Timetable affecting Results

lou91

Hi, I was just wondering if people thought that their timetables had affected their leaving cert results much. I noticed on a few threads people said that in the days between exams they were too tired to do much study. Do you think that you know all that you're going to know at that stage? Or can having those few days in between be the difference of a few grades? Having decided to do Geography over Economics because of the timetable (REALLY hoping they don't change it again for next year...) I'm curious to know what people think, especially those that had tough combinations (English and Chemistry? :eek:)

Thanks!

muffinman

RandomUserName! wrote: »

REALLY hoping they don't change it again for next year

I'm pretty sure that the 'non-core' subjects change their time-slots each year..

Fad

RandomUserName! wrote: »

Hi, I was just wondering if people thought that their timetables had affected their leaving cert results much. I noticed on a few threads people said that in the days between exams they were too tired to do much study. Do you think that you know all that you're going to know at that stage? Or can having those few days in between be the difference of a few grades? Having decided to do Geography over Economics because of the timetable (REALLY hoping they don't change it again for next year...) I'm curious to know what people think, especially those that had tough combinations (English and Chemistry? :eek:)

Thanks!

Thats one thing teachers are fearing, picking subjects because of the timetable.

That said another teacher i talked to, mentioned that they might alternate putting different minority subject in the first two days. (This hasnt been confirmed in any way, but it would make alot of sense.)

Also alot of student said having Chem in the first few days didnt affect them in any big way.

Edit*
I doubt that either Geography or Economics would change their time slots , theyre pretty popular subjects.

quoteunquote

I had to do English and Chem on the same day. The main problem for me was the pain in my wrist from having to write for three hours straight then only being given around 45 minutes (From what I remember) to recover before doing it again.

Plus they're both very different subjects. English requires you to be creative and eloquent. Chemistry requires you to be logical and to the point - no fancy stuff.

It wasn't dire though. It could have been worse.

pathway33

i know a guy who is repeating externally and going to register for 12 subjects and after the compulsorys of irish english maths french just going to pick the ones that don't clash......he's hoping the timetable might be out in february

spurious

A fair amount of thought will have gone into the scheduling of the exams. They tried to get it so that the vast majority of candidates had breaks between the majors. Of course for some people their subject choice meant they ended up caught with their exams being on the 'break' days.

I wouldn't be counting on any great changes in the timetable as it has knock on effects into the marking conferences etc.

KeyLimePie

pathway33 wrote: »

i know a guy who is repeating externally and going to register for 12 subjects and after the compulsorys of irish english maths french just going to pick the ones that don't clash......he's hoping the timetable might be out in february

french isn't a core subject


Personally I think that having english paper 2 and chemistry on the same paper brought my performance down in chemistry, for instance I made a load of stupid mistakes that I normally wouldn't make if I hadn't have to had wrote 20 pages an hour before hand, having that said I did get a B2

insinkerator

I reckon the timetable could have had an affect on my results but at this stage i dont car. I got 490 and made my corse and its all behind me now!! WOOHOO:D

The1337_Stephen

RandomUserName! wrote: »

Hi, I was just wondering if people thought that their timetables had affected their leaving cert results much. I noticed on a few threads people said that in the days between exams they were too tired to do much study. Do you think that you know all that you're going to know at that stage? Or can having those few days in between be the difference of a few grades? Having decided to do Geography over Economics because of the timetable (REALLY hoping they don't change it again for next year...) I'm curious to know what people think, especially those that had tough combinations (English and Chemistry? :eek:)

Thanks!

Personally, i think the timetable this year affected me abit, I was fine for English but once i got to Chemistry i was mentally exhausted, i'd say that added with nerves took part in my Chemistry D3

Oh well.

PurpleFistMixer

By the time the applied maths exam came around I was wiped out. Okay I had Physics and Music that week too so I didn't have a mad long empty space, but most of my friends had finished over a week before me, it seemed like an endless couple of weeks. I was worried that that negatively impacted on my performance in the applied maths exam, but I still got an A1 so maybe it was only my imagination.

However, I wasn't complaining about the timetable because as it worked out I only had 1 day with two exams on it - the day of maths 2 and Irish 1 + aural. It was a horribly long day and having to go home and learn loads for Irish 2 was a bit of a pain... I was glad I didn't have to do it again.

I wouldn't count on studying in the breaks between exams though. Obviously, night before revision etc., but leaving proper study till then... dodgy stuff.

insinkerator

Ya i would have hated to have been doing Applied Maths! The very last exam! Sickening

lou91

PurpleFistMixer wrote: »

By the time the applied maths exam came around I was wiped out. Okay I had Physics and Music that week too so I didn't have a mad long empty space, but most of my friends had finished over a week before me, it seemed like an endless couple of weeks. I was worried that that negatively impacted on my performance in the applied maths exam, but I still got an A1 so maybe it was only my imagination.

However, I wasn't complaining about the timetable because as it worked out I only had 1 day with two exams on it - the day of maths 2 and Irish 1 + aural. It was a horribly long day and having to go home and learn loads for Irish 2 was a bit of a pain... I was glad I didn't have to do it again.

I wouldn't count on studying in the breaks between exams though. Obviously, night before revision etc., but leaving proper study till then... dodgy stuff.

Thats just what I was wondering. I do Japanese which is the same day as Applied Maths and Physics would be my last before that (providing the timetable stays the same). Reason I'm asking is that I'm thinking about doing Economics in 6th year but I'm a bit worried that it'd affect my Japanese grade. Almost did Applied Maths, very glad I didn't...

nycman

French & History was a bitch to be honest.

insinkerator

This early on, like you still have a year left, if you really knuckle down and put the work in then you should be ok. Easier said than done however

From what i have heard economics is a pretty easy subject? so maybe you will be ok

insinkerator

nycman wrote: »

History was a bitch to be honest.

