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When to start studying for LC and best subject choices
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07-08-2012 10:23pmI'm going in to 4th year and am hoping to get into medicine. I am fairly consistent when it comes to exams but done useless in the JC (prob got 4As instead of 9As). Just wondering when Will be the best time to seriously start studying. For this year I am going to really focus on Irish and French vocab and go all out in Maths since its a vital subject.
On subject choices, I have a few questions. Is the history course long? I have a great interest in history and have never gotten less than 90% since first year (91% in the mocks). My history teacher says that it is around the same length as the J cert but a few people on boards have said that it is really long. I have posted about doing all 3 sciences for LC a few times and am really considering doing only 2 but I don't know which ones. I know that chemistry is a must and that you repeat LC biology in the trinity course so I am really doubtful. I want to ask my councillor but due to cutbacks my school are getting rid of her. Please give me any advice.0
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Is the history course long? I have a great interest in history and have never gotten less than 90% since first year (91% in the mocks). My history teacher says that it is around the same length as the J cert but a few people on boards have said that it is really long.
It's doable with a good teacher, but while its an "easy" subject because it's a social science, it's not one of the "easier" ones if that makes sense. There's more to it than rote-learning. Have a look at the books and essays while you're in TY and see if you'd enjoy it, it's just there's a ton more detail than JC. For example, remember the dilemma of "Do I study the berlin blockade or the cuban missile crisis?" - they're minor paragraphs in an essay at best.0 -
Is the history course long? I have a great interest in history and have never gotten less than 90% since first year (91% in the mocks). My history teacher says that it is around the same length as the J cert but a few people on boards have said that it is really long.
It's doable with a good teacher, but while its an "easy" subject because it's a social science, it's not one of the "easier" ones if that makes sense. There's more to it than rote-learning. Have a look at the books and essays while you're in TY and see if you'd enjoy it, it's just there's a ton more detail than JC. For example, remember the dilemma of "Do I study the berlin blockade or the cuban missile crisis?" - they're minor paragraphs in an essay at best.
Thanks. I don't have a major interest in Irish history but from what we did this year, I found it very interesting. Cheers for the feedback0 -
Thanks. I don't have a major interest in Irish history but from what we did this year, I found it very interesting. Cheers for the feedback0
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In terms of which science subjects to pick obviously chemistry is a must like you said yourself. Then if you are only going to do one other I would recommend biology over physics. It would be a good idea to have some grounding in biology before you start med in my opinion. Also if you are hoping for med you should find the subject very interesting and that will make it easier to study. Physics does come into certain aspects of med eg. if you choose to go into anesthetics after but overall I think biology would be the more useful for you. That said I know plenty of people who managed fine doing the three sciences but I understand why you might find the prospect overwhelming. I only did biology and chemistry myself and am also hoping for med.0
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In terms of which science subjects to pick obviously chemistry is a must like you said yourself. Then if you are only going to do one other I would recommend biology over physics. It would be a good idea to have some grounding in biology before you start med in my opinion. Also if you are hoping for med you should find the subject very interesting and that will make it easier to study. Physics does come into certain aspects of med eg. if you choose to go into anesthetics after but overall I think biology would be the more useful for you. That said I know plenty of people who managed fine doing the three sciences but I understand why you might find the prospect overwhelming. I only did biology and chemistry myself and am also hoping for med.0
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The course is actually different for you guys - they alternate the document book between European and Irish, and because the 2012 document was European, we had to study two Irish books. The worse of the two that I did is your documents book, so no need to worry too much there. :P Chances are you'll study Dictatorship & Democracy and The US, I did the first and it was actually really interesting. The latter wasn't an option since our other European book had to be the european retreat from empire, but you should enjoy it overall.0
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I know 3 people who applied for medicine in my year and they all did biology and chemistry as their science subjects. I'm friends with one of them and she really loved the 2 of them, which you'd have to if you wanted to go into medicine!
As for a third subject I'd recommend geography. It's certainly the most interesting and relevant (to real life) subject on the LC curriculum but it's not related to medicine obviously. That said the only other subject really related to medicine (other than biology and chemistry) would be a very small part of physics and 3 science subjects would drive most people insane. (Also physics is the most difficult science subject for most people and is unnecessary to get into medicine!)
