 2.8% of the general public... thats a 5-8 time fold in results...

You might not agree with spending so much money for a education But I do based off of hard facts.. When I know I am going to put in the work I want to know that the support around me are also going to do the same... If you dont agree with that view fine but the simple fact of the matter is theres a reason public schools have less than 3% of students getting over 550 and grind colleges 22%..

I really dont care if you have a different view im simply looking for information because im doing research but yet am be accused of throwing money without doing research... But ill let the people who choose to ignore these figures get on with their day....

jg3114

EoghanIRL wrote: »

You good sir win all the roll eyes. :rolleyes:
Going to a grind school won't make you intelligent.
Going to a grind school won't make you hard working.

Some anecdotal evidence. So you went to one Plc and decided to paint them all with the same brush based on a single experience? Ignorance is bliss so to speak.

If you read my first post I said i score in the top 10% for iq with no prep work
How you can access im not hard working when im homeschooling myself through 5th year is beyond me but hey what do I know you clearly know me better than I do...

rainbowtrout

jg3114 wrote: »

To everyone who criticizes my opinion I base my opinion off facts which is something quite clearly none of you have looked into I never said I pay 7k and get 600 points.. My view is 7k gives me the best opportunity at 600 points... BASED OFF THE FACT that 37% of student who sat their leaving cert in Hewitt college last year got over 500 as opposed to 7.1% of the general public and 22% got over 550 as opposed to 2.8% of the general public... thats a 5-8 time fold in results...

You might not agree with spending so much money for a education But I do based off of hard facts.. When I know I am going to put in the work I want to know that the support around me are also going to do the same... If you dont agree with that view fine but the simple fact of the matter is theres a reason public schools have less than 3% of students getting over 550 and grind colleges 22%..

I really dont care if you have a different view im simply looking for information because im doing research but yet am be accused of throwing money without doing research... But ill let the people who choose to ignore these figures get on with their day....

At least two of the people who have replied to you are very experienced teachers and at least one poster to the best of my knowledge scored at least 580 in the Leaving Cert in the last two years, so actually the people who are replying do know what they are talking about.


But taking your points about grind schools: they mean shag all in the greater scheme of things. 7.1% got 500+ nationally. So what? That's 7.1% of the entire population of the country which sounds about right.

37% of Hewitt may have got above 500, so 63% didn't. That's almost two thirds of their students who shelled out 7k for results that wouldn't be classed as outstanding.

Grind schools don't have a magic formula. They hand you out stacks of photocopied notes and tell you to learn them off by heart and you are expected to study for 12-13 hours a day. That's all it is. There's no special formula. A motivated, hard working student will do that if they want to achieve 550+ points wherever they are. If you are motivated to achieve those kind of points, it shouldn't matter who is sitting in your classes, it's up to you to put in the hours studying.

Public schools are obliged to take students with all sorts of abilities, grind schools will take anyone who is willing to cough up the money. They can choose to kick you out if you cause them grief.

You could achieve those points like students in many regular schools do every year without spending that kind of money. Ever noticed that the student who gets the top results in the country (8 or 9 A1s) is never from a grind school?

jg3114 wrote: »

If you read my first post I said i score in the top 10% for iq with no prep work
How you can access im not hard working when im homeschooling myself through 5th year is beyond me but hey what do I know you clearly know me better than I do...

Don't know why you are so obsessed with the IQ thing. Top 10% is one in every ten people. That's extremely common. IQ tests are not tests you rote learn for or prep for, they measure intelligence.

I knew a guy once that was home schooled. He smoked a lot of weed, and spent a lot of time surfing. I've decided not to label all home schoolers as stoners based on my one single experience. Maybe you should do the same about PLC students and teachers in the public system.

DK man

Why not apply to ucc as a mature student? You will be 23 soon.

My understanding of aspergers is that people with the condition have difficulties with social and general communication. Do you think medicine would be a compatible career for your personality?

Don't mean to be negative I'm actually trying to be positive.

We had a guy in our school who had mild aspergers and his mum told me that school took so much out of him because he had to put so much energy into negotiating his way through the day from a communication and social interaction perspective.

emersyn

DK man wrote: »

Why not apply to ucc as a mature student? You will be 23 soon.

My understanding of aspergers is that people with the condition have difficulties with social and general communication. Do you think medicine would be a compatible career for your personality?

Don't mean to be negative I'm actually trying to be positive.

We had a guy in our school who had mild aspergers and his mum told me that school took so much out of him because he had to put so much energy into negotiating his way through the day from a communication and social interaction perspective.

I know you're not trying to be rude but, as an autistic person, that's not really the right idea - the autism spectrum (Aspergers Syndrome has recently been amalgamated into Autism Spectrum Disorder, it's not a separate diagnosis anymore) encompasses a very wide and varied range of traits, and no two autistic people have the same traits. Communication difficulties is a very common characteristic but to say that all autistic people have communication difficulties to the extent that they would not be capable of being a doctor is very inaccurate and quite offensive to be honest (although I know this wasn't your intention). Also, not everyone who studies medicine is aiming to be a doctor