Leaving Cert hype???

09-06-2010 10:16AM

[quote=[Deleted User];66303735] So yeah. I think TCD sucks in that way. My department did, anyway.[/QUOTE]

Couldn't agree more - that's why I guessed the poster went to TCD. I went to NUIM and as I said, we got a lot of help and the lecturers were more than happy to have an open door policy for my depts. Didn't mind us dropping in any time. However I did sit a couple of modules in TCD and I found the maths/thyphs lecturers extraordinarily unhelpful. Two were incomprehensible, one of those yelled a lot, and the dept head kept letting us know he was too busy and important for lecturing and got a substitute in half the time (who was better and more help). Made it clear if we had any problems, it was up to us. Asked further - "ask your friends". Finally some brave soul said "what if our friends don't know either?" - cue much eye rolling, put-upon sighing, and a reluctant offer that she should come by his office later.
I have no time for that nonsense tbh, lecturers are there to teach and I don't care if they're there to research and have a minimum of teaching hours - they should still teach. I ended up asking a favourite NUIM lecturer for help instead, he was lovely!

markwho · 09-06-2010 10:34AM

bluewolf wrote: »

Couldn't agree more - that's why I guessed the poster went to TCD. I went to NUIM and as I said, we got a lot of help and the lecturers were more than happy to have an open door policy for my depts. Didn't mind us dropping in any time. However I did sit a couple of modules in TCD and I found the maths/thyphs lecturers extraordinarily unhelpful. Two were incomprehensible, one of those yelled a lot, and the dept head kept letting us know he was too busy and important for lecturing and got a substitute in half the time (who was better and more help). Made it clear if we had any problems, it was up to us. Asked further - "ask your friends". Finally some brave soul said "what if our friends don't know either?" - cue much eye rolling, put-upon sighing, and a reluctant offer that she should come by his office later.
I have no time for that nonsense tbh, lecturers are there to teach and I don't care if they're there to research and have a minimum of teaching hours - they should still teach. I ended up asking a favourite NUIM lecturer for help instead, he was lovely!

Yeah. Couldn't be more right about the maths/TP department in trinity. Found it nearly impossible. And it was mainly because of the lecturers. There'd be a really hard problem, and they'd just look at you as if how could you not know how to do that. Was crazy really. Dropped out after a year, after I was told I had to repeat every subject after failing one subject. A load of bull**** really, why would I repeat subjects I got firsts in.
Going to Maynooth this year, hopefully that'll be better

furtzy · 09-06-2010 10:47AM

**** just realised its 20 years since i did mine. It was definitely the hardest exam I ever did. College exams were so much more relaxed and being away from home helped...no pressure from my folks

09-06-2010 11:22AM

markwho wrote: »

Going to Maynooth this year, hopefully that'll be better

I couldn't recommend maynooth more highly!

good luck

09-06-2010 11:27AM

**** them. Look at all the J1's and trips to Thailand they are going to have. Plus college drinking. Come on. Envious of them having first year.

Kiwi_knock · 09-06-2010 11:30AM

Certainly not the hardest exams you will ever do but they are the most important.

I actually do not believe that they are the most important, but they are branded that by parents and the media. While my parents were quite relaxed with regard to the Leaving, I had friends whose parents were the exact opposite. Putting pressure on them and making them seriously stress.
The media put way too much emphasis on it and scrutinise the exams way too much. Joe Duffy will be flooded with calls about the exam as parents and students disect the exam. Say some 6th year did bad in English paper 1 and are feeling depressed, the last thing they want is the media giving the exams so much media coverage. Certainly not fair on students that the exams are dominated by the media.
The statement I made at the start of this post is how the Leaving Cert will be continued to be viewed as by the majority. That it decides your future and if you do not do well you have no future. It is a ludicrous thought but one that is believed by a majority of students.

Nidot · 09-06-2010 11:31AM

I have to completely disagree.

The leaving cert is the hardest thing I ever did.

I went to college, completed my degree, got a post grad masters and I'm currently studying for professional exams, and none of these compare to the pressure and the underlying stress of the LC.

I think people all look through rose tinted spectacles when they look back at the leaving cert.

I'd never go back and do it again, never.

Funkstard · 09-06-2010 11:37AM

There's also a big difference in doing exams at age 16-18 compared to your finals when you've matured and have experience in pressure exams to find confidence in. I think the Leaving was the hardest thing I've ever done. A complete marathon and I'll never forget it. College work on the other hand is (hopefully) work you enjoy and are interested in learning about.

Where I am (UL) help is at hand if you need it...but do you really think that level of babysitting for exams should be given to adults who are doing their finals?

