Will I repeat???!!!!!

Tevez101

I got offered arts in UCC but i want to do law....what should i do....i hear you can become solictor/barrister throgh arts but it takes longer and is more akward, any advice?

challengemaster

Well with school starting this week I think you probably should think quickly about it..

Fuascailt

If you do arts you can still go to black hall and be a solicitor- you'd have to do a FE1 prep course or something

You can do a two year post grad LLB in Limerick that will get you into kings inns or blackhall. Or you could do the Kings Inns Legal studies diploma, but thats really expensive. There's some PLCs that will get you into law as well, in the college of comm I think

Or you could repeat. I think thats all your options.

If you still considor repeating, how many points did you get? Do you feel you didnt work as hard as you could have? Do you think you could improve if you did it again?

Good Luck!

Tevez101

do you know if u can go straight to black hall or kings inn after the 3 year law course in UCC? I think i would be much better equipped going to either of those places with 3 years of law behind me rather than 3 years of an arts course?better to repeat in the long run?

Diddlina

No matter what degree you do you have to do the 8 FE1 exams. I wouldn't say that having a law degree makes you more equipped to do them. Having a non-law degree is an advantage when your looking for a training contract with big firms as they usually take on 50%law 50% non-law.

A friend of mine in the uk knew that he would get bored with a law degree but still wanted to be a solicitor so he did his favourite subject History, gained a first and got accepted to a magic circle firm (top 3 in Uk)

Tevez101

but just say i decided i didnt want to be a solicitor/barrister......would you say im would have more options after 3 years of a law course rather than 3 years of an arts course...because im really not sure what i want to do yet!

Diddlina

Oh sorry. I would say an arts degree, I have a law degree from the UK and its worth paper.
At least with an arts degree you can specialise, become a teacher, etc etc. depending on what subjects you do of course.
The likely hood that if you do an arts degree which you like you'll come out with much better grades than a law degree which is difficult to reach 1st class marks. (maximum percentile awarded is 70 or 72 percent)

insinkerator

If you are not definite that you want to be a lwayer, then i would suggest doing arts. After a law dgree, your options are quite limited, however with an arts degree, you can still become a lawyer if you really want to, and if you change your mind, you still have plenty of options left availible to you!

Tevez101

Ok so what exactly are my options after a law degree? and if I chose to do arts...which subjects would supplement law...english and history?? and is the arts degree in UCC not as good as other arts degrees throughout the country as the points are considerably lower?

insinkerator

No matter what course you do you are always going to have options. You can do a law degree and then four years down the line decide to pursue a career outside of law. But in my opinion that is wasting 4 years. With a law degree the most obvious choice would be to become a solicitor/barrister. It involves further education and exams after college, being passed by a "bar" and at least one years apprenticeship....

There are other opportunities in law however, consultancy work, secretary/clerical work, and some see law as an entry into politics.

Im not too sure about what subjects would supplement law,mainly because i dont know what subjects make up arts, but yes english and history would come in handy. If there is a current affairs or politics - ish module, that might be handy too..

Just because the points are lower doesnt mean its not as good a course, it just means there is less demand for the course in Cork. The points system isnt based on how good the course is, its based on a matter of supply and demand. There are only so many places, and they are given to the people who achieved the best with arts as their number one. The "points" that are shown as the requirement are actually how many points the last person admitted obtained, they dont necessariily relate to the quality of the course

Tevez101

Thanks for that information....really has helped...i know the situation with the points but i just find it strange that over the last number of years arts in cork has been considerably lower than arts in limerick,dublin,galway.....maybe its just people in the cork area dont fancy arts! or maybe there are alot more places on the arts course in cork...most likely the reason i would have thought

insinkerator

No problem! i was planning on doing law wen i was in TY until we were forced to do a project on our prospective careers. After seeing more school after the 4 years of college, i was immediately put off. I remember most of the stuff from that prject though..

If you want more info, this page might help

http://www.lawlibrary.ie/ViewDoc.asp?CatID=5&fn=/documents/barristers_profession/qualifyingasab.asp&m=n

Tevez101

Thanks for that.....OK heres my situation....im not sure at all what i want to do..i always had an idea i wanted to be a solicitor/barrister but i cant be sure....i got 340 points in the leaving and was offered an arts course in UCC(which i have until tomorrow 5.30 to accept).or do i repeat the leaving cert in a grinds school and mature achademically and improve my study techniques as best i can(which would almost certenally needed to make it as a barrister) and improve my leaving and have more options open to me. what would you do in my shoes?

Stirling

Without wanting to put you on the spot or put you off how likely is it that you can turn 340 into 500 in a year? Thing is Law is very very competitive both during and after training and to even be considered for some Training Contracts you need a seriously good degree and Leaving Cert of 500+.

To be honest the Big Firms taking 50/50 Law and Non Law Grads is bull**** in my experience - its closer to 95% Law Degrees so think carefully. The situation is getting worse rather than better so the challenges are just going to increase. To have any hope your academics need to be excellent so unless you're capable of repeating and getting points like that I would think again

mardybumbum

Tevez101 wrote: »

Thanks for that.....OK heres my situation....im not sure at all what i want to do..i always had an idea i wanted to be a solicitor/barrister but i cant be sure....i got 340 points in the leaving and was offered an arts course in UCC(which i have until tomorrow 5.30 to accept).or do i repeat the leaving cert in a grinds school and mature achademically and improve my study techniques as best i can(which would almost certenally needed to make it as a barrister) and improve my leaving and have more options open to me. what would you do in my shoes?

