How many points did you get in your leaving cert?

I got 385. Which was a miracle as I barely did a tap in 5th or 6th year, I was the laziest, most unmotivated person imaginable. I used to spend every Biology class drawing, about a month out it finally dawned on me that I literally didn't know a single thing about the subject.

Had to come clean to my parents that I was going to fail most subjects with about a month to go. After 4 odd weeks of intensive grinds in the subjects that can't be bull****ted, I at least passed them, and then did really well in the ones you can (to a degree).

When I got the 385 my mother burst into tears, she was convinced I was going to fail outright. Look back on it now and feel very annoyed at myself. Not over the points as they were fine and I could do what I wanted to do, but at the sheer senselessness of being such a waster and putting my parents through all that cost and stress because of it.

Got 340 with minimum effort, went to DKIT doing an arts degree and now I'm a butcher. Go figure. Regret not going straight into an apprenticeship after school but unfortunately the teachers at the time rarely even mentioned them, always pushed everyone to go to college. Likewise parents pushed me to go to college, never finished the course in the end either.

Love my current job

One eyed Jack wrote: »

You really shouldn’t be ashamed at all. I know far too many young people who achieved high points in the LC, then crashed and burned afterwards, or dropped out of third level education in their first year. It’s one of the biggest reasons why the drop-out rate in third level education is so high - people simply aren’t able to cope.

I did well for my LC, wanted to join the army but failed the medical, went on to study computer science and mathematics which was something else I wanted to do. At the time the points for it were very low but I wasn’t thinking about the points!

I suppose I was only ashamed because we had it drummed into us that the LC was the be all and end all and that points were super important. Especially when the course I wanted didn’t have hugely massive points and I still couldn’t even get that. I knew I could’ve done better, I’m definitely capable of better but given the circumstances that was what I got.

Having said that, I’m so glad everything worked out the way it did because as I said earlier, 4 years down the line I’m going into my final year at uni, have always gotten good grades at college and I’m studying a course that I enjoy. My LC points haven’t mattered one little bit since results day.

420. Enough to do what I wanted with a few to spare.

sugarman wrote: »

Its not pointless, its just not the be all and end all ..nor is it the only option to go forward in life as so many paint it.

As I said in my previous post, most that I know that underachieved in the LC or didnt even sit it went onto better careers that those that I know did well in it.

There were plenty of people that went on to study Medicine, Nursing, Teaching etc.. but few of them completed their college education as they soon found out it wasn't for them which is fine. They then found themselves in jobs and the likes to take time to reassess and before they knew it, theyre still there 10 years later with a mortage, kids etc..

At 17/18 its a huge pressure to do well and theres a huge emphasis to pick a course course / career that determines the rest of your life.

Its an important first stepping stone into work life and not one you want to completely fall down at , it just makes everything after a bit messier and harder like, it certainly pays off well to work hard for the year.

And thats funny, almost anyone I know who did completely **** in the leaving went on to also not any interest or drive to do well in a career either, once a waster always a waster, for the most part Ive found

375, got a place to study computer science but took a job instead in a completely unrelated field that I ended up excelling it.
Worked at that for 12 years until the recession hit & I was made redundant while pregnant & have been a stay at home Mam ever since.
Would like to go to college as a mature student, do the points you got in your Leaving still apply when applying for courses 21 years later or how does that work??

One eyed Jack wrote: »

Ms2011 wrote: »

375, got a place to study computer science but took a job instead in a completely unrelated field that I ended up excelling it.
Worked at that for 12 years until the recession hit & I was made redundant while pregnant & have been a stay at home Mam ever since.
Would like to go to college as a mature student, do the points you got in your Leaving still apply when applying for courses 21 years later or how does that work??

Few different avenues open to you really. You could apply as a mature student is the most obvious one. Generally speaking your LC results will be considered but won’t be a determining factor as a mature student. Some courses will have their own specific entry requirements too, depends upon what you want to do and where, how and when you want to study -

Third-level courses for mature students

I’m biased but there are some great Comp Sci courses out there now if that’s what you still wanted to get into, and plenty of opportunities too

Thanks you, just waiting for my youngest to start 'big school' next year & I'll be looking into all my options but great to know where to start.

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Instead of awarding college places based on absolute points, why don't we award college places based on your ranking in your own local school 's Leaving Cert Exam?

For example, someone in the Institute might have gotten 580 points, but maybe 25 kids in that school got the same points or higher.

Whereas if you got 500 points in a school in the back-arse of Tallaght and almost nobody in your school has gone to TCD or UCD, then maybe you should be in the first tier of ranking, alongside the best student in The Institute or Belvo, etc.

Some minor tinkering with this kind of scale, which relates your outcomes to the available resources, might me far more équitable than the current CAO process as it stands.

There already is something like that, HEAR scheme , plenty of people from disadvantaged schools get into higher points courses on it