Have I just ruined my plans by 1 hour?

LordSirTurnip

Hey guys,
Believe this may take a wee bit of context, and thanks to my Higher level English ability, I will deliver it concisely and efficiently!

So it was the morning of Friday the 9th of June, the day my first maths paper was due to take place. The exam was set for the Afternoon 2:00 slot and, being the sloth-like creature i am, decided to catch up on some well earned sleep after the Gruelling English exams the day prior.
Now I may have a flair for languages, but I'm not the best at Maths, so I was dropped to Ordinary just after the Mocks in April, which i didn't really mind.

I awoke at 3:02 and well, you could imagine my dismay.... ok, shaft dismay, I was on the verge of throwing myself into the nearby town river. Now I understand it's ordinary, and my course requires a brand spanking new O6 to allow entry. I sat my Maths paper 2 in the hopes that from it, I could scrape a 40%+ from just the one paper, and I felt reasonably confident at the time. However doubts are coming over me and I'm rather concerned that my aspired 3rd level education has been ruined by 1 morning of over sleeping.

I realise that i haven't even posed a question yet, and well, here it is. What are my options? What the hell can I do if i open my envelope from the SEC in August and find an O7 in maths staring at me in the face? I'm not looking for anything extravagant, I was hoping for AL801 in AIT, 300 points which is grand, but points won't matter if I lack the Required O6. Where can I go from here, and what's your advice?

Cheers a bunch,
A very disappointed LC examinee

spurious

Do you think you got over 80% in the paper you sat?
If not, it sounds like you might be repeating.

An expensive lesson, I suppose. Pity there was nobody where you live to get you up. Did your school not ring you?

LordSirTurnip

Well With Maths it can be difficult to say how it went. I personally tallied the amount i assumed to get during the test and counted about 260/300 marks. If that is the case then i should be ok, but I'm not sure the marking scheme and marks provided for which parts of the answers. My parents were away at work and I was just coming off a series of all-nighters, so i suppose using an alarm at that point was under-kill.

If i was to repeat, It'd be a year of waiting. I'm not bad at exams, or the subjects in said exams. Points are no issue, were it not for the exam I missed, I'd be set for September. You need to try and understand the sheer lack of a will to live from someone who has just possibly thrown away a year of his life on 1 hour sleeping.

In terms of resitting next June, would i need to sit the entire line-up of exams, or just the maths, my Irish and English so far have been stellar and I would rather cease to exist than sit those again.

A97

I'm sorry about what happened. There's not much point saying it now, but for the future, all nighters are generally a bad idea as tiredness can lower your performance and sleeping often solidifies the things that you have learned. It's very important that you keep track of important times and dates throughout your life or you could be prone to making a mistake.

I hope that you pass, and if you did a really good job of paper II, you might get over the line.

Generally, CAO courses that require certain grades don't care when you got the grade. So if you fail maths this year but get enough points for the course, you only need to pass maths next year. Essentially you need the points and you need the matriculation requirements. You do not need to get them both from one sitting of the Leaving Cert.

Also, what's done is done and the most you can do is learn from it. Try to focus on the rest of your exams for now so that you get the best results that you can. Hopefully it will all work out, but if not, you could work for a year, or potentially travel. You could turn what might be a wasted year into a good one if needs be. Just remember to keep studying maths throughout the year so that you'll have a great chance of passing next year.

Bazinga_N

Unfortunately a guy I know is repeating this year for the exact same reason. He slept in and missed his maths exam.

Have a look at some colleges though. A girl I know failed maths but went to NUIG because her course didn't have it as a requirement or something. Also some colleges have extra maths exams in August for those who failed so that could be an option for you too! Do it a bit of research and try to remain as optimistic as you cause.

Nyctolust

All I have to add to the above posts is that some colleges allow a resit of the Maths exam during the summer so you should do some research on that. Also it is possible for you to repeat Maths alone next year so you have your matriculation requirements (and not count it for LC points) rather than repeat all your subjects again.

Best of luck, and try not to be too hard on yourself All you can do is learn from your mistakes and improve.

RoisinClare6

As far as I know some colleges do certain lc exam repeats in August so this might be on option for you.

Please don't worry your life isn't over, just taking a different route now than before!

Best of luck

daraghwal

LordSirTurnip wrote: »

Hey guys,
Believe this may take a wee bit of context, and thanks to my Higher level English ability, I will deliver it concisely and efficiently!

So it was the morning of Friday the 9th of June, the day my first maths paper was due to take place. The exam was set for the Afternoon 2:00 slot and, being the sloth-like creature i am, decided to catch up on some well earned sleep after the Gruelling English exams the day prior.
Now I may have a flair for languages, but I'm not the best at Maths, so I was dropped to Ordinary just after the Mocks in April, which i didn't really mind.

