Maths-Higher or Ordinary?

palantír

I'm sort of in a dilemma. I need 325 points (350 to be on safe side) to get the course i want. I'm already doing 5 ordinary subjects, but in the mocks I got Fs in both maths and physics. Every other subject was ok, even though I only got 220 points overall. So do you think I could afford to drop down to ordinary level in one of them and still be ok for the 350 points? And which one? I'm quite confident I can work at the physics, but maths does my head in, and I need a Higher D3 or and Ordinary B3. I've no idea what to do myself, just lookin for some ideas.

Aporia

wow, it must have been very hard getting 220 doing 5 ordinary level subjects.


if you are getting an a or b in one of your ordinary level subjects you should try higher level to up your points a bit.

it's very hard to achieve a decent amount of points doing ordinary level

you should do ordinary maths if you got an ''f'' in higher
it's also very risky doing physics at higher level considering you got an ''f'' in that too

can you see yourself passing it?

palantír

Whoops I meant to say I'm doing five Higher subjects. I can see myself passing physics, it's just a case of getting down to it and studying hard. My teacher is really awful so I'm getting grinds to try help. As for maths, I can't tell yet. I'm getting grinds to try and put some order to my revision, but it will definatly be a struggle. Thanks for your advice.

Alkers

Honours maths if you're not in that way inclined can waste a lot of hours of study time. Physics (if you put the hours in) is easy to get at least a B in from pure memory alone, not much of the course is difficult. What other subjects are you doing and what grades did you get compared to the amount of work you put into each?

Rockerette

i say drop down in maths..

it would probably be much easier and time saving to aim for an A in ordinary, compared to the slaving you might need for the same amount of points, a C3 in higher.

drop down asap though, so you can get your head around the ordinary level course, cos its very different..


that way you'd have 4 higher, and 2 ordinary to use yeah?

thats 520 points if you work really hard


but nah, my advice is to drop down to ord maths definitely.
but whatever you think yourself is what matters

Setun

If you don't actually need Higher Level maths, and are struggling with it, it's a waste of time imo. It'll just take away from your other subjects, and you could risk failing aswell. It's a gamble that won't really pay off either way.

Tula

the difference between ord maths and higher is huge. ordinary is piss easy for someone who's been doing higher imo. drop down in maths, ord is all common sense

Dean820

Ordinary maths can be hard... if it was so easy i would be doing higer level.. paper 1 is grand while paper 2 is abit tricky

cyrus the virus

palant&#237 wrote: »

I'm sort of in a dilemma. I need 325 points (350 to be on safe side) to get the course i want. I'm already doing 5 ordinary subjects, but in the mocks I got Fs in both maths and physics. Every other subject was ok, even though I only got 220 points overall. So do you think I could afford to drop down to ordinary level in one of them and still be ok for the 350 points? And which one? I'm quite conifident I can work at the physics, but maths does my head in, and I need a Higher D3 or and Ordinary B3. I've no idea what to do myself, just lookin for some ideas.

If you feel you can't pass higher then go with ordinary.
Any way I whoud not worry about it. I did ordinary physics and maths and now I am studying electronic eng, the course I wanted to do.The Ladder system gives you a chance to work to your doc. To do a higher degree in this course, the points are high. But the points are low for the higher cert and only takes an extra year. The lay out is, Higher Cert 2 years, 1 year for oridinary degree and 2 years for a higher degree. You're going to enjoy collage, so the year does not matter.

Mezcita

palant&#237 wrote: »

I'm sort of in a dilemma. I need 325 points (350 to be on safe side) to get the course i want. I'm already doing 5 ordinary subjects, but in the mocks I got Fs in both maths and physics. Every other subject was ok, even though I only got 220 points overall. So do you think I could afford to drop down to ordinary level in one of them and still be ok for the 350 points? And which one? I'm quite confident I can work at the physics, but maths does my head in, and I need a Higher D3 or and Ordinary B3. I've no idea what to do myself, just lookin for some ideas.

Drop down in the Maths to ordinary. Honours is way too hard unless you are naturally good at it. Also better to get a few points in pass Maths instead of risking getting none in honours.

Best move I ever made during my Leaving Cert year was to drop Chemistry in my final year. I got 5% (bows) in my mocks so I took up Home Economics. A lot of the stuff involved is pure common sense. Got a B3 in Home Ec in the end. Did get abused by everyone for taking a girlie subject but when it comes to the Leaving Cert you have to play clever. Points win prizes and failing a subject just because you think you should be taking it is all arse.

