Deferring a year / Repeating a year

Stepherunie

go to the exams wesbite - they generally have an explanation of what happens up there.

ferdi

Stepherunie wrote:

go to the exams wesbite - they generally have an explanation of what happens up there.

LOL:D
of course they dont !!!!

boneless

That's a right laugh!! Methinks that this Horizons thingy is a crock of sh!te!!

pbsuxok1znja4r

Is the repeat fee different depending on how many modules you've to repeat? Or is it like Autumn exams where there's a fixed price regardless of how many/few you repeat?

Jonny Arson

scouser.tommy wrote:

Zane from MTV2 wrote:

It sounds to me that you need a time out of college. If your desires are to work, earn money, make music, discover new things etc. then it may well be a good idea to go for it now rather than later in life when you have a full time job and a billion euro mortgage to pay.

Given that I would probably be repeating most of if not all of the modules over again, would you still recommend against taking this coming year out if I fail? I kind of agree, you see, about needing to go for these other things now rather than later. I'd rather be a 23 year old undergrad than a 23 year old fledgling musician/writer/whatever. UCD isn't going anywhere, the way I see it...

Guess I should worry about exams for now, though.

I would have to contradict my opinion and say that if you did fail your repeats it would be a bad move to take a year out and repeat the year. Taking time out on college won't improve you academically so, I think as someone else said, taking a year out after failing would be running away from any academic difficulties you may have.

It still stand by what I said that you sound like you need to some time out from college, whether this is more personal or academic I'm unsure of. Your first priority must be to give it your best shot in the repeats, don't think about anything else. Then asses what you really want to do. As I said taking a year won't improve your adademic abilities, you will become out of the loop after a year when it comes to knuckling down to study. If you feel you need time out of college to do new things with your life then go ahead if you feel it isn't going to compromise yourself academically but if you take a year our simply because you're struggling on your course then that could be a dangerous thing to do. If you hate your course (and pass your repeats) taking a year out could be good idea because you may find something in your life that suits you but at the same time you'll have an option of returning to college. I'll say again, don't take a year out before repeating a year.

scouser.tommy wrote:

Is the repeat fee different depending on how many modules you've to repeat? Or is it like Autumn exams where there's a fixed price regardless of how many/few you repeat?

If you fail half of your course after the August repeats then you'll have to repeat 30 credits out of 60 credits, basically it's dictated on a proportion of what you may fail. i.e. fail 1 out of 4 subjects - repeat 15 credtis out of 60 but if you passed say a module out of a failed subject that could be 10 credits.

see my post below for a better jist.....

ferdi wrote:

can someone tell me this:

i am doing a traditional non-modularised course at the moment, if i fail my repeats, will i have to repeat the year in modularised form (ie: start from scratch with a completely new course? )

From what I understand you passed one of your 2 subjects and failed one right? In modular terms you've completed 30/60 credits for Stage 2. Each of your courses in Archaeology should have a similar shape to modularisation, i.e. you should be doing 5/6 courses within Archaeology, each of these will now be modules. So in your repeats (which you will pass) your result is based on a combination of all your courses in Arch. If you did fail Arch overall thus have to repeat the year, they'll look at your 5/6 courses/modules, see which ones you achieved a 40% plus grade in, the modules you would fail (say 3 modules) would be carried over into the repeat year next year so that would mean you would be required to repeat 15 credits (ie 3 modules x 5 credits each)

Hope you got that!

panda100

I think a lot of people in this thread such as infront and Dave MC G are really unsure what there doing with their life. I think its great that some people like Sangre and Grimes have a clear cut plan to get there degree and get out of college by by the time there 21. However,once you graduate with a degree your stuck with that particular degree for the rest of your life. Once you finish with an eng degree at the age of 21 you really have no choice but to do something eng related for the rest of your life. I can hardly see an accountancy firm taking you on with just an engineering degree.
I know my exboyfriend took a year out in first year after he did two months of engineering and he came back and did economics and finance in September and is know working in some accountancy firm in London and loving it.
As Grimes said we all only have one life and we all do want to get out there and graduate and start enjoying life. However, you have to be true to yourself and if you are unsure or your heart is not in your study then really just continuing with your course for the sake of it and to get it over with I think will be the biggest mistake of your life.
What harm will it be of taking the year out,working,seeing what options are out there. Was enginnering always your first choice? I know people who wanted vetineray and went back and repeated their leaving after a year in college so they could get into the course they truly wanted.