Royale with Cheese · 09-06-2010 11:41AM

I've basically done 2 different degrees, and both were a piece of piss compared to the leaving cert. I studied (well attempted to study but usually ended up staring at the wall) for the leaving cert for most of 6th year, and ended up with an ok but not amazing amount of points. In college I could miss half my lectures, do 3 days study for a module and still get an A.

Too many subjects, it's very difficult to go from Maths to English to German etc. Far too much to remember, most of it is a giant memory test and the amount of stuff you have to remember is ridiculous. I would say that it's a load of shíte but a lot of the college exams I did were the same (memory test) on a smaller scale.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 09-06-2010 11:43AM

I found college to be a piece of piss, was hardly in and still passed.

It's a challenge, it's meant to be a challenge so people will learn something about life, can't be spoonfed all through life.

Also, teachers must pass the students, it's their job to teach. A lecture simply has to recite what he knows, he doesn't care as much if they pass or not. This is my idea of it. I could be wrong too

rossie1977 · 09-06-2010 12:40PM

well i never did a LC, dropped out of school the year before, went and did an ncva level 2 course which allowed me to go to college, got a 1st class hons degree (only 4 others out of 125 students got that overall mark), got a hons masters and 1st in my grad dip

looking back i think dropping out of school was a good thing, i wouldn't have lasted 6 months in college had i gone there straight from school, half my class had nearly dropped out by the end of first year

SarahBM · 09-06-2010 01:30PM

I think I can honestly say LC was the worst year of my life. but I put a lot of pressure on myself because I was so desperate to get enough point. I think its the CAO system that makes the LC so bad. It was by no means the hardest set of exams I ever sat. but definitely the most stressful. and what sucks the most is that, when you go to college your basically told forget what you learned in school, doesn't apply here. College is a totally different way of learning, and what your learning is RELEVANT!!!!

that's what I hated most about LC, most of the subjects were boring and irrelevant.

College, though way harder is more enjoyable and rewarding because you are doing subjects (mostly) that you like or love.

LC students RELAX and don't believe the hype. there is a life after the LC.

the only reason you do the LC is to get into college. other than that it is of no use to you. when you go for a job you will never be asked what did you get in you Irish paper 2.

Im finished college on friday. 5 years and I made it!!! \o/
I you survive the LC you can survive anything!

CrazyRabbit · 09-06-2010 06:02PM

Despite getting very good leaving cert results, I don't even mention it on my CV.

The only reason to do well in the leaving cert is to get accepted into 3rd level. Very little of what you learn in secondary has any practical use later on.

All those hours learning Irish, geography, history, complex mathmatical theories/functions, religion etc and I use none of it in my day-to-day life.

IM0 · 09-06-2010 06:11PM

DazMarz wrote: »

The Leaving Cert is hyped up t'fúck. It's a memory test more than anything; remember this, that and the other,

what they dont tell you is college is more or less the same thing...just at a higher level, your still learning stuff because someone said so and thats the right way to answer the question or else. its all a scam sham :pac:

El Siglo · 09-06-2010 06:27PM

Well I did alright out of my leaving, could have done better if I was pushed in some sort of direction and not just the "get as many points and pass Irish & Maths".
All in all, if you want to go somewhere you will, the leaving cert is just that piece of shit state exam from the 1970s that likes to cloud your judgement. Absolutely meaningless, if you're hardworking and have some intellect you'll be grand.
I used to tutor people in second year and third year of university, some got well over 500 points but it didn't make a difference when they couldn't understand something.

BUGS_DRUNNY · 09-06-2010 06:39PM

TBH it is not a great system(but what is?) its bot the end of the world if you don't do well.
It does however hamper some people entering they're field of choice, for example someone who wants to becoma a doctor, has to basically get an A in all subjects to get straight in thats just wrong imo!
As some of the subjects will be of little relevance to the profession!

That is the main bit i don't like!

minidazzler · 09-06-2010 06:58PM

I'm a college drop out, partly because I hated the course, but alot of the reasons I hated it were based on the fact that it took me forever to get my bearings.

I had no idea what to expect going to college, all I was told is that it was important I got into college, not how to survive a course.

Yes, alot of people make it on their own easily enough, but I was from a school that had like 250 pupils, the highest number of people in any of my classes was 12, and that was a large amount compared to most that had between 2 and 6.

To be cast into a class with 40 people, and not even knowing what the curve looked like, never mind saying following it, was really not in my best interest IMO.

