'Matriculation requirements' - strict?

ciaranajl

The #1 choice on my CAO form is Commerce in UCD which should be around 460 points. I should get get at least that many as I did better in the leaving than I did in my mocks, and I got 490 in my mocks. The only problem is halfway through sixth year, I dropped to pass maths and sort of stopped working, and although I got a B2 in the mocks, I'm not sure I'll get the Commerce-required B3. This has just been bugging me for a while.

Does anyone know if there's leeway when it comes to situations like this? For instance, if I end up getting 510+ (and if that turns out to be higher than the average for Commerce) and I just get a C1 in maths, would they consider my case? Perhaps writing a letter explaining that I'm not terrible at maths, just that I didn't work at it having only decided at the CAO change of mind date that I wanted do Commerce.

What do you think? Have you heard of any previous situations like this?

Think of the CAO as a computer, rather then a collection of people who administer the scheme. Did you get the points? Yes. Did you get the course requirements? No. Therefore move to Option No. 2.

Some colleges allow you to gain entry to a course if you do an examination in Maths, for example, but I don't think UCD is one of them (but I'm open to correction).

Besides, you haven't gotten your results yet. You could easily have done better than you would have thought.

PurpleFistMixer

Dear UCD,

Sorry I didn't get the requirement in maths. Really, I am good at maths, but I only decided at the last minute that I want to spend the next 4 years studying Commerce, so I didn't bother to do any work in maths during the year. But really, I should get this course over someone else who did get the maths requirement!

Yours faithfully,
ciaranajl


Doesn't read terribly well.

That said, if it comes down to it, you've nothing to lose in trying. Wait until you get your results though, never know, might surprise yourself.

Économiste Monétaire

You will not get offered Commerce (if you get below a B3 in maths) because you cannot take the Mathematics for Business module, which requires a B3 in ordinary. UCD is strict on module requirements.

sd123

I had 10 points more than what I needed for medicine in UCD last year, and although this was my second choice, I got offered my third choice because you need Eng, Iri and a third language to enter almost all courses in UCD, I only had eng and Iri.

Not a chance mate.

ZorbaTehZ

ciaranajl wrote:

Perhaps writing a letter explaining that I'm not terrible at maths, just that I didn't work at it having only decided at the CAO change of mind date that I wanted do Commerce.

What a great idea!

KnifeWRENCH

ciaranajl wrote: »

Perhaps writing a letter explaining that I'm not terrible at maths, just that I didn't work at it having only decided at the CAO change of mind date that I wanted do Commerce.

Do yourself a favour and read that part again, particularly the bolded part. Telling UCD that you didn't work at a Leaving Cert subject you needed to get your course - not exactly something they'll want to hear.

ciaranajl wrote:

What do you think? Have you heard of any previous situations like this?

I think you should wait until your results come out before doing anything else. You may very well have gotten that B3, in which case there's nothing to worry about.

tolosenc

AFAIK, this is how it works:

100 places on offer, 150 applicants.
113 aplicants meet matriculation.
The 100 who scored highest points (and random numbers if needed) of the 113 applicants remaining after matriculation are offered places.

In essence, matriculation is more important than points.

ciaranajl

square_igloo wrote: »

Do yourself a favour and read that part again, particularly the bolded part. Telling UCD that you didn't work at a Leaving Cert subject you needed to get your course - not exactly something they'll want to hear.



I think you should wait until your results come out before doing anything else. You may very well have gotten that B3, in which case there's nothing to worry about.

It would be different were it a course that had a strong focus on maths, but the fact of the matter is that it's not. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother trying. (PS, I emailed and they were pretty resolute - expectedly... I'll see what happens, anyway! Second choice is BESS in Trinity which only requires a C3 in maths. Maybe I'd be better off there, anyhow.)

KnifeWRENCH

ciaranajl wrote: »

It would be different were it a course that had a strong focus on maths, but the fact of the matter is that it's not. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother trying.

If there's not a strong focus on maths, then why is the min. B3 requirement there? Matriculation isn't done for the craic, the entry requirements exist for a reason.

pathway33

ciaranajl wrote: »

It would be different were it a course that had a strong focus on maths, but the fact of the matter is that it's not. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother trying. (PS, I emailed and they were pretty resolute - expectedly... I'll see what happens, anyway! Second choice is BESS in Trinity which only requires a C3 in maths. Maybe I'd be better off there, anyhow.)

fair play for emailing them. that's what this country needs. INITIATIVE. too many people just going with the flow.

actually you were sort of correct in your thinking because some colleges (not UCD) specify in their matriculation requirements that if you get a HE they will accept this as long as you compensate with a HB or an extra HC. theres a thread on it somewhere on the leaving cert forum.

so one can fail the entry requirements and still get in but not to UCD

pathway33

heres the link

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055348595

Économiste Monétaire

If there's not a strong focus on maths, then why is the min. B3 requirement there? Matriculation isn't done for the craic, the entry requirements exist for a reason.

The reason there is a B3 minimum is because of the Core module "Mathematics for Business I". To lower the minimum math level would only increase the failure rate. Math ability does hold to the Commerce course.

Can't meet the requirments of a module? Can't do the module.

Can't do a core module of a course? Can't do the course.

ciaranajl

Right, but how hard is mathematics for business going to be? With something like engineering which is very maths-orientated, it would foolish to try to supersede the required maths HC3.

As for doing it "for the craic", from what I've heard, BESS and Commerce are very similar (as far as their maths content goes), yet BESS only requires a C3. Trinity might simply have a different mindset, believing that a C student could handle the coursework.

And before someone points it out, I know talking about it isn't going to change anything! :P

Économiste Monétaire

What is hard for you might not be hard for me (or vice versa). So, I can't definitively say "it's hard" or not. I believe the failure rate is 1/5.

Here's what you'll learn in the module:

1. Describe the graph and properties of a polynomial, the exponential function and the natural logarithm function.
2. Differentiate a product, quotient or composition of the functions described above.
3. Optimize functions of one variable.
4. Apply the techniques of Calculus to solve problems in Business.
5. Solve two-variable linear programming problems using a graphical method.
6. Add, multiply, and transpose matrices of any size and know the laws of matrix arithmetic.
7. Use Gaussian elimination to solve systems of linear equations.
8. Calculate the determinant, the adjunct, and the inverse of a small square matrix.

Their math content won't be similar (in applied math focus), because most of the maths classes in BESS follow Quantitative Economics syllabi; there is a completely separate module for that in UCD.