Odd question

Nietzschean

This may seem like an odd question but is anyone else aiming fer points over a hundred higher than they actually need? i'm aiming for about 540-560 or so and need 390..........waste of effort?

Baz_

no unfortunately its not a waste of effort, the points can fluctuate quite wildly so its impossible to predict what you will actually need, so you are better off aiming higher than you think you need.

Nietzschean

i got 520pts in pre.........need 390.....u really think maths in trinity could jump 130points or more in one year?

Mills

Getting more points than you need is a waste of time, but it's better to be safe than sorry i suppose. If I got 520 in the mocks and I needed around 390, I would take it easy and do absolutely nothing until a few weeks before the exams, but I'm doing that anyway and I didn't even get enough in the mocks .

Extra points aren't going to matter a damn once you can get into what you want, but if I could get 520 with a small amount of effort I'd go for it in case I changed my mind next year or after and decided I wanted to do something with higher points. More points = more choice of courses, but if you know what you want for sure you don't need more choice of courses.

Nietzschean

Well mills its not quite what u might call a small ammount of effort...easter holidays -> 9am - 9pm..............but i've decided to revise me actualy target upward to 580 in lc.......should give me choice in a year if i wish to take it of any course in the country......tho i'm fairly sure i will stick with maths......but 580 would just look luvly to stick up on the wall

Mills

Yeah 580 would look lovely framed on the wall, but my point is that it's not worth 12 hour days of study or anything near that just for a piece of paper with 580 points on it, it might be if you actually needed those points for a course but you don't seem to...

Tell me, how do you discipline yourelf to study for 12 hours? Do you enjoy it? I'm intrigued.......

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

cournioni

Tell ya what... you can give some of your points that you have left over to me... I'll need them!

That would be cool. But unfortunately cannot be done.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Maybe you could get a course for a degree in attention seeking!

Nietzschean

565 and u need 330 ? why u goto school?

Man U babe

I'm going for 65 more than I need (mathsci UCD=485) cos science entrance scholarships are to be had at 550! mmmm 1270 euro towards me new computer.........550's not going to be that hard to get anyway cos i think i got round 530 in mocks just cant f*ck up languages too much!

Stephen

For the past couple of years the course I'm doing has been about 330 points in the CAO. It dropped to 300 the year before I started. Then, last year when I began, the points dropped again to 270. With my meagre 365 points from the lc with fup-all work I had nearly 100 points more than I needed. You could say I was pleasantly surprised

I knew a couple of people who were great students, always got A's/B's in their school exams, but they took the LC WAY too seriously and got too nervous - totally fvcked up the exams on the day and got far less than they should have.

Take it easy, don't spend 12 hours a day studying - the leaving cert is NOT worth it at all. I got by doing 2.5 hours of supervised study after school each day - it was the only motivation I had. If i had studied at home I would have just found other things to do. (of course, many hours of those 2.5 hour study sessions were spent asleep on the desk )

Turner

points have nothing got to do with it....

My course was 330 pts.. i got an A1 in maths and im doing maths and mathematical physics in college. (havent got a clue about either)

They are **** hard compared to what you learn in school

Points are determined by the availability of places.

Victor

What happens when you find you hate maths half way throught the first year and don't have enough points to get the course you want to do then?

As a general rule, employers will look at the last two major sets of qualifications that you have - a good LC will stand by you for the next 5-7 years at least.

colm L

Getting way too many points by spending a ridiculus amount of time studying just ain't worth cos when it comes down to it when you're finished college nobody cares about your leaving cert.
All you have down on your CV is 7 hounours or whatever..

lazer

lads,

in a few months u will relise whats its all about..

i am studying MM in DCU, but back then ( i sat leaving cert in 99) i didnt think i would get points, i was aiming for the Multimedia course in dliadt, which at the time was 115 points? i thought sound..no problem?

when cao came the points had jumped to 445........from 115 to 445, its 335 difference?

aim as high as u can boyz.....dont plan anything on the points from last year? it all depends on the demand for each course? most will just jump 10points here and there but....

i got lucky the course for dcu wasnt in real demand in 99, but the one in dunlaoire was?

also, put as many courses down as u can, u can also transfer after first year into another course?

but u dont have to listen to me, im just a stupid student who enjoys munching sweeties in dark rooms listening to repetive music with people who i have just met...

its all ahead of ye'z:p

Paulj

The way i see it 12 hours a day is madness. You actually must like studying...in that case its ok. But life isn't about study. Just aim fifty points or so higher than your course requirement and you should be ok. There's way less people applying for CAO this year anyway so overall the points will be dropping a bit accross the board. Might as well enjoy life - thats my outlook, and just do enough to get your course.

smiles

Aiming for 560, need 355/320 or something, and got 470 in my mocks.

as for motivation? well over 500 means i get €1000, so yeah that helps... but i'm still not studying, i love my memory!

<< Fio >>

po0k

Aim to get as much as you can.
If you ever want to come back to college again and do a pastgrad or change yourcareer mid-life you might be very glad you had those extra points.
I got 395 in the mocks last year, got 455 in the actual thing, didn't do a tap for either.
If you're the tupe of person who works well under pressure cramming in teh hour before the mocks is a great way to score some extra points.
Take a relaxed attitude to it all, don't break your arse cos there are backdoors to backdoors to most courses/career paths in Ireland nowadays.
That applies doubly to anyone who will be 16/17 goin into college, there is no compunction on you to go this september, you'll be underage and freshers week will be a drag.
Get a job sorted for the summer NOW.
Orals are a joke, as is Geography, English, Irish, French and the other fluff subjects.
Accounting, Physics, Maths, Chemistry and Biology are the ones that need work.
It's almost too easy to bullshít your way through some subjects, English being the prime example

Victor

Originally posted by smiles
Aiming for 560, need 355/320 or something, and got 470 in my mocks. as for motivation? well over 500 means i get €1000, so yeah that helps... but i'm still not studying, i love my memory!

I got 21 points on the old system (435 on hte new one I think). Could have done at least 50-100 points better if I had studied.

Yes, one should also keep scholarships (and grateful relatives) in mind, it might be handy to have high points and get €500 - €2,500 to tide you over. Remember they are tax free, if attainment based.

Man U babe

Like Serialkiller, have decided to revise target to 580. Got 550 in mocks, if I bring B2s in french and accounting up to A2s and maths to A1(no problem) I'll get 580 and I'll be laughing. I have no intention of studying 12 hours a day though.