Fixed:p

lou91

insinkerator wrote: »

This early on, like you still have a year left, if you really knuckle down and put the work in then you should be ok. Easier said than done however

From what i have heard economics is a pretty easy subject? so maybe you will be ok

I can't quite figure that out... Half the people on here got an A1 after 6 months, the other half say they got A's throughout 5th and 6th then ended up with a C.
I think it's bit of a risky subject

PurpleFistMixer

Don't pick subjects on account of the timetable, that's silly.. Unless they're COMPLETELY EQUAL in every other way, in your mind. If you enjoy a subject, do it. Okay, you might have a longer day, okay it might be a little crap, but doing a subject you enjoy makes it so so much easier.

Whimsical

History and french...arrrgh...

andrew

English and Chem were a motherbitch to do in the same day, I can't see them doing that to students again. That said, I got A2's in both so maybe it really doesn't matter. I'd advise against picking subjects based on the timetable.

rainbowtrout

no matter what way the timetable is organised there are going to be people who are not happy with it. one combination that has been mentioned a couple of times already is the english chemistry combination.... at the other end of the timetable where many of the 'minority' subjects are placed there is engineering and ag science on the last day, both of these are practical subjects and are a popular combination, most of my ag science class (i teach ag science) had both of these exams on the last day this year. Also quite a popular choice in a lot of boys schools, especially vocational schools is engineering, construction, ag science and tech drawing (again a lot of my class had this combination) which means 4 subjects on the last week and tech drawing has 2 papers.... granted there is time off between the three core subjects and these four but it does mean doing 4 subjects on the last week when a lot of people are starting to wind down and there are quite a number of students who are not even half way there.

you can't please everyone.

gaybitch

I had two exams almost every day. My options (Biology, Business, History, French) just worked out that way. It meant I was wrecked by 12.30 on that last Thursday, but at least I had my Leaving Cert done and dusted in little over a week.

The timetable isn't a massive deal, really. You'd be used to doing two exams in one day from summer & christmas house exams, and then the mocks. Some combinations are a pain, but c'est la vie!

Twee.

gaybitch wrote: »

I had two exams almost every day. My options (Biology, Business, History, French) just worked out that way.

Nearly the same, did Home Ec instead of Biology. That's the way it worked out, oh well, I got on with it!
I don't think it affected me, if I had had days off I would have spent them sleeping not studying anyway. Don't rely on days off to study!

insinkerator

gaybitch wrote: »

I had two exams almost every day. My options (Biology, Business, History, French) just worked out that way. It meant I was wrecked by 12.30 on that last Thursday, but at least I had my Leaving Cert done and dusted in little over a week.

Ya i had the same options as you! That second week was a bitch no?

bythewoods

Maybe I'm just being a whingey cnut, but i think the timetable definitely impacted my results. I was finished by the 12th (The 12th!) with no days off.. not even a morning off for my few half days.

English with chemistry was a total pr!ck... asking students to switch from the subjective to the objective with only an hour to rest our warped fingers was a joke.
Geography and maths was a bit crap as well tbh. Eugh.

gaybitch

insinkerator wrote: »

That second week was a bitch no?

But at least I was on holidays the next week while people were doing Music and Engineering and whatever! :pac:

Redisle

The only thing that I didn't like about the timetable was having Applied Maths at the end.. at that stage I was totally wiped out and did very little study in the few days leading up to it.. All my friends had holidays so I was basically saying "screw it" and did very little work..Got a B3 and didn't end up counting it but sure it was a good laugh learning it anyways!

With regards to Chem/Eng.. The only problem I had there really was a sore hand afterwards.. it didn't effect my results anyways.. A1/A2 respectively. The only thing I did notice is that it was hard to concentrate on Chemistry in the break before the exam because the English essays just kept going through my head.. I don't think the "having a clear head going into Chemistry" argument would really work to have the timetable changed again though. In reality with Chemistry your answers are all things you have to know previous to that one hour gap.. your not gonna get much in there anyway.

Adventure

English with Chem was just tough on my stomach! Sooo hungry!

Had a 4 day gap until my applied maths exam. Did loads of study in these days , but was completely burned out on the day of the exam. Thought i performed awful but ended up with an A1!:D

How so Joe

andrew wrote: »

English and Chem were a motherbitch to do in the same day, I can't see them doing that to students again. That said, I got A2's in both so maybe it really doesn't matter. I'd advise against picking subjects based on the timetable.

I didn't think English and Chemistry were bad together at all, they were a helluva lot easier than doing English and Home Ec. together.
I was unfortunate enough to have four exams the first two days, but I don't think it really made much of a difference.
The English/Chemistry combination worked out fine for me, I got A1s in both of them.

Edit: Picking subjects based on the timetable would be a mistake, they've said that the 2008 timetable wasn't set in stone, and it could easily change for other years.

yay_for_summer

English and chemistry, yeah, yuck. But having said that in the old timetable I would've had physics and accounting on the same day and that would've been just as bad if not worse since I kinda knew I wouldn't be counting chemistry. So I can't complain about that.

I think either way it's exhausting. My friend was finished by the Wednesday (French, history, geography and business) and she was completely knackered from the two exams a day thing. I had three days every week, with big gaps between French and physics and between accounting and applied maths and I was worn out by applied maths. So it's very hard to win. I'd say not to pick subjects based on the timetable - think about the whole year learning it instead of just one day of extra tiredness doing the exam.