Geography has a project worth 20% which is handy to boost your marks and although the syllabus is longer and involves more learning than the natural sciences, with a steady amount of work put in it's doable!
There are 4 sections:
• Physical Geography (plate tectonics, volcanism, earthquakes, rocks, folding and faulting, karst landscapes, mass movement/ rivers/ coasts/ glaciers etc.)
• Regional Geography (Concept of a region/ different types; the physical characteristics, human processes and economic activities of 2 Irish regions, 2 European regions & 1 sub-continental region; changing boundaries of regions etc.)
• Human Geography (Populations, Migration, Historical Settlement, Urban Theories, Land Use Zones, Urbanisation etc.) OR Economic Geography
• One option:
Geoecology (most done option: Soils & Biomes) OR Global Interdependence OR Culture & Identity OR Atmosphere- Ocean Environment)0 -
I know 3 people who applied for medicine in my year and they all did biology and chemistry as their science subjects. I'm friends with one of them and she really loved the 2 of them, which you'd have to if you wanted to go into medicine!
As for a third subject I'd recommend geography. It's certainly the most interesting and relevant (to real life) subject on the LC curriculum but it's not related to medicine obviously. That said the only other subject really related to medicine (other than biology and chemistry) would be a very small part of physics and 3 science subjects would drive most people insane. (Also physics is the most difficult science subject for most people and is unnecessary to get into medicine!)
Geography has a project worth 20% which is handy to boost your marks and although the syllabus is longer and involves more learning than the natural sciences, with a steady amount of work put in it's doable!
There are 4 sections:
• Physical Geography (plate tectonics, volcanism, earthquakes, rocks, folding and faulting, karst landscapes, mass movement/ rivers/ coasts/ glaciers etc.)
• Regional Geography (Concept of a region/ different types; the physical characteristics, human processes and economic activities of 2 Irish regions, 2 European regions & 1 sub-continental region; changing boundaries of regions etc.)
• Human Geography (Populations, Migration, Historical Settlement, Urban Theories, Land Use Zones, Urbanisation etc.) OR Economic Geography
• One option:
Geoecology (most done option: Soils & Biomes) OR Global Interdependence OR Culture & Identity OR Atmosphere- Ocean Environment)0 -
I know 3 people who applied for medicine in my year and they all did biology and chemistry as their science subjects. I'm friends with one of them and she really loved the 2 of them, which you'd have to if you wanted to go into medicine!
As for a third subject I'd recommend geography. It's certainly the most interesting and relevant (to real life) subject on the LC curriculum but it's not related to medicine obviously. That said the only other subject really related to medicine (other than biology and chemistry) would be a very small part of physics and 3 science subjects would drive most people insane. (Also physics is the most difficult science subject for most people and is unnecessary to get into medicine!)
Geography has a project worth 20% which is handy to boost your marks and although the syllabus is longer and involves more learning than the natural sciences, with a steady amount of work put in it's doable!
There are 4 sections:
• Physical Geography (plate tectonics, volcanism, earthquakes, rocks, folding and faulting, karst landscapes, mass movement/ rivers/ coasts/ glaciers etc.)
• Regional Geography (Concept of a region/ different types; the physical characteristics, human processes and economic activities of 2 Irish regions, 2 European regions & 1 sub-continental region; changing boundaries of regions etc.)
• Human Geography (Populations, Migration, Historical Settlement, Urban Theories, Land Use Zones, Urbanisation etc.) OR Economic Geography
• One option:
Geoecology (most done option: Soils & Biomes) OR Global Interdependence OR Culture & Identity OR Atmosphere- Ocean Environment)
Oh yeah, they do accept it as a science for all their science courses except medicine for some reason! It's worth 20% too. My dad corrected the history LC papers this year and he said most people got very high in the project so it really boosts people's grade too! That's all I know though as I didn't do history because I wasn't too interested in modern history! I loved 1st and 2nd year history (ancient/ classical/ medieval etc.) but LC history focuses completely on late modern history.
Business is a fascinating subject too if your still thinking about other subjects!0 -
3 LC science subjects are required for some UK universities (Medicine).
Do not discount Physics too quickly.