I awoke at 3:02 and well, you could imagine my dismay.... ok, shaft dismay, I was on the verge of throwing myself into the nearby town river. Now I understand it's ordinary, and my course requires a brand spanking new O6 to allow entry. I sat my Maths paper 2 in the hopes that from it, I could scrape a 40%+ from just the one paper, and I felt reasonably confident at the time. However doubts are coming over me and I'm rather concerned that my aspired 3rd level education has been ruined by 1 morning of over sleeping.

I realise that i haven't even posed a question yet, and well, here it is. What are my options? What the hell can I do if i open my envelope from the SEC in August and find an O7 in maths staring at me in the face? I'm not looking for anything extravagant, I was hoping for AL801 in AIT, 300 points which is grand, but points won't matter if I lack the Required O6. Where can I go from here, and what's your advice?

Cheers a bunch,
A very disappointed LC examinee

Maybe contact AIT? Explain the situation and see what they say? Worth a try. That's if you get the 300 points I suppose.

lawred2

slept in and missed an exam?

first I've heard of that happening

Anthony123123

lawred2 wrote: »

slept in and missed an exam?

first I've heard of that happening

i wouldve understood if the exam was at 9.00 but this LOL

Bazinga_N

Anthony123123 wrote: »

i wouldve understood if the exam was at 9.00 but this LOL

Most Leaving cert students have incredibly messed up sleeping patterns during the exams. I get up at 4am most mornings and sleep at 6pm if I can and literally take a nap whenever I have the chance. Could 100% see myself sleeping in if I didn't have people to wake me.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Matriculation is usually separate to points. This means that if you have the points you want you can, if you want just repeat maths.

randylonghorn

LordSirTurnip wrote: »

... I was just coming off a series of all-nighters ....

Bazinga_N wrote: »

Most Leaving cert students have incredibly messed up sleeping patterns during the exams.

.

LordSirTurnip

Many thanks for the words of encouragement, but If it was a thing that I was to get an O7 or lower in my Maths, I'd say only time could heal that wound, 12 months of a wait just for two, 3 hour exams that I would have gotten a decent grade in anyways. And cheers for the info, it's set my mind at ease, at least a little bit.

As for the re-sitting of exams in August I will have to wait and see when results come out, If it was such a situation that I failed, I can try AIT and see what my options were from them, but there isn't much point hassling them about it now, not knowing whether or not I've got the grade.

When it comes to the question on why I slept in for an afternoon exam, well it is the Leaving Cert, it was Higher level English and it isn't a walk in the park. I doubt any LC examinee sleeps regular hours during exam time, be it from nerves or last-minute studying. If you didn't have anything to contribute to my question, I don't see why you'd need to input such a comment.

Thanks again everyone.

spurious

I don't understand why your school didn't ring you though. We move heaven and earth for students who are missing for any of the major exams.

Anyway, you can do nothing about it now. It could be a whole new opportunity - spend a year volunteering (and getting paid a bit by the EU), travel, learn a language. The world is your oyster and it is only a year.

evolving_doors

LordSirTurnip wrote: »

Many thanks for the words of encouragement, but If it was a thing that I was to get an O7 or lower in my Maths, I'd say only time could heal that wound, 12 months of a wait just for two, 3 hour exams that I would have gotten a decent grade in anyways. And cheers for the info, it's set my mind at ease, at least a little bit.

As for the re-sitting of exams in August I will have to wait and see when results come out, If it was such a situation that I failed, I can try AIT and see what my options were from them, but there isn't much point hassling them about it now, not knowing whether or not I've got the grade.

When it comes to the question on why I slept in for an afternoon exam, well it is the Leaving Cert, it was Higher level English and it isn't a walk in the park. I doubt any LC examinee sleeps regular hours during exam time, be it from nerves or last-minute studying. If you didn't have anything to contribute to my question, I don't see why you'd need to input such a comment.

Thanks again everyone.

Noooooo .....hassle them now. (If you've finished all your exams and have time).
A lot of college staff take holidays when it's quiet around july/August. You might find it difficult to get the right person if you leave it too late. Find out now to put your mind at ease, knowledge will put your mind at ease so at least you can get on with enjoying the summer!
If it is available ask for exam papers, it mightnt be the exact same layout as the Leaving Cert (I don't know! )
Also enquire about sitting a maths matric exam in another college,would they accept that result?.

Mr Rhode Island Red

It may not be ideal, but if you want to get moving into third level you could look into courses that don't require maths.

Just having a quick look at Qualifax there there's a lot of arts courses and a few science courses that don't need maths.

But regardless, lots of people end up taking a year out or deferring to repeat individual subjects, HPATs, put together portfolios, build up a bit of cash, learn to drive. The year will fly, and don't give up hope yet, you could surprise yourself with the Maths result.

LordSirTurnip

Mr Rhode Island Red wrote: »

It may not be ideal, but if you want to get moving into third level you could look into courses that don't require maths.

Just having a quick look at Qualifax there there's a lot of arts courses and a few science courses that don't need maths.

