Advice from "Old" LC's to "New" LC Students.

coffeelover

Just wondering did anyone do after school study? And if so, did you find that it helped?

AdamD

I did it and it helped a lot

B_Fanatic

coffeelover wrote: »

Just wondering did anyone do after school study? And if so, did you find that it helped?

AdamD wrote: »

I did it and it helped a lot

Don't take a window seat. Come summer, you'll pass out due to the intense heat falling on you. I don't know how many sessions I slept through, but I do know I was paying an awful lot to sleep on a desk :rolleyes:

coffeelover

B_Fanatic wrote: »

Don't take a window seat. Come summer, you'll pass out due to the intense heat falling on you. I don't know how many sessions I slept through, but I do know I was paying an awful lot to sleep on a desk :rolleyes:

Ya I think sitting in any seat I'd end up sleeping the whole time :rolleyes:.. Dunno if I'll do it or not..

B_Fanatic

coffeelover wrote: »

Ya I think sitting in any seat I'd end up sleeping the whole time :rolleyes:.. Dunno if I'll do it or not..

If you do nothing at home it's wprth a shot. But I'd also try not staying up until three. That's what I did up until Easter before I gave myself a strict bed time

Liveit

Framble wrote: »

Education isn't about points, it's about learning stuff. Choose subjects based on what you want to learn about.

Nope! :P No matter how much you learn, if you don't get the points you need then you are going nowhere. You are kinda like the person who says before a match "Remember to have fun, it's not the winning that counts"

Grindylow

Don't go to everyone in your year's 18ths.. you'll be broke..

<_<

plein de force

Study, study, study straight from the start and your exam papers should be your bible as someone else said
also if you're struggling with a certain subject or part of a subject keep doing it until you know it well otherwise you could end up even worse off if you let it slide

Framble

Liveit wrote: »

Nope! :P No matter how much you learn, if you don't get the points you need then you are going nowhere. You are kinda like the person who says before a match "Remember to have fun, it's not the winning that counts"

It ISN'T the winning that counts!

mpdg

Framble wrote: »

It ISN'T the winning that counts!

Man, in terms of the Leaving Cert, what do you want aside from to "win"? This is a game that we try and play, not a means of education.

The LC is a handful of hugely simplified syllabi which are constructed so that students will regurgitate information that is spoon-fed to them. Bloody hell, even English (where Paper 2 is apparently about giving a personal response/opinion:rolleyes:) is not exactly open to anything innovative.
Actual education utilises the critical thinking capacity of the students involved. When in the last two years have I been asked to think for myself in school? Never.

The advice I would offer to new LC's is mostly to consider the above and also:

1. Establish where you study best. I do not study well at home so I took to going in early in the morning to study in the school building and staying for school study.

2. Do not kid yourself about how much time you have left. You're screwing Future-You over big time by procrastinating. You don't know how much stress you'll be under in a few months - don't make that time harder for yourself.

3. If you want high points, then cut down on your social life hugely. Maintain your sanity, but by the first mid-term, things should be slowly down significantly on the weekends.

4. At the start of the list, make out a list of all the topics in each subject. Then get cracking . Jot down dates beside certain topics down the list, the dates you want to have all of those topics done by.

5. If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing enough. When you hit the wall, you push through. The second time you hit the wall, take one day off, and get back on the treadmill. You need the stamina for nine bloody months. You're young, what excuse do you have?

teenagedream

coffeelover wrote: »

Just wondering did anyone do after school study? And if so, did you find that it helped?

If I had been able to study in our town library I would have studied there instead. You can get lots done in the school but there's many days where you find yourself lying out in the sun with a few from the year or flirting down by the lockers. If there's somewhere nearby your school that you can go to straight after school for study, go there.

AdamD

mpdg wrote: »

3. If you want high points, then cut down on your social life hugely. Maintain your sanity, but by the first mid-term, things should be slowly down significantly on the weekends.

I disagree with this, if I had have cut down on my social life 6th year would have been hell.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

AdamD wrote: »

I disagree with this, if I had have cut down on my social life 6th year would have been hell.

Agreed. I know plenty of people going for medicine and other high points course that went out right up to May. Having a social life is just as important as study, especially if you're studying your balls off!!

Salty

mpdg wrote: »

5. If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing enough. When you hit the wall, you push through. The second time you hit the wall, take one day off, and get back on the treadmill. You need the stamina for nine bloody months. You're young, what excuse do you have?