Really age is just a number so dont listen to anyone on this thread who says 23 is too old to be in college. There are people in my class that are 35 and have said to me that they rushed in and out of college before they were 21 just going though the motions of getting a degree and not knowing what they really wanted to do.
To me it really sounds like the last thing you want to do is to head back into second year.If I was you Id have a really good think about what YOU really want to do keeping in mind that lots of people change courses,take a year out and finish college well into their twenties.

dajaffa

ferdi wrote:

thanks for the explaination but i dont really understand the who modularised system so i dont really get what your saying....me stupido

Basically in the modular system you have to complete 60 credits each year. Generally this means 12 modules (or seperate subjects, some bigger ones could have more than one module, eg maths1 and maths2).

For most courses (it's a bit different in arts sometimes) there's 50 credits/10 modules that make up your core modules, aka your course. For the remaining 10 credits you pick any modules you want to do tha fit into your schedule which are in addition to your core subjects. Like u could have 50 credits of your science course, and do a module in french and one in history so you have 60 credits.

Steveire

I was starting to get that "everything is not going to be okay" feeling. I guess if I pass the repeats I'll defer before going into 3rd year. If I fail the repeats (and sadly this is infinitely more probable) I guess I'll just go right back into 2nd year.

Don't worry about it. Everything is going to be OK. How many did you fail? What discipline of engineering are you studying? Which subjects?

Talk to Colleen Blaney.

Did you find that you couldn't fit things like your band into your week during second year? It's a full timetable, but I'm amazed how much non-course stuff people manage to do in the same time.

I dont think its healthy for an individual to go to college at 17 and then start working at 21.

Why not? Does development as an individual have that much to do with age? I don't think so. But, as someone else said, you don't have to start working then either.

i am doing a traditional non-modularised course at the moment, if i fail my repeats, will i have to repeat the year in modularised form (ie: start from scratch with a completely new course? )

That's the case in engineering, and it's something OP should consider too. With the restructuring going on in the department, next years second year will be very different to this years second year, because it will be modular. Subjects which were separate exams this summer, could be lumped into modules next year in a way that means you could have to start again from scratch this year or repeat lectures (and practicals/reports, etc) in subjects that are part of the same module.

Is the repeat fee different depending on how many modules you've to repeat?

Yes. You pay per module. I'm not sure all that stuff Zane says about credits matters so much, seeing as the amount of modules you have to do will depend on how many and which repeats you might fail.

Zane from MTV2 wrote:

asses

hehe

If you feel you need time out of college to do new things with your life then go ahead if you feel it isn't going to compromise yourself academically but if you take a year our simply because you're struggling on your course then that could be a dangerous thing to do.

Very good point I think. A reason for deferring is everything in making a decision about whether to do it or not.

However,once you graduate with a degree your stuck with that particular degree for the rest of your life. Once you finish with an eng degree at the age of 21 you really have no choice but to do something eng related for the rest of your life. I can hardly see an accountancy firm taking you on with just an engineering degree.

Utter rubbish. Particularly in relation to engineering. Engineers really get into all kinds of careers, including going straight into business. You really do learn skills rather than equations. It's a very versatile degree regardless of which discipline you're studying. You might not be working as an accountant, but there's no reason you can't work in an accountancy firm.

However, you have to be true to yourself and if you are unsure or your heart is not in your study then really just continuing with your course for the sake of it and to get it over with I think will be the biggest mistake of your life.

If this is based on having to 'do engineering' once you've got an engineering degree, then it's rubbish. However, the end of second year is the latest you should consider dropping engineering for another course. I haven't seen anything to make me think you don't want to switch course anyway though. People fail engineering just because it's difficult, not needing any other reason.

If you fail the autumn repeats (which I doubt is as likely as you think), my advice is to go straight back into college - second year or third year. It won't get any easier if you take a year out, and you won't know anyone in your year. That could only make things more difficult.

Stick up a post on the engineering board here if you need help with something. I reckon there's smart people posting there.

This is a long post, so I'll repeat the only important part:

Talk to Colleen Blaney.

You'll get useful and usable information that way.

I've thought about this a little bit over the last few months. Wish me luck in my repeats.

ferdi

new question:

if i do worse in my repeats than in my summer exams, could this mean i may have to repeat more moduals when i repeat the year, than if i had gone into it using my original (better) exam results?