Keep all your options open0 -
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[QUOTE=
Business is a fascinating subject too if your still thinking about other subjects![/QUOTE]
I was really good at business but after the mocks I literally just stopped caring as I researched medicine to death for all of last year and I got something like 78% in the mocks so I just gave up on it. Honestly business is just boring, in my opinion. did u do it for the leaving?0 -
eyescreamcone wrote: »3 LC science subjects are required for some UK universities (Medicine).
Do not discount Physics too quickly.
Keep all your options open0 -
I don't know about the subjects, but this is my advice for studying:
F#ck the mocks, HPAT is on around the same time and is far more important. Treat studying for it like a subject, begin practising logic tests, lateral thinking tests and sequences etc. After February it can be forgotten about completely.
As for the LC, I always begin to study at March 17th of 6th year. It's just the right time. On that day, create a timetable each day until the first day of LC. Thereafter, you can forget about your timetable and focus on the nearest tests in order of their date.
Lastly, take it easy. Cover some material in 4th year yourself [this is very important so your brain doesn't turn to cotton], almost finish the entire thing in 5th year, and finish it and revise in 6th year. Exam papers are your friends
JC means absolutely nothing btw ^^0 -
I just found this on the internet http://www.scoilnet.ie/hist/docs/lc_history_sy.pdf Is this the syllabus you had to do or was it different??As for a third subject I'd recommend geography. It's certainly the most interesting and relevant (to real life) subject on the LC curriculum but it's not related to medicine obviously. That said the only other subject really related to medicine (other than biology and chemistry) would be a very small part of physics and 3 science subjects would drive most people insane. (Also physics is the most difficult science subject for most people and is unnecessary to get into medicine!)
Geography is a looooooot of learning though OP. I remember people thinking I was mad for doing it with history and didn't see why, but I do nowIt's not a bad subject but it's not predictable like it used to be.
I am hoping to get into Trinity and I was thinking of doing Geography as it is technically a science but Trinity dont accept it as a Science, unfortunately. I dont have any interest in Geography and only scraped As from 1st to 3rd year but I am really interested in history and I hope that I will do better in history. Do you know how much the history project is worth btw?It's tedious though - unlike just writing up experiments, there's a lot more to it e.g. deciding a topic, researching it, cutting down to fit the word count, reviewing sources, but apparently history is the best subject to prepare you for college.
I was really good at business but after the mocks I literally just stopped caring as I researched medicine to death for all of last year and I got something like 78% in the mocks so I just gave up on it. Honestly business is just boring, in my opinion. did u do it for the leaving?
(Sorry for this essay of a post, just trying to help :P)0 -
eyescreamcone wrote: »3 LC science subjects are required for some UK universities (Medicine).
Do not discount Physics too quickly.
Keep all your options open
Cambridge for starters!0 -
I just found this on the internet http://www.scoilnet.ie/hist/docs/lc_history_sy.pdf Is this the syllabus you had to do or was it different??As for a third subject I'd recommend geography. It's certainly the most interesting and relevant (to real life) subject on the LC curriculum but it's not related to medicine obviously. That said the only other subject really related to medicine (other than biology and chemistry) would be a very small part of physics and 3 science subjects would drive most people insane. (Also physics is the most difficult science subject for most people and is unnecessary to get into medicine!)
Geography is a looooooot of learning though OP. I remember people thinking I was mad for doing it with history and didn't see why, but I do nowIt's not a bad subject but it's not predictable like it used to be.
I am hoping to get into Trinity and I was thinking of doing Geography as it is technically a science but Trinity dont accept it as a Science, unfortunately. I dont have any interest in Geography and only scraped As from 1st to 3rd year but I am really interested in history and I hope that I will do better in history. Do you know how much the history project is worth btw?It's tedious though - unlike just writing up experiments, there's a lot more to it e.g. deciding a topic, researching it, cutting down to fit the word count, reviewing sources, but apparently history is the best subject to prepare you for college.
I was really good at business but after the mocks I literally just stopped caring as I researched medicine to death for all of last year and I got something like 78% in the mocks so I just gave up on it. Honestly business is just boring, in my opinion. did u do it for the leaving?