You don't have to absolutely kill yourself for this thing. You are entitled to have days off. Anytime you feel yourself starting to burn out, take one day off, and start again the day after. It won't affect you in the long run to take a day off every now and again. Few people can work like a machine for the entirety of 6th year.

Liveit

Framble wrote: »

It ISN'T the winning that counts!

Well I'm not going to patrionise you. I just don't have the same way of thinking as you.

But when you are applying for course places in the cao all that matters is points, if you learned so much anyway you should be able to translate that into points or else it was irrelevant to the leaving cert

Bbbbolger

Well the study aspect and all that seems to be well covered already so I'll try give a few different tips.

1) If you have a study area at home get a Year Planner and stick it on the wall. Mark in important dates on it (your exam dates, mock dates, practical deadlines etc.). Mark off the days one by one. It gives you great satisfaction and keeps you realistic about how much time you have left.

2) Set realistic targets. If you can't speak a word of Irish dont predict an A1 in Honours for yourself. It will only lead to dissapointment.

3) Put as much time into your practicals as your theory. In most subjects they're worth equal marks. It also makes the exam feel a little easier knowing you have a good chunk of the marks already secured.

4) Buy a stopwatch. You'd be amazed how easy it is to miscalculate how much time you have when looking at a clock face. A stopwatch eliminates that. If you have 40 mins to write an essay you'll know exactly when to move on.

5) Dont listen to other people!! Just mesing, but seriously...people are going to talk about the all night study sessions they pulled and how they've been studying every night for two years straight. Then you'll have the people who say they've done nothing and they're going to get 0%. Realistically all of those people are probably exaggerating. You and only you will know if you are doing enough, and trust me...when the exams begin looming over you you'd be suprised how much you'll get done

6) Go out. Have fun. You will never be able to have a laugh with your whole year again. Forget study for a night and enjoy one of the nest years of your life. Coming close to the exams you should stop alright, but for the first half of the year at least, dont let anyone get in the way oo you blowing off some steam.

7) Look after yourself. Do some excercise, you dont have to eat really healthily but eat like you always have. Dont become a slave to energy drinks. Try not to let your relationships with family and friends get strained. They just want to help you. Doing the Leaving Cert doesnt mean you have to give up your life. Keep playing football or swimming or whatever you do for fun.

8) Avoid ALL examination post-mortems. I avoided them on boards, I didnt consult my notes for that answer I couldnt think of in the exam, I just forgot it all. After the exam theres nothing you can do so just move on.

9) Enjoy your Summer...like I should be doing now instead of writing this ridiculously long list!

Hope theres something in there that will help someone!

RHunce

As much and all as you think studying might be benefiting you, at times it may not be. Look at the exam papers and see what comes up, the way they want certain questions answered and the relevant points and length of answer.

The most efficient way to studying I thought was to just keep doing exam papers in every subject. Look at the marking schemes on examinations.ie and get your teachers to correct it too. I'm sure they'll have no problem given the year.

Enjoy the new relationship with your teachers. Despite what you think they have your best interest at heart. Although admittedly I didn't always take my own advice. They treat you as an equal and ye're both working towards the same goal, getting you the best possible leaving cert that you can achieve.

Relax in 6th year. Enjoy the nights out with your friends and finding ways to beat the stress and just relax. Enjoy it and best of luck

FloatingVoter

When I did mine 20 years ago - passing Irish was not on the cards. I don't speak Mongolian / Urdu / Latin either. I did need a subject for extra points to replace it.
If you need points, have a rough grasp on history and can draw a cat, Art is a lovely subject. Unlike Irish, it may make you more attractive to girls.

Other than that, keep on top of the studies, ignore the bull**** of your classmates about how much they are/aren't studying and get on with your own path.

randylonghorn

Agree with Bbbbolger, balance is key.

Work hard AND work smart! Spending 4 hours in your room faffing around, looking at the books for a few minutes, day-dreaming and reading Boards is NOT 4 hours study. It's probably not even 1.

Work hard AND take your time off. Allow yourself a *reasonable* social life and reasonable relaxation. Get reasonable regular exercise, even if it's only a 20 minutes a day brisk walk in the open air (and that doesn't mean taking 20 minutes to meander home from the school that's really 5 minutes away). Get enough sleep. Eat at least semi-sensibly, and avoid high sugar snacks. Allow yourself the occasional treat, but "energy" drinks etc. should be fairly much avoided.

Use your full brain, not just your memory. Understand the material, figure out the connections. It will make it a lot easier to remember, and it will make it a lot easier to apply to an unfamiliar example if you're required to do so.