Sangre

no

pbsuxok1znja4r

panda100 wrote:

I think a lot of people in this thread such as infront and Dave MC G are really unsure what there doing with their life. I think its great that some people like Sangre and Grimes have a clear cut plan to get there degree and get out of college by by the time there 21. However,once you graduate with a degree your stuck with that particular degree for the rest of your life. Once you finish with an eng degree at the age of 21 you really have no choice but to do something eng related for the rest of your life. I can hardly see an accountancy firm taking you on with just an engineering degree.
I know my exboyfriend took a year out in first year after he did two months of engineering and he came back and did economics and finance in September and is know working in some accountancy firm in London and loving it.
As Grimes said we all only have one life and we all do want to get out there and graduate and start enjoying life. However, you have to be true to yourself and if you are unsure or your heart is not in your study then really just continuing with your course for the sake of it and to get it over with I think will be the biggest mistake of your life.
What harm will it be of taking the year out,working,seeing what options are out there. Was enginnering always your first choice? I know people who wanted vetineray and went back and repeated their leaving after a year in college so they could get into the course they truly wanted.

Really age is just a number so dont listen to anyone on this thread who says 23 is too old to be in college. There are people in my class that are 35 and have said to me that they rushed in and out of college before they were 21 just going though the motions of getting a degree and not knowing what they really wanted to do.
To me it really sounds like the last thing you want to do is to head back into second year.If I was you Id have a really good think about what YOU really want to do keeping in mind that lots of people change courses,take a year out and finish college well into their twenties.

Yeah, I agree, I mean, TBH, my "first choice" would be something like Arts(english,phil, etc), Journalism or Music, but that's just not where teh moolah's at. I'm good at everything, so I could've picked any course at all (within points), but I picked Eng 'cause I know it'll yield a solid, well-paying job, within many potential fields. It's actually extremely common for accounting firms to hire Eng degree holders. I'm doing Mech Eng, which is most flexible of all in this regard. One guy I know of graduated two years ago and is now apparently a stock broker in London. So, while Engineering may not be the most exciting subject for me, I have no shortage of aptitude for it and I'm thinking I'll just grit my teeth and plough ahead with the degree.
Thanks v much for the advice, anyway. I'll probably do the year out travelling thing before 3rd year. PM me if you ever get those alco-free UCD outings going, eh?

panda100

scouser.tommy wrote:

Yeah, I agree, I mean, TBH, my "first choice" would be something like Arts(english,phil, etc), Journalism or Music, but that's just not where teh moolah's at. I'm good at everything, so I could've picked any course at all (within points), but I picked Eng 'cause I know it'll yield a solid, well-paying job, within many potential fields. It's actually extremely common for accounting firms to hire Eng degree holders. I'm doing Mech Eng, which is most flexible of all in this regard. One guy I know of graduated two years ago and is now apparently a stock broker in London. So, while Engineering may not be the most exciting subject for me, I have no shortage of aptitude for it and I'm thinking I'll just grit my teeth and plough ahead with the degree.
Thanks v much for the advice, anyway. I'll probably do the year out travelling thing before 3rd year. PM me if you ever get those alco-free UCD outings going, eh?

yep will do!
Anyway,maybe gritting your teeth and going ahead with the degree might be the best option for you.Looks like you have your head well screwed on so Im sure whatever descision you make will be good. Best of luck for the repeats

InFront

Originally posted by Panda100:
I think a lot of people in this thread such as infront and Dave MC G are really unsure what there doing with their life

Gasp:eek: yeah pretty spot on actually:o Too many smilies

<Goes back to playing dice with career moves>:)

Dave!

Yes! I got Solicitor!

*rolls again*

...Traffic Warden ): ...

ferdi

ok so my first repeat starts at 14:30 today. nevertheless, i was down at the exam centre in blackrock at 09:00 wondering why my exam wasnt on:D :rolleyes: didnt even look at my nicely printed out timetable and got up at 05:30 for nothing

anyways, the nice head invigilator man told me my exam starts at 14:30 and goes til 16:30...but this got the cogs in my brain turning.....why is it a 2 hour exam??...i look at my own timetable and yes, indeed, its says paper 1 is now a 2 hour exam....but only a few months ago paper 1 was a 3hour exam...and paper 3 was a 1.5 hour exam...and now its a 3hour exam.....WTF..WTF....WTF!!!!!!????????

singingstranger

Dude, relax. There's a 99% chance that the stuff will just appear on the other paper. Good luck with them.

sicruise

I repeated 2nd year and finished when i was 22... was so easy second time around!