I'm not a picky guy, It's not like i'm going for Medicine in Trinity, but I had hoped of making a career out of this course's topic, and that was my main reasoning behind going to third level. It might suit some people, who just want a 3rd level in anything on their CV, but as I said I had hoped to make something longer and more concise out of my 4 years. All the same thanks for the consideration and taking the time to comment .


As far as getting in touch with AIT in 4 days, (Physics being my last exam on Monday) is that I'd look mighty foolish if i made a fuss about possibly not making the entry requirements, and then actually passing. I'm not ruling that out, I did above average on that Paper 2, Every question was filled in at the end, the vast majority worked out grand, but even the one or two I had trouble with had work and equations written down, just to clarify that. Based on that, would contacting AIT at this moment in time be more beneficial in the long term? or would it come back to bite me if it turns out i got in without hassle and just made myself look silly. Again, I really appreciate the advice.

spurious wrote: »

I don't understand why your school didn't ring you though. We move heaven and earth for students who are missing for any of the major exams.

I have quite a large exam year compared to the amount of staff in my school at the moment. We have something like 156 examinees to less than 10 overseers. I'm not sure the situation in other schools, but I didn't get any call from the school or any staff. That being said, I take full responsibility for my own actions, and in no way can I blame someone else for not waking ME up in time for MY exam. The fact that you would do that for your own students is lovely though, wish I had someone like you around last Friday

spurious

I understand you are talking full responsibility (and believe me many would try find a way to blame someoene else) but most teachers I've known would treat their students as they would like their own children to be treated.

I remember taking a student (one helmet between us, god bless Health and Safety in the 80s) on the back of a motorbike in to do his exam after his mother had 'sent him on a message' instead of into school to do his Group Cert..

I don't think there would be any negative outcome from contacting AIT. You just put it as a general enquiry - Do they have an additional Maths exam in the event a student who has the points necessary for a course failing Maths?

Get them before they go on holidays.

Miaireland

Honestly contact the college now. As others said the right person may not be there in August an in fact could make life easier for them in August.

All you have to ask if they have option of sitting a maths paper in August if you do not get the required points and how do you go about arranging to sit it if needs be. It is honestly a two minute phonecall and could put your mind at rest.

RGDATA!

lawred2 wrote: »

slept in and missed an exam?

first I've heard of that happening

helpful post!

randylonghorn

No need to make a fuss, just a simple question to the Admissions Office ... "if I don't pass Maths, is there another alternative / do you offer a "make-up" maths exam in August like some colleges do?"

You don't have to tell them what happened.

Believe me, that's a very sane / reasonable question compared with what some students get their knickers in a twist about at this time of year, and they won't remember you 10 minutes later, let alone tag you as "looking silly"!

And if the answer is "yes", you know you have a back-up plan and will be more relaxed.

Crazyteacher

Your options are not fully closed yet. See if the college has that extra maths exam in August. Check if they have alternative requirements for that course at level 6 or 7. And call the head of department in the college and tell them what happened. Also check out similar courses in other colleges and see if their requirents are similar. See if there's a Level 5 further education college course that could bring you on to the course you want next summer.

covfefe98

If maths isn't affecting your points but the requirements depending on colleges you can sit a maths exam or you could just repeat maths(points are only counted for the year you sit all your subjects) for the requirements

i am awsome

I looked into plenty of options in case of failing maths. Like someone said, you can use Qualifax to filter courses that do not require maths, and there's a few that are not too bad. A few I found include:
Economics (joint degree) in UCD, it's arts.
Maths (also joint degree) also arts.
Accounting & Finance DIT, H7 in maths.
Business & Management DIT, H7 in maths.
Computer Science DIT, H7 in maths.
Economics & Finance DIT, H7 in maths.
Just to name a few..

These are all level 8 courses and there's plenty more to choose from. They all range from the mid-low 400's to low 300's points wise.
There is also the option, which I highly recommend, of calling any college you're thinking of to see about maths exams in August.
There's no such thing as 'looking silly' it's your future at the end of the day and you can't change the past, so you make sure you give yourself the best possible chance in the future and move forward.

LordSirTurnip

Well I know its been 2 months since i originally posted this thread, but for those of you that like a bit of closure on the subject, I'm happy to report that I opened my results this morning to an O6 in Mathematics. I'd like to thank you all for your advice and help with the matter. Pray to god i don't make another colossal screw-up like i did in June, later on in life. Cheers again

randylonghorn

All those sleepless nights for nothing ....

Glad to hear it worked out.

RoisinClare6

Well done! Delighted that it was good news

Rave.ef

I'm sorry this is the funniest thing I've ever read you couldn't make it up.
Glad it all worked out though good on ya....

slept in lol

august12

Hadn't followed this thread before and just tuned in today, I love a happy ending, can't believe you slept through your maths exam, I understand why parents take time off work to ensure stuff like this doesn't happen.

lawred2

Congrats.

What is an O6?