Leaving Cert 2011

surfergirl92

So,I just had my first day of the LC ''journey'' . It was full of teachers giving us their own version of inspirational speeches and scaring us into studying four hours a night!Realistically 2 hours a night would be my most leading the life I live.But what I want to know is how to handle this year?Everyone says it will fly by?!I want to do well and Im willing to knuckle down and study but I have a passion for surfing and my bf haha But I want to balance it,Anyone have any tips on this?!I just could use some insight from a legit source.Thanks in advance

kev9100

Congratulations.

You are about to start a year that is hyped out of all proportions and that will increase your stress levels drastically.

If you want my advice, don't even think about starting to really study until November and ease yourself in. If you start going nuts with the study in September you will be burned out after the mocks and that is when you really need to start working.

Good luck:).

James2693

I just had the same day as you lol. To be honest, for some reason I'm not one bit stressed about the leaving....yet. I haven't even decided what my history project is going to be on. I'm just going to go over what we done in class at home till maybe round christmas then il probably start studying properly. I think everyone just needs to chill out to be fair. It's not even September yet and people are coming on here all stressed lol:)

teenagedream

alos my first day back. was expecting a much greater feeling of dread.

musicloverx

not back til thursday, but expecting pretty much the same thing as what you've said..the speeches and all that.
gonna start the year off calmy anyway..dunno bout the end, work my way up

surfergirl92

Hey
Thanks for all the replies so far!;)
Im not stressed,I just dont want to panic study i want to be calm and organized!I think Ill also just revise stuff in class and start proper structured revision late october/november!Just take it easy now Maybe revise some Biology.Woo LC is sooo much fun isnt it?!:L hahaha

oddo

Don't get stressed for the leaving YET.
It's far to early for that seriously.

The toughest part is after the mocks/pre's onwards to the Leaving itself.
That is when the best part of the studying should be...

I wish you and all of LC students 2011 all the best.

I got what i wanted in my leaving 2010 and i didn't do a lot of work.
Although i did do a decent amount of study within the last month-3weeks.
However personally i do feel i did underachieve a bit, and i could of got at least 100 perhaps another 200 points if i had of working a lot more study wise.

If you did a little bit of revising what you do each day after school from the start NOW, even if it's just 30 mins just have a good detail look over what was done that day.
It is also essential to go over the work done last year yourself, if your looking for high enough points. You do go over a lot in class, but if you can do it yourself and in class you really will be flying and you will become more adjusted to the work in the syllabus.

But as someone said, don't go all out yet but do try some study each day when you can on what you have done.
After Xmas and after the mocks try do as much as you can til the Leaving and you will hopefully get what you want.
Just do what you can and do your best.
Remember you have to have a social life as well so enjoy your internet and your bf as well the study.:pac:
Dunno if that would help but i tried.

klose

It flies, its scary how quick it goes, dont let time pass you by without realising it! It was my most enjoyable year for sure! enjoy and g'luck!

JamesJB

Best advice I could offer you...hmm, I was asked by a friend of mine to pick only two words to summarise what I thought to be important about studying and academia in general. I'm still not sure, but I gave him the following two words at the time:

1: Consistency

It's not really about how many hours you do. What if I told you that I spent the entire day, from 8am in the morning to late at night, studying? You might say 'how could you, if you were in school?' True, but that only applies if you consider studying to be that thing you do with books and a table. I probably spent more time sitting back in a chair (a nice computer swivel chair :cool:) and pondering concepts. I paced around rooms, used the internet an awful lot, 'studied' by talking with friends, 'studied' in art class (nothing better to do!). The way I study is drawn out and erratic in some ways, but it was what worked for me. All you have to do is figure out how you study, no matter how weird it might be, and do it consistently.

2: Independence

Right, your teachers are important. All the staff in the school who keep it running smoothly are important. Your parents, or whoever supports you, are important. They all deserve credit, no doubt. The most important person is you. However you learn, you just have to be able to do it on your own and from your own initiative. If your teachers are giving you a lot of material, then great. It gives you the opportunity to do just that. From what I hear, learning to work independently is also really important for 3rd level. Might seem like it should be taken for granted, but I recall some surreal moments from during 6th year when I wasn't really paying attention to anything my teachers were doing and pretty much had my own agenda.

This led to ~2 hours spent reading about the history of chemistry. Sounds useful, except I didn't study chemistry! (my biggest regret). Do what works (see 1 above :cool:)

All that said, two words just aren't enough. I reckon that they're a good start. Lastly (I have a habit of drawing comments out, I know) some final things:

- Get Anki http://ichi2.net/anki/ If it works for you, chances are you will abandon the old fashioned way of studying or optimise it.
- Try to actually care about your subjects on a level beyond what grade you want in them
- Use the internet to get more info on the basic concepts. Math in particular suffers from terrible textbooks and presentation of the core concepts.
- Languages? For Irish, speak it a little every day and listen to RnG a little every day. Only other language I did was French, for which I will direct you to http://french.about.com/ (for everything) and http://www.france-info.com/ (for listening and reading). Sorry if you don't do French!
- Check out Khan Academy on Youtube for science and math. The man who does it is an honest-to-Zeus whiz at teaching and a really genuine guy to boot.