(Sorry for this essay of a post, just trying to help :P)0 -
Thanks, that really helped!! Now I know I'm definitely not doing geography!!! The ratios and formulae that we had to learn for business was just ridiculous so I'm staying clear of that. All our teachers said to us "the JC is going to decide your future", what a load of bull. Our dean said to us that the students who perform well will get automatic places into the "top classes". He said this applies for all classes but my brother is going into 5th year this year and streaming only applies for English. He done literally nothing for the JC and TY and got into the 2nd best class with the best teacher in the school, while the top class gets an alcoholic!! I worked for the whole year and realize I worked for nothing. Ah well, it's confidence building i suppose. Is there a massive difference between work for the LC and JC???
You could ask to be in your brother's class so you'd be doing the same material maybe?
I know if I'd been put in the "top class" I'd have kicked up a fuss, English is really a subject you need a capable teacher for.
And yeah, I'd say there is. I didn't break my back for the JC if I'm honest but still did quite well despite that, by just reading my books and doing some exam papers when I was told to. I never really made my own notes for some reason, but in LC because you don't have 10/11 subjects anymore the work is more concentrated. If you keep on top of it its fine though! The exams are more demanding too, English P1 gives you things like a story OR a personal essay for the title, it's not like JC where you pick your style and it's nowhere near as broad, so in that regard you could say you need to practice more writing styles. You can kind of reduce that workload, though, by just picking what your best is.Irish I actually found to be less work (besides those awful picture sequences) but that's because I got a new teacher who taught the language rather than making us rote learn. History is totally different with more work, but as long as you stay interested and forming opinions you'll be fine!
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I also loved JC history, I got an A in it and found it interesting and easy. LC was another story, its such a long, vast course with loads of very similar topics so its difficult to distinguish between what's being asked for the essay and what isn't.
I didn't find LC history interesting at all, it was my least favourite subject. It took up a lot of my study time and if I could go back I'd have done another subject instead.
I wouldn't recommend LC history to anyone!0 -
I revised way more for my JC than my LC but that was because I has way more time to revise for my JC! We were finished all our JC courses about a month before the exams and I decided not to learn what we had done after Xmas in 3rd year and revise instead (e.g. I didn't learn modern Irish history or social change in JC history, I didn't learn morality in RE, I didn't learn our last poem or prose in Irish, I didn't learn most of economic geography in geography etc.)... So I had so much time to revise and I put a lot of hard work in and ended up doing really well... However, for the LC you can't really leave out much in any course so I was studying NEW material right up to May! :eek: So I only started revising within the few days before the LC actually started! So as you can guess, that meant I was staying up until 5am before every exam crash revising (except English P1 which you can't revise for)! In fairness though that mightn't have happened if I wasn't doing 9 subjects but I'm elated I did 9 subjects now! It was pretty much torture in the last term of 6th year but it paid off! That's because my learning style kind of changed in 5th year from "steady reviser" to "late night crash studier"! If you're not a crash studier I wouldn't recommend 9 subjects though!!
If you have any queries about any of my optional subjects I'd be happy to answer: German, Geography, Business, Religious Education, Biology & Chemistry.0 -
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Anyone have any tips on when is the best time to knuckle down and study??0
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I revised way more for my JC than my LC but that was because I has way more time to revise for my JC! We were finished all our JC courses about a month before the exams and I decided not to learn what we had done after Xmas in 3rd year and revise instead (e.g. I didn't learn modern Irish history or social change in JC history, I didn't learn morality in RE, I didn't learn our last poem or prose in Irish, I didn't learn most of economic geography in geography etc.)... So I had so much time to revise and I put a lot of hard work in and ended up doing really well... However, for the LC you can't really leave out much in any course so I was studying NEW material right up to May! :eek: So I only started revising within the few days before the LC actually started! So as you can guess, that meant I was staying up until 5am before every exam crash revising (except English P1 which you can't revise for)! In fairness though that mightn't have happened if I wasn't doing 9 subjects but I'm elated I did 9 subjects now! It was pretty much torture in the last term of 6th year but it paid off! That's because my learning style kind of changed in 5th year from "steady reviser" to "late night crash studier"! If you're not a crash studier I wouldn't recommend 9 subjects though!!