Anyway, take a look at the Home Ec course. Not sure how much the course has changed since my day but it could be some very easy points for you. One of those Easter Revision courses could give you all the info you need get through it.

I got 250 in the mocks and 450 in the end. Put you head down, work you ass off and you will get through it.

Good luck!

Faith

Yup, I'd say drop down too. Remember that if you fail maths, you have to repeat it. You can't go to uni without passing. I was in pretty serious danger of failing honours too, so I dropped.

As for physics, my teacher was SH*T too and I spent the 3 years playing games during the class and doing stupid stuff. I still managed to get a C3 though in honours. I'd recommend the (black) rapid revision book for physics. If you just want to pass, all you need is in there.

smemon

due to my cleverness, i dropped down in 3rd year before the pre's as i could see higher maths was eating up my time and destroying my other subjects as a result.

dropped down and was a breeze, i mean it was too easy. did literally nothing for the junior and got a b (should have got an a).

now i still don't bother with maths and got 45% in the leaving pre's. i'll get maybe 65-70 in the leaving. it's my 7th subject.

maths is the most time consuming subject on the leaving cert. you HAVE to practice in order to learn stuff, you can't bluff maths.

Rockerette

smemon wrote:

maths is the most time consuming subject on the leaving cert. you HAVE to practice in order to learn stuff, you can't bluff maths.

most time consuming?
maths doesnt even register with me as a proper exam i give it so little attention... (and no im not doing **** in it... a1 in the mocks.. ord level of course )


i did higher up till the end of 4th yr, then dropped down, and its piss easy...
sorry to those who find it difficult, but doing honours for 4 years, then dropping down to pass is a great feeling...

smemon

Rockerette wrote:

most time consuming?
maths doesnt even register with me as a proper exam i give it so little attention... (and no im not doing **** in it... a1 in the mocks.. ord level of course )

well then quite obviously you should be doing higher level

yes, i said most time consuming in reference to higher level maths, not ordinary (thats the reason i dropped down in 3rd year). if your struggling in higher maths and failed the pre's, my advice is drop down asap.

NADA

I think you should drop dpwn. I was the same with Irish. I won't say I did nothing but I did bare minimum and I got a B3 in the mocks. I seriously doubt I will get that in the real exam!

JC 2K3

smemon wrote:

maths is the most time consuming subject on the leaving cert. you HAVE to practice in order to learn stuff, you can't bluff maths.

Sure you can. Most time consuming? Most definately not. I got an A in JC honours maths and rarely did the homework. Now I'm in 5th year and I still have the habit of rarely doing homework. It's not exactly piss easy like the JC was, I've gotten as low as 40% in tests on occasions, but on the other hand we had a test the other day on a chapter that I didn't do one bit of homework in and I put in one night's study and got 100%. Once you understand what's going on in maths all you need is a little practice doing questions and you're fine. I should be working more in maths(as most subjects), but it'd never be my most time consuming subject, something like history would be a lot more time consuming for me.

Oh and to the OP, drop down. You won't be able to do well in higher maths unless a miracle happens and you suddenly understand everything. If you didn't get an A or B in the JC then I'd definately forget it. Same points for an A1 in pass as a C3 in honours, and the latter is much easier to achieve. As for physics, just work on trigonometry and algebra and you'll be fine with the maths side of it, and if you get stuck with something take a step back and think about exactly what you're trying to work out, it all makes sense, that's what I love about physics, the better understanding you've got, the less learning facts off you'll have to do.

Funkstard

Maths requires practice, not learning really. There's no essays to be learned off, no prepared answers, no quotes. Just a logical mind and knowledge of the formulae. I'm lucky to have an absolutely amazing maths teacher and it's one of my favourite subjects now.

Nothing better than the feeling of getting a really hard part C out, but then again there's nothing more frustrating than being stumped. Nothing.

X-SL

lanuage would be the most time consuming. IF your not great at it and want to do good (honours).

zuma

Why then did UL (did they stop?) give people with A's and B's in Hons.Maths extra points for their extra work and no the same for those doing Hons in languages?

JC 2K3

zuma wrote:

Why then did UL (did they stop?) give people with A's and B's in Hons.Maths extra points for their extra work and no the same for those doing Hons in languages?

Maths course has changed, it's actually easier now than it was in the past... And yes, they've stopped giving extra points, every hons subject has equal(100) points.

caesar

JC 2K3 wrote:

Maths course has changed, it's actually easier now than it was in the past... And yes, they've stopped giving extra points, every hons subject has equal(100) points.

Are you sure about that, I was under the impression that UL still give extra points for maths.