Sadly, I only discovered Anki and Khan Academy very late in the year...but I've made a point of passing them on to as many people as I can since they're just too useful.

surfergirl92

Thank you for the detailed answer.That Anki software seems usefull but the time it took me to input the info just isnt worth it for me.6th year hmm still havent made my mind up about you yet. I decided on my career, Dietician .:) I need a B1 and A1 in Bio and Chem.Im aiming Bio A1 and Chem B1 but a higher chem result would be lovely. I dropped to ordinary maths,my God,what a difference!Sooo much more free time I mean study time haha. How are ye getting on?:)

Joseph...

this is my advice ...there is only one thing that you need and which all other qualities stem from...that is MOTIVATION!a motivation to do well will result in you planing your life around the lc just for 1 year and u can still lead an enjoyable life!!when u are motivated to the point that nothing else is more important and you will let nothing get in the way then u will spend more than 2 hours of genuine study...3 or 4!!that gives you 3 hours off to do what you want(,6-7 9-11 e.g)!!and also the more time you spend studying the more you cherish those 2 or 3 hours off!!!trust me just do it!

Joseph...

kev9100 wrote: »

Congratulations.

You are about to start a year that is hyped out of all proportions and that will increase your stress levels drastically.

If you want my advice, don't even think about starting to really study until November and ease yourself in. If you start going nuts with the study in September you will be burned out after the mocks and that is when you really need to start working.

Good luck:).

I must say i disagree entirely...this is nosensical...there is no such thing as being burned out...the earlier you start the more stamina you build up and the more chance you have of doing well.this myth that the you're going to get burned out is something that simply isnt true...if you drift into bad habits early its often very difficult to pull yourself together when it matters...that siad, it is not too late..but it will take a serious change in you!!this is training(study) for a serious of sprints(exams) metaphorically speaking.....when athletes train for sprinting they train like crazy for months in the off season(now until june) and when the race is close they compose themselves and do warm ups because they are already prepared(craming before the exam-evry1 crams even the top student!!)...the sort of advice given here is dangerous...it may fool you into thinking that doing little or no study is acceptable but in reality you will simply be giving yourself excuses!!!trust me i know both mentallites very well!!

surfergirl92

Hey Joseph,
Thanks for your input...I agree with 2-3 hours study and how much you cherish the free time
Also,motivation I'm getting that now I look at university prospectus to get me motivated and it really does.
Atm I'm doing no study at ALL because I'm being a total twat about it and finding excuses..it has to be done,simple!:)
I like your methaphorical speaking I see what you mean!
Are you also doing your leaving cert?
Thanks a mill!!

rache611

Hate to be a downer, but if you can't handle stress of the leavin I dunno how you'll handle college! The only reason college is good is because you have much more freedom and you're obviously doing a course you want to do, but make no mistake, it is far more stressful and most certainly harder anything you'll come across in the leaving multiplied by ten!

NotExactly

surfergirl92 wrote: »

I look at university prospectus to get me motivated and it really does.

rache611 wrote: »

it is far more stressful and most certainly harder anything you'll come across in the leaving multiplied by ten!

Where do I get my motivation from after reading the two above posts.? One says looks and university prospectus' and the other says university is far more stressfull.

Joseph is right though

Joseph... wrote: »

.the sort of advice given here is dangerous...

surfergirl92

NotExactly wrote: »

Where do I get my motivation from after reading the two above posts.? One says looks and university prospectus' and the other says university is far more stressfull.

Joseph is right though

Well to be honest,the subjects I really enjoy do not stress me,naturally.I'm talking about subjects I hate,don't want to study but must.So yeah,I find it stressfull to try motivate myself to learn things I've absolutly no interest in.And like you say Rache611 in Uni/College it's going to be what your interested in.I've a prime example o a modern uni student,my sister.So trust me,I'm under no illusion that Uni/College is going to be a walk in the park.

Oh and NotExactly,I have also recently used the taught of repeating this hole grueling process again as motivation and simply to do myself justice and put in the effort for the remaining 4 months.Then end June I can do what ever I want.:D

Joe seems like a man of knowledge and yes I agree with him aswell,my study plan might not work for you a there are so many variables to consider,but hey,no harm in trying!:)

Joseph... wrote: »

it may fool you into thinking that doing little or no study is acceptable but in reality you will simply be giving yourself excuses!!!trust me i know both mentallites very well!!

^ That's like my JC,and 3 months of this year.I'm copping on do,I've realized,mocks in a week.Little preperation done,I will not let this happen for the LC.I've started studying and I will continue!End of.