Study in different ways. Read the material, make simple, clear, SHORT notes which are just REMINDERS. Try writing things out without the book. Record poems, quotations, etc. and listen to them when you're walking or whatever. And so on ... the more different ways we learn something, the better we remember it (and for longer).

And as everyone has said, practice exam papers / sample answers. More: practice doing them in the time allotted.

Compete with yourself, not anyone else. Ignore those "who did nothing al-l-l-l week!" and those who spent 8 hours last night studying Brownian motion. Apart from the likely inaccuracy of these statements, the reality is that they are irrelevant to you. Aim to do your very best, and ignore both the swots and the 2coolforskool gang.

Jhax

I did my LC last year and let me tell you it was probably the best year of my life in school. Your treated with a sense of respect and responsibility which others just abuse, but the advice I would give is don't. Your no longer being told what to do by your teachers every night, you have to do the work yourself and all though on those sunny days in may when your sitting at home cramming you might think that your the only one in the world thats studying right now, your not. Everybody goes through the LC. It sucks, but it's a good test of your capacity as a student and you should treat it as such. Aim to do the best you can, you want to impress your family, you want to have the best report card on results day, you want to get the best college course in the college. Once you get these ideas stuck into your head your half way there, the other half is the long hours of study... Good luck

LilMissCiara

Study
-Try and revise as much of 5th year's stuff by/during Christmas. Covering it well then will lighten the load later on.
-Always do your homework first. No point catching up on study while falling behind with homework!
-Never learn an essay. By all means learn the main points but not the full thing.
-Never write an essay (excluding English Paper1) unless it's for homework. Instead focus on writing essay plans.
-Try and narrow down the genre of essay you are best at for English Paper 1 and practice at least 1 a month.
-Do not listen to people who got 600 points in the Christmas Tests or Mocks.
-Do not listen to people who say their cousin did no work until May 1st and came out with 600 points. Do not follow their cousin's footsteps either.
-Do your best and don't try and meet other peoples' expectations of you unless they are realistic (so what if Mammy wants you to get medicine because big sister Mary did, or so what if Granny expects 600 points because cousin John got that.)
-600 points is not impossible but it is bloody well hard.
-2 words. EXAM PAPERS

Socially in School
-Enjoy the year. You will become friends with people you've never spoken to. Your existing friendships will mature.
-Speak to your career guidance teacher early on about courses and stuff.
-Apply for UCAS (uk universities), even if as a back-up, especially if you're going for high courses.
-Speak to your subject teacher if you find a section tricky or are falling behind with study.

Socially outside School
-Enjoy the odd night out but don't become a regular in your local pub and nightclub.
-See if your friends are up for the cinema/bowling etc. instead of going out as it saves money and saves your Sundays!
-Drinks offers seem like a great idea at the time but come Sunday evening when you're too tired to finish that essay and when you realize your wallet is empty they are a terrible idea.

Personally
-Keep up exercise. Even if it's only 10 minutes a day. I have done very little exercise since last summer and now I've gotten back in to it my body hates me for it! Even to avoid this pain, keep it up!
-Eat healthy. It'll keep your mind healthy. Drink lots of water.
-Get lots of sleep. Be in bed at 11pm at the latest!

AdamD

I don't get why people should apply to UCAS? I wouldn't be able to afford to move to Britain so writing personal statements etc would have just been a waste of valuable time and I'm sure that I'm not alone in this.

LilMissCiara

AdamD wrote: »

I don't get why people should apply to UCAS? I wouldn't be able to afford to move to Britain so writing personal statements etc would have just been a waste of valuable time and I'm sure that I'm not alone in this.

Scotland is completely free and if you were going for something with high points (vet, medicine etc.) then if would broaden your options.

Fair enough if somebody just wants a straight forward degree such as Science or Business then don't but if your options in Ireland are really restricted (5 medicine courses for example) then do.

teenagedream

AdamD wrote: »

I don't get why people should apply to UCAS? I wouldn't be able to afford to move to Britain so writing personal statements etc would have just been a waste of valuable time and I'm sure that I'm not alone in this.

Nursing students don't have to pay fees. Scotland is free. And they have a fair greater (imo) of subject choice/degrees.

AnnaKin

some great advice here people thank you so much!!
question for the LC class of 2012 though... how are yas coping with the irish..and any tips for me?? i mean i'm a c2 now, but i want to get my grades up and i have tried to improve (i'm bringing my grade up percent by measley percent:pac:) but how do i take an "average answer" to an "ar fheabhas" answer- present leaving certers - help would be appreciated here too thanks