If you have any queries about any of my optional subjects I'd be happy to answer: German, Geography, Business, Religious Education, Biology & Chemistry.0 -
Personally i did all three sciences and applied maths too. i found them to be very interesting and really enjoyable.. if you like maths do physics as well as biology its a lovely subject. as for some of the other tips here i would have to agree and say **** the mocks and concentrate on the Hpat because at the end of the day mocks results don't give you points and you only get one go at the Hpat. as for studying i think its best to enjoy Ty. do a bit of leaving cert work if you can but if you can't i wouldn't worry about it. also about when to start studying well i think if you listen in class and do your homework you've 70% of the work done the other 30% is what you've to worry about and to be honest the earlier you start the better. and finally i would suggest doing every single exam question that you can get your hands on.. anyway best of luck with it and i do think it flies so don't worry too much about it:)0
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OK, here's my honest opinion on every subject.
The general gist of what I'm about to go through is this: Do 3 Sciences and a language. I believe this is the best setup if you dislike rote learning (which there will be enough of in your LC with English, never mind the other rote-learning subjects!), and the 3 science subjects tie in to each other nicely. They'll give you a good foundation for whatever you do in Uni in Engi/Science/Medicine related fields.
English: If you enjoy reading/writing in your own time, this subject is 15x easier. If not... You need to start enjoying it :P Get your essays together (i.e get some off friends/people on boards/notebooks) as early as possible for each piece you do, so you don't spend half of 6th year trying to organise them and you can focus on just learning themPractice your writing style and get a thesaurus so you can seem like a gifted writer
Irish: I'll be honest, I have no perspective on this subject as I'm from the Gaeltacht and Irish is thus really easy for me. But regardless; Listen to RnaG and watch TG4 as often as possible. Stay in the Gaeltacht if you can (it's educational AND it's great fun!) and read in Irish an oiread agus is féidir leat. For the technical side of things, look for a book called Irish Grammar Book by Nollaig Mac Congaile. Study that for an hour every night and your grasp of Irish grammar and construction will be A1 standard.
French: This is one of the easiest exams in the LC in my opinion. French is a really easy language (far easier than Irish if you're non-native) and the exam papers are so, so easy (assuming you've done the work). French needs a twofold approach. For the first, i.e technical side of things, focus on learning how to construct your tenses: present, passé composé, imparfait, futur simple, conditionnel, passé simple, subjonctif. Knowledge of the subjonctif is not *required* but is an excellent way to boost your mark to that A1 grade. With regard to technical learning you should also make a point of learning plenty of prepositions and the like. The second aspect of getting a good grade in French is hearing and reading: Listen to french radio when you're studying (and when not, if possible). Even if you don't understand what they're saying at first it'll help you get used to the rhythm of the language (and develop an accent) and as your vocabulary improves it will make sense. Think of how a baby learns a language: They just listen, mostly! Also, read Figaro and Le Monde or any other online newspaper. Firing words you don't recognise into wordreference or google translate (words only, full sentences usually get fecked up!) is a great way to improve your vocabulary and a LOT of the stuff that comes up on the exam paper is taken from these newspapers.
(To be continued!)0 -
Great post. Look forward to part 2
Yay another irish speaker. I'm in an irish school. Pretty much fluent at this stage, my friends and I speak irish to each other as well a lot. Eases the pressure for the leaving I'd say, I know it did for the junior cert big time, where minimal study was required for it.
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I found both subjects to be really interesting, especially biology! Biology involves more learning than chemistry as it is mostly a rote learning subject, but the content is more relevant to real life and hence, more fascinating! For biology, I just studied each chapter after we did them for a class test and then revised them for summer/ Xmas exams... which meant when it came to the night before the LC, one night of crash revising was all I needed! The experiments are easy to understand and to learn. The exam is fair and really tests your broad knowledge of the course!
Chemistry is fine if you have a good teacher! I had one of the best teachers on the planet (I also had her for JC and she was mostly the reason I did the subject!) But I ended up really loving the subject in 5th year! I say you need a good teacher because it is more understanding than rote learning! You really need to get a good grasp on what you're studying! The calculations only require primary school standard Maths, it is more about knowing when to use the right calculations and how to use them etc. The experiment questions are worth a lot more in chemistry than biology and so, are more detailed (e.g. they might involve method/ procedure, calculation, safety precautions, theory behind the investigation..)