Im just after repeating my leaving cert and I dont regret it one bit. It was a tough year and I had to work hard, but I got my first choice and more importantly made some new friends!

I hope this doesnt influence your decision too much, at the end of the day (or 5:30) do what feels right!

Tevez101

i believe i could definetely jump alot of points...i was caught in a year that was absolutely dreadful..the atmosphere was terrible..no-one working hard at all..and im not joking when i say it actually got worst as the leaving came closer...and thats 340 without doing much work at all and failing one of my honour subjects(accounting...u wouldnt believe how bad our teacher was...8 fails out of a class of 15),which meant i had to count an ordinary level subjest for points(irish), limerick tutorial should come as a nice change to be honest..thanks for the info it really has helped..like people have been telling me i can still become a solicitor and all that but i didnt see how anyone would take me with a leaving of 340 when the majority people who want to go down the barrister route have gotten 500+

insinkerator

First of all you have to ask yourself exactly why you want to be a barrister/solicitor, make sure you know everything that is involved, and then check to see if you still want to be a barrister.

1.Why do you want to be a barrister?
A barrister is eessentially an American lawyer, and many people are led to believe that they want to become a lawyer after watching too much tv. Programs like Law and Order and any film invlolving the courtroom portray a romantic images of the lawyer standing up in front of a jury and making heartfelt appeals, or suddenly having an epiphany and realising how and why the defenant is guilty/innocent. Or on occasion, making smart alec remarks to the judge. But most of all, i think its just the desire people have of standing p in a courtroom and roaring objection for all to hear. I speak from experience, i entertained these notions myself at one point. Then again maybe you want to be a barrister because it runs in the family, yhink you might be good at it, it has attractive pay packages etc etc etc

2. Whats involved.
Being a barrister is a lot more than is mentioned above about life in the courtroom. What isnt mentioned on these shows are the untold hours upon ours of research spent knowing any law involving a case backwards for use in trial, assuming the case goes to trial. There is also mounds upon mounds of paperwork, legal terminology, phraseology. Difficult to get your head around stuff. I have no data to back this up, but i have also heard that it is difficult to get a job in law at the moment, however i could be horribly wrong with that statement. Also when you leave college you need to be prepared to put more school hours in to pass the bar exams. On the plus side, for the experienced lawyer there are large salries involved to compensate all the hours put into the job.

3.Do you still want to do it.
Take into account the first two points. Why you want to be a barrister and whats involved. Do you still want to do it.

As for repeating. Do you know(not do you think) that you will put the work in next time round. You can go to the best school in ireland and still do badly, remember that. Its you that has to put the work in, not the school. There is no sense in repeating and putting yourself through the whole ordeal again if you are going to take it with a laissez faire attitude and let it all flow past, ending up in the same situation, only a year later.

For the arts degree. Dont feel pressured into accepting it if you dont want to do it. There are many many options open to you, have you thought of doing a PLC? Obviously, if you want to do arts, do it, but just remember that you are under no obligation to accept arts just because the offered you the place. Colleges arent your best friends, they arent going to go off in a huff and not talk to you for a week if you say no to them.


Lastly if i was in your shoes, i would eiher do a PLC or repeat. Mainly because i have no interest in doing a law or arts course. But that just me. Dont do what other people tell you to do. Its YOUR life, YOUR education. Just because i or someone else would repeat, doesnt mean its the best option for you!

Sorry if i went a bit off track there. I get slightly confused in long posts:D

Tevez101

No problem Ha! I would put in the work definetely because in fairness its my last chance and that pressure would almost outweigh the pressure of the actual leaving cert..im just thinking another year may give me time to decide what i really want to do and research all the work involved in obtaining that job,while at the same time improve my leaving cert dramatically...much better than accepting an arts course in cork due to a rush of blood to the head? no?:)

patrickdt10

Tevez101 wrote: »

but just say i decided i didnt want to be a solicitor/barrister......would you say im would have more options after 3 years of a law course rather than 3 years of an arts course...because im really not sure what i want to do yet!

what about second round offers. youd never know!

But alas i too am sceptical about what i want to do. i too have been offered a course but i would rather do the one i didnt get offerd. i suppose it depends on the effort you intend to put in. i personally wouldn have the patience to repeat the whole thing!

WaldenByThoreua

I did the LC in Limk tutorial this yr...best thing you could ever do is repeat

Tevez101

yep thats what i decided to do....repeat in limerick tutoriol!

did u stay in diggs down the road from the place?

WaldenByThoreua

Tevez101 wrote: »

yep thats what i decided to do....repeat in limerick tutoriol!

did u stay in diggs down the road from the place?

nope I live about 10-15 mins away...digs around are good though..great laugh in the college as well!

Tevez101

do u know if u get a room to yourself in diggs?

WaldenByThoreua

No generally not...2 people in a room will set you back 450-500 minimum a month

Tevez101

fu*k i like my own space now