Rechecks/Appeals 2011

dambarude

Go look at them. It costs nothing, and otherwise you might always wonder whether you should have done better. Surely you can spare an hour to do it?!

AdamD

Is there any actual point in me appealing? I got 470, the course I want (1st choice) was 475 last year and I'm guessing ittl be the same this year too. There are a couple of exams I think could go up but is it just a waste of money considering we will already be in uni by the time we get our appeals back and won't be able to do anything about it..

dambarude

AdamD wrote: »

Is there any actual point in me appealing? I got 470, the course I want (1st choice) was 475 last year and I'm guessing ittl be the same this year too. There are a couple of exams I think could go up but is it just a waste of money considering we will already be in uni by the time we get our appeals back and won't be able to do anything about it..

There is of course. You'll be offered a place in the course if you reach the points level, and you could be accommodated in it by starting a few weeks later. If not, you might be offered a place in the same course starting next year.

AdamD

I'm not too bothered if I'm offered it next year 'cause if i'm 5 off this year the bonus maths points would get me it next year if I disliked my 2nd choice and wanted to reapply. Are you sure they give you the course if you reach the points?

dambarude

Yes (unless there was random selection on that points level, in which case it's not 100% certain).

If you're upgraded and reach the points you'd be guaranteed a place for next year if you didn't take it up this year. If you entered through open competition again next year (which is what you're speaking of with the bonus maths points) you would NOT be guaranteed a place.

AdamD

I'm not worried about next year, is more the question: Is it worth checking when I may only get an offer for next year not this year? Or which offer is more likely? This year or next (after rechecks), assuming I go up of course.

dambarude

It depends on the course, and when the college starts back. Some colleges don't start until October, so you mightn't have missed to much if you only got in after appeals. In others (e.g. the one I'm in) college starts September 5th. You'd have missed two months, so starting in September of next year might be the only viable option. Also, some courses have limits on how many students can be in them, so they might not be able to accommodate you until next year for that reason.

Aaron547

where can i find this form for rechecks i cant see any in my brown envelope?

mrboswell

Ask in the school as they may not have put it in the envelope.

randylonghorn

AdamD wrote: »

I'm not too bothered if I'm offered it next year 'cause if i'm 5 off this year the bonus maths points would get me it next year if I disliked my 2nd choice and wanted to reapply. Are you sure they give you the course if you reach the points?

Do remember that you won't be the only person getting the bonus for HL Maths, and points for some courses are likely to rise as a result.

Also, if you take your second choice, complete the first year, re-apply and do first year again (i.e. in a different course), you will be caught for a year's full fees.

If you take your second choice and drop out pretty quickly, this won't apply.

funnyname

A friend was working in the exam centre in Athlone this year. One of the things he noticed when checking the totals on the corrected papers was that some of the totals were the same as the last 3 digits of the exam number. He mentioned this to his boss but the boss said as long as the total was within a specified range then all was ok.

Example

candidates exam no was xxxx123 (ps I don't know the format of exam numbers, just an example)

total mark for corrected paper was 123/300

He noticed this for 3 papers in a row.

All I would say is get your paper corrected if you are unhappy with your result as mistakes do occur when the total is put down.

AdamD

randylonghorn wrote: »

Do remember that you won't be the only person getting the bonus for HL Maths, and points for some courses are likely to rise as a result.

Also, if you take your second choice, complete the first year, re-apply and do first year again (i.e. in a different course), you will be caught for a year's full fees.

If you take your second choice and drop out pretty quickly, this won't apply.

Yeah I understand, this would be on the off chance I really dislike it.

BOHtox

Am I able to view my answers and the corrections before I get it re-corrected?

randylonghorn

BOHtox wrote: »

Am I able to view my answers and the corrections before I get it re-corrected?

Yes, the first step is to view the papers. It is advisable to bring someone with you, preferably a teacher of the subject and ideally one who corrects / has corrected.

Then you can decide whether it is worth getting any papers re-checked officially.

LilMissCiara

I'll have moved to Scotland by the time we can view our scripts so obviously I won't be able to view them. I'm disappointed with maths and business so I'm wondering should I just leave it considering I have my course or should I go ahead and apply for a recheck?

shive25

I appealed 3 papers last year - chemistry, ag science, and biology and I went up a grade in all 3. When I went to look at them I was shocked - especially with ag science - it looked like a drunk child had marked it. The totals hadnt been added up right and I found at least 15 - 20 marks that they had just 'forgotten' to add in. Also they hadnt taken my best questions just added the first ones they saw. I went up when I appealed it. I think its really bad though that you cant appeal the mark for your project - why not it makes no sense. You never even find out what you got and same with orals - very annoying!!

eVeNtInE

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Vodkat

shive25 wrote: »

I appealed 3 papers last year - chemistry, ag science, and biology and I went up a grade in all 3. When I went to look at them I was shocked - especially with ag science - it looked like a drunk child had marked it. The totals hadnt been added up right and I found at least 15 - 20 marks that they had just 'forgotten' to add in. Also they hadnt taken my best questions just added the first ones they saw. I went up when I appealed it. I think its really bad though that you cant appeal the mark for your project - why not it makes no sense. You never even find out what you got and same with orals - very annoying!!

The main reason the ag. science project cannot be remarked is because they have been already handed back to students and adjustments may have been made to improve it over the summer.

rainbowtrout

shive25 wrote: »

I appealed 3 papers last year - chemistry, ag science, and biology and I went up a grade in all 3. When I went to look at them I was shocked - especially with ag science - it looked like a drunk child had marked it. The totals hadnt been added up right and I found at least 15 - 20 marks that they had just 'forgotten' to add in. Also they hadnt taken my best questions just added the first ones they saw. I went up when I appealed it. I think its really bad though that you cant appeal the mark for your project - why not it makes no sense. You never even find out what you got and same with orals - very annoying!!