Just get out of college as soon as you can...

Chakar

If DaveMcG graduated with a computer science degree and got in the Gardai he would have an very exciting career there.Or you can actually work in the Gardai on a contract as a civilian.

Riamfada

Chakar wrote:

If DaveMcG graduated with a computer science degree and got in the Gardai he would have an very exciting career there.Or you can actually work in the Gardai on a contract as a civilian.

But dave is in Arts remember.

Chakar

Grimes wrote:

But dave is in Arts remember.

DaveMcG is in Arts as in BA Computer Science?!!

Waltons

Comp Sci arts

Edit: Beaten!

Dave!

Chakar wrote:

If DaveMcG graduated with a computer science degree and got in the Gardai he would have an very exciting career there.Or you can actually work in the Gardai on a contract as a civilian.

Where'd that comment come from? lol. Not that it's not appreciated. What ya mean by "on a contract" though? I was under the illusion that the only difference between having a degree going into the Gardaí and not, is that the former starts off with higher pay. Is this not the case?

And yeh, BA Comp Sci :cool:

Chakar

DaveMcG wrote:

Where'd that comment come from? lol. Not that it's not appreciated. What ya mean by "on a contract" though? I was under the illusion that the only difference between having a degree going into the Gardaí and not, is that the former starts off with higher pay. Is this not the case?

And yeh, BA Comp Sci :cool:

I dunno An archaeologist! No. lol.

But for the past couple of years the only careers I've had in my mind are (a) Gardaí, or (b) Army

So the translation is, I dunno (since that's probably what most people say when they don't want a desk job)...

Cén fáth?

ps. Anyone know if there's a deadline for telling the college about deferral? The programme office would probably be the best people to ask, I'll give them an email tomorrow.

Yeah that is the case, Gardai with degrees get paid more than a Gardai with none.If you didn't want the "chain" of being a Garda then you could work with the Gardai on a contract.

Rnger

Interesting thread, I'm finding myself in very similar situation to alot of people replying. I havent read it all but I just have a quick question.

I want to repeat 1st year but I dont want to repeat all the subjects/modules. I want to repeat just what I failed, basically have a fairly easy year! (I have loads of plans other than stupid college..grumble) What is the minimum number of passes I need before I have to repeat the whole thing? (Passing them all is near impossible at this stage, I'd have to pass by compensation for 1 so far) I cant find anything about this on that maze of a UCD website. Hearsay is telling me if I have 5 fails or less, I can repeat JUST them. Anyone shed some light on this? Thanking you in advance

Rnger

Okay from the sounds of things I only have to repeat the modules I fail in autumn. Is this correct? I'd be reeeaaalll pissed off if I misinterpretted something and found I had to do the whole year! I'd just drop out full stop if that was the case

Dave!

I emailed the programmes office and got this reply...

You should send a letter into the BA Manager, Arts, Celtic Studies
and Human Sciences Programme Office, Newman Building, Belfield,
informing us of your decision to defer the year. You should include as
much information as possible i.e. Student Number, modules, etc.
This time next year, you should then inform this office that you
intend to return to continue your studies.

You should send in the letter before registration, which is on the
14th August. The sooner we have that information the better. Also,
there isn't a limit to the number of student who can defer in a given
year.

Doesn't leave me alot of time to think about this sh*t!

Stepherunie

Well i'm guessing they're working on the principal you've had all summer to think about it and they need to know by then.

Dave!

Stepherunie wrote:

Well i'm guessing they're working on the principal you've had all summer to think about it and they need to know by then.

yeah I gather that, I wasn't criticising them, just pointing out that I have to make a decision post-haste!

Stepherunie

Go with your gut.

Failing that do what i did when i had to choose between a college place in Bristol or UCD (late offer), and go to mass, not hugely religious but i find it's a great place to zone out and really think.

Also make a list of pros and cons for staying and deferring. Helps with the clarity

Dave!

Good ideas, especially:

Stepherunie wrote:

Also make a list of pros and cons for staying and deferring. Helps with the clarity

Gonna do that now, thanks