Dropping Irish....good or bad idea?

wealthyman

I done my leaving cert in 2007 and got an OD1 in Irish. I am repeating my leaving this year with 5 subjects. I don't want to do Irish again as I have passed it already and bloody hate it but can I use my past result and combine it with my results next year, not for points obviously as i know you can't do that, but would a college accept me if I only done 5 subjects in my leaving, despite having already passed the one i'm leaving out? Thus it will give me more time to work on my other subjects as the majority of them are higher.

IrishKnight

Surely you'd want to do six rather than five subjects to ensure you get enough points. Doesn't have to be Irish.

Anyway, you passed Irish once, and so long as the college you are applying only needs a pass in ord level, you don't need to do it again.

AFAIK

wealthyman

I'm doing ord Maths and 4 higher subjects so i should be ok. Plus as I have a medical condition I will be applying throught the CAO via DART so even if I don't get the points required DART should allocate me 30 or 40 I think?

Anonymo

wealthyman wrote: »

I'm doing ord Maths and 4 higher subjects so i should be ok. Plus as I have a medical condition I will be applying throught the CAO via DART so even if I don't get the points required DART should allocate me 30 or 40 I think?

As others mention you'd be better off doing 6 subjects not 5. Regardless of if you get 30 or 40 extra points you're still throwing away points. What are your higher level subjects? There are other courses that you could take up instead of Irish - even if you have to study them on your own.

wealthyman

English, Biology, Geography, and Business all at higher level. I have taken on Biology for the first time and it's hard, Maths is also a struggle. So I thought if I dropped Irish it would make thing's easier. I told the teacher today and she told me I HAD to to the Irish because it's the new course and no college would accept me and I couldn't use my old grade, she was adamant??? So rang the college and they said as long as I had english and maths I was fine, talk about being confused... I need 320 points and should get them without taking the irish.

Anonymo

wealthyman wrote: »

English, Biology, Geography, and Business all at higher level. I have taken on Biology for the first time and it's hard, Maths is also a struggle. So I thought if I dropped Irish it would make thing's easier. I told the teacher today and she told me I HAD to to the Irish because it's the new course and no college would accept me and I couldn't use my old grade, she was adamant??? So rang the college and they said as long as I had english and maths I was fine, talk about being confused... I need 320 points and should get them without taking the irish.

I think your teacher was incorrect to say you couldn't use your old grade - she probably meant that your old grade wouldn't count towards your points this time around, which is correct.
I'm a bit confused though. Your response indicates that you are doing only 4 subjects (assuming you're not doing Irish) that you did in 2007. But surely you did 6 subjects (excl Irish) in '07. Why can't you take on one of those again?

wealthyman

Anonymo wrote: »

I think your teacher was incorrect to say you couldn't use your old grade - she probably meant that your old grade wouldn't count towards your points this time around, which is correct.
I'm a bit confused though. Your response indicates that you are doing only 4 subjects (assuming you're not doing Irish) that you did in 2007. But surely you did 6 subjects (excl Irish) in '07. Why can't you take on one of those again?

I forgot to add Maths to that. I did History in 2007 but the centre where I am repeating doesn't offer it, they offer 6 in total. So I'm doing the five.

Anonymo

wealthyman wrote: »

I forgot to add Maths to that. I did History in 2007 but the centre where I am repeating doesn't offer it, they offer 6 in total. So I'm doing the five.

Why can't study History yourself? You could use the timetabled slots for Irish to study History. I think you should seriously consider that. It's an awful waste to throw away the points.

selfobsessed

You WILL have to do it again I'm afraid. It's a new course now so the old one doesn't apply. They only take your grades from ONE sitting not one that is four years old.

Anonymo

selfobsessed wrote: »

You WILL have to do it again I'm afraid. It's a new course now so the old one doesn't apply. They only take your grades from ONE sitting not one that is four years old.

selfobsessed, don't freak the lad out! for one thing your advice is not correct.
It is true, and always has been, that grades obtained in previous years will not count towards the current years points. However, another truth is that if you have obtained the minimum requirement in that subject for the particular course you are applying for then it doesn't matter that you've done it a few years previously (you just won't be able to use it in the cao for points).

Have a look at Q4 at
http://www.nui.ie/college/entry-requirements-faqs.asp

randylonghorn

selfobsessed wrote: »

You WILL have to do it again I'm afraid. It's a new course now so the old one doesn't apply. They only take your grades from ONE sitting not one that is four years old.

You really don't know what you're talking about, do you?!