The atomic theory chapters are very interesting as you study the history of atomic structure (different scientists..), chemical bonding, arrangement of the electrons, trends in the periodic table etc. So you get a great insight into how everything works at the base level! You do titratiions and study acids and bases too. You also study things like rates of reactions, fuels and heats of reaction, chemical equilibrium and environmental chemistry.
I would say that steady work is half the battle in chemistry! I would recommend buying "Exam Edge: Chemistry" as it gives you the solutions to past exam qs in chemistry chapter by chapter! So you study them at the end of each chapter! I also used " Rapid Revision" alongside that!
I'm hoping to study Geography, Business and Economics in university because although I loved biology and chemistry, for me they couldn't beat the earth and social sciences!0 -
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Is chemistry as tough as it is made out to be??? Were you able to finish the course in time and is chemistry based around definitions it experiments?
It's not that bad. In fact it can be easier than say, geography, business, biology or history, simply because there's less learning involved. However, as I previously mentioned a good teacher is a must! Chemistry is about understanding the content so you need it to be explained properly to you!
We finished the course in class but I didn't study organic families, compounds and reactions (the last 2 chapters-big- that we did because I had 8 other subjects to stress about, and I was fine in the exam) Ib the exam, you answer 8 out of 11 questions. You have to answer at least two experiment questions (Qs 1-3) but you can answer all 3 if you want (meaning 1 less theory question if you prefer the experiments). Each question is based on:
1. Titration experiment
2. Organic experiment
3. Other experiment
4. Short Qs (answer 8 from 11 of these)
5. Atomic Theory
6. Fuels and Heats of Reaction
7,8 & 9. Each based on various topics usually one is Organic Families & Reactions, the others are Rates of Reaction and/ or Chemical Equilibrium and/ or Water and/ or Acids & Bases/ pH
10 &11. Each has three parts (each based on a different topic) from which you choose two. 11c is always Environmental/ Industrial Chemistry.
There are quite a few definitions in each chapter to learn (easy= just rote learning) and the experiments, as I previously mentioned, are very detailed! The rest of the course is theory to be understood.0 -
Geo10 already made some very good points about chemistry, just thought I'd chip in tooIs chemistry as tough as it is made out to be??? Were you able to finish the course in time and is chemistry based around definitions it experiments?
As Geo10 said, you need a good teacher. I found chemistry a bit tough at times, but what would usually happen was that chapters would click with me a few weeks after we did them. Normally we'd be on the next chapter and I'd be revising the previous one and it would suddenly make sense. So don't worry if you don't get things immediately, it's one of those subjects where everything kind of falls into place in time.
There definitely is a focus on definitions in chemistry, and you have to be very specific with your wording. However, it's not difficult - just learn them off and it''s easy marks then! And as was already explained, you must do at least 2 experiment questions out of 3, so your experiments count for at least a quarter of your overall mark.0 -
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Is chemistry as tough as it is made out to be??? Were you able to finish the course in time and is chemistry based around definitions it experiments?
It's not that bad. In fact it can be easier than say, geography, business, biology or history, simply because there's less learning involved. However, as I previously mentioned a good teacher is a must! Chemistry is about understanding the content so you need it to be explained properly to you!
We finished the course in class but I didn't study organic families, compounds and reactions (the last 2 chapters-big- that we did because I had 8 other subjects to stress about, and I was fine in the exam) Ib the exam, you answer 8 out of 11 questions. You have to answer at least two experiment questions (Qs 1-3) but you can answer all 3 if you want (meaning 1 less theory question if you prefer the experiments). Each question is based on:
1. Titration experiment
2. Organic experiment
3. Other experiment
4. Short Qs (answer 8 from 11 of these)
5. Atomic Theory
6. Fuels and Heats of Reaction
7,8 & 9. Each based on various topics usually one is Organic Families & Reactions, the others are Rates of Reaction and/ or Chemical Equilibrium and/ or Water and/ or Acids & Bases/ pH
10 &11. Each has three parts (each based on a different topic) from which you choose two. 11c is always Environmental/ Industrial Chemistry.
There are quite a few definitions in each chapter to learn (easy= just rote learning) and the experiments, as I previously mentioned, are very detailed! The rest of the course is theory to be understood.0 -
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