I would be far more prepared if I went to college today, but I can't afford it now, after already dropping out.

banshee_bones · 09-06-2010 07:03PM

Sky Shy Babble wrote: »

Is Peig still on the curriculum? It wasn't in my day.

She was in 2003 when I did the LC anyway! :pac:

El Siglo · 09-06-2010 07:18PM

banshee_bones wrote: »

She was in 2003 when I did the LC anyway! :pac:

That was also the year that I broke my leg in two places and had to have a plate and screws put in.:pac:

Serves me right for looking at a football match...;)

orourkeda · 09-06-2010 07:19PM

IvySlayer wrote: »

Well, tbh, my college exams were easier than the Leaving Cert because I enjoyed what I did in college.

This is the key. Rather than being spoonfed as the OP suggests I felt force fed at times in secondary and was bored stupid

Agricola · 09-06-2010 07:49PM

Yeah if you pick the right course, the difficulty of college material is kind of lessened because you actually like what your doing. I dont know if thats half the battle, but its a fair percentage of it anyway imo. In the final year of my degree I got a real shock to system with a particular subject. The sheer volume of notes we had come year end was staggering and it was mostly obscure computer networking theory which didnt fly off the page at you. But because I liked the subject and the fact that it was 4th year and there was no way in hell I was going to fúck up my degree, I got through it with a decent grade.

Compared to the LC, where I hated alot of the subjects and felt like i was learning crap I would NEVER need in real life, (10 years on, I continue to be correct) college exams were grand.

epgc3fyqirnbsx · 09-06-2010 07:54PM

banshee_bones wrote: »

She was in 2003 when I did the LC anyway! :pac:

I did mine in 2001 and there was no Peig?

Maybe it was optional, we had some Dun mharú ar an Dart shíteology (murder on the dart)

Seloth · 09-06-2010 08:46PM

Speaking as a LC student this year a huge amount of pressure has been put on us due to this rise in CAO applicants,and following the recession how more people are aiming to get degrees than just simply leave in order to get a good job

.

Tbh I'm going for a course I like rather than one that would get me a job,but its ridiculouse the amount that are doing so because they are high paying.I go to a grinds school and I over heard how one person has Medicine as there first choice,Law as their second and Pharm as their third...This stupid if you do it for that reason

El Siglo · 09-06-2010 10:03PM

Barbara Tender Azimuth wrote: »

I did mine in 2001 and there was no Peig?

Maybe it was optional, we had some Dun mharú ar an Dart shíteology (murder on the dart)

Shivers down my spine thinking of that one...

JohnMearsheimer · 09-06-2010 10:38PM

The Leaving Cert marks the end of a chapter in people's lives. When it's over people go off and do their own thing. I thought the Leaving Cert was a lot harder than exams I did in college. The Leaving Cert is based on 2 years work and you get no hints as to what is coming up. College exams are based on a few months work and you will sometimes get hints from lecturers as to what's coming up. Overall I thought college was far easier than secondary school.

I'm about to sit the Leaving again for the third time next Monday and Tuesday. Only going to be doing Irish but did the the full thing in 2002 and 2003. My little sister started her JC today and I don't envy all the exams she will have to do over the next few years. All mine are done for the most part

up for anything · 09-06-2010 11:09PM

I resat the Leaving Cert seven years after doing it originally. I did three subjects: English, Geography and Social & Scientific. I hadn't gone past JC level in the latter two subjects first time around. To my shame I didn't open a book for any of them but still managed a C and two Bs by utilising post-school life experience, general reading and a great deal of waffle. The LC isn't difficult, it's the pressure that surrounds it that is.

entropi · 10-06-2010 12:22AM

I can remember doing the LC around 2004 myself and was totally hyped up to f**k...so much so that I barely scraped 300 points, could have gotten 450+ if I put in the effort needed...I just went "meh" because of all the pressure and lost interest.

In a way it let me get to where I am now, doing the last 3 school years in a PLC and now awaiting entry to a uni as a mature student doing something I really love and want to pursue as a career:)

ricman · 10-06-2010 12:36AM

Its hyped up to be very important, gives you x amount of points,but theres alot of students that dont go on to 4th level education so the chances are the amount of points you have will be irrelevant when you go for a job interview ,ie the average interviewer doesnt care about points if you are going for a job that does,nt require a degree .

Dante · 10-06-2010 12:43AM

I found my college exams to be far harder than the leaving cert although there was a lot more pressure in the leaving.

Tar.Aldarion · 10-06-2010 01:59AM

LC was joke easy compared to my course. Sure only one 1.1 in my course. It's just seen as an exam where a big decision is based off,t hat's why it is hyped.

Leaving Cert hype???

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