It's been said a million times. Examiners can have an off day and looking at the same answers over and over again can lead to mistakes.

As for your project query. Your teacher has graded it, an external monitor has also monitored it. So effectively you have been graded twice on the project. You do not need a third check on it.

shive25

I do understand that people can have an off day and that looking at hundreds of scripts but to appeal 3 subjects and all 3 were changed is a little worrying!
Ya I just think you should be able to appeal it so maybe they should keep the projects just incase.
I know they have both looked at it but I still think there should be an appeals process for grumps like me who aren't happy

rainbowtrout

eVeNtInE wrote: »

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If your points go up as a result of a recheck and you would have been offered a higher preference course on your CAO list, you will get an offer for that course. You can choose to accept it or reject it. Depending on the course you can start it when you are offered it which will be a few weeks later than everyone else or you can defer until the following year. If you are offered a very popular course like Medicine which is already full and they can't fit you in this year you will be offered a place on the course for next year.

eVeNtInE

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randylonghorn

rainbowtrout wrote: »

If you are offered a very popular course like Medicine which is already full and they can't fit you in this year you will be offered a place on the course for next year.

There's also an issue with medicine and a few other courses that students are thrown in pretty much at the deep end, and there is mid-term assessment, and CA which kicks in from the start, and someone coming in late would be at a real disadvantage.

For most courses it's a more gradual process, and while students coming in late do have to make an effort to catch up, it's far from impossible.

In fact, often what they have missed most is the orientation and hype and partying that usually surrounds the start of first year. Personally, I think they often have a bigger issue settling into the social scene and making new friends than they do with catching up with the course. Of course, if they're lucky enough to have a few friends in first year in the college already, this helps a lot.

doctorg

What happens if I accept an offer and later on through recheck my grade gets downgraded. Does the college kick me out or what?

randylonghorn

eVeNtInE wrote: »

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We have this discussion every year tbh!

It's not an absolutely perfect system, but just to get the scripts turned around and re-sorted and back to schools takes time and work, and it's really only once the results are out that SEC staff can turn their minds to that job.

Then they have to go to schools, be viewed, the schools have to send them and the forms back (they can be slow enough about it too).

Then they have to be turned around again and sent out to examiners who are now back teaching in schools themselves, and re-marked, and sent back again, and the results processed.

And they all have to be released at the same time, otherwise some people would have an advantage because they would have got their results early, so if there's a big number of appeals for one subject that will delay things.

Our usual annual conclusion is that while the system isn't perfect, it's fair and probably about as good as we're gonna get unless the government finds a pretty hefty extra amount of money (which they haven't got) to invest in it, and if they had it itself, there are probably areas in education which need it more anyway ...

randylonghorn

doctorg wrote: »

What happens if I accept an offer and later on through recheck my grade gets downgraded. Does the college kick me out or what?

Firstly, the number of grades which actually go down in re-checks are very small (though it CAN happen).

Secondly, I've never heard of a college withdrawing an offer as a result.

It would be a bit unfair to offer a place and then withdraw it over something which wasn't the student's fault (i.e. an error in marking).

rainbowtrout

eVeNtInE wrote: »

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It's not. Remember the people who correct the exams are teachers who are all back at work in September, so it's not like they have all day to sit correcting exams and give a fast turnaround. Time has to be allocated to allow the appeals to be corrected and this is only going to happen after a teacher has finished their working day.

It also wouldn't make sense for the most part to have rechecks before the first round of offers. I know some people get papers rechecked because they are just not happy with a result and think they deserve better or they have failed maths, but a large number are getting rechecks because they want to come up by a certain number of points to get into another course.

Some people will find out on Monday that while they think today they are 5 points short for their desired course that they are offered it in Round 1 because demand for the course went down and points dropped etc.

Some people will miss their course and be offered their second choice and will decide to take their second choice.

Many of these people won't bother getting a recheck because circumstances have worked out. If rechecks were earlier there would probably be an even higher number of appeals and it would take just as long for them to be processed.

It would also not be appropriate to tell a student when viewing a script that they have to decide on the spot if they want to appeal or not. A few days to think about it can make all the difference and when the offers come through on Monday it can put a whole new perspective on it.


I got 445 in my LC way back when. My first choice course the previous year had been 450. There was no option back then to view papers if you appealed you just sent in the form and hoped for the best. I think it was a shorter cut off time for returning them too.

I got my first round offer and it was my first choice, it had dropped 5 points and I got in. Had I appealed a result and was brought down a grade I would have missed my course.

Violafy

Is anyone else tempted to view a paper they were happy with, just to see the percentage they got? I got an A1 in English, but am curious to see exactly what I got in each question. Obviously there'd be no chance I'd be appealing it... :rolleyes: Do many people do this, or would I just look like some sort of control freak? I'd be going in anyway, as I'm definitely viewing Biology.

randylonghorn

Violafy wrote: »

Is anyone else tempted to view a paper they were happy with, just to see the percentage they got? I got an A1 in English, but am curious to see exactly what I got in each question. Obviously there'd be no chance I'd be appealing it... :rolleyes: Do many people do this, or would I just look like some sort of control freak? I'd be going in anyway, as I'm definitely viewing Biology.

Lots of people do it, lots of people view all their papers in fact.

You may get a bit of teasing, but no-one will think it that strange really.

eVeNtInE

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