Was It Worth Repeating?

kayleigh01

Ok, so I ended up with 520 after aiming for 550 for Medicine. At this stage I know I won't get it and don't want to waste 4 years doing a course I won't like as much.

What I was wondering was, to all you repeats out there, was it worth it? Did you find it easier or harder? Did your points increase? Basically, given the choice to go back, would you do it again?

Louisa2

kayleigh01 wrote: »

Ok, so I ended up with 520 after aiming for 550 for Medicine. At this stage I know I won't get it and don't want to waste 4 years doing a course I won't like as much.

What I was wondering was, to all you repeats out there, was it worth it? Did you find it easier or harder? Did your points increase? Basically, given the choice to go back, would you do it again?

Kayleigh,

I was in the exact same position as you this time 6 years ago except I didn't even score as well as you. 520 is a fantastic leaving cert result. Well Done! I know however that you're heartbroken at the prospect of not getting med. I also repeated after not getting med.

I had quite a tough Leaving Cert year. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes the end of the April before the LC and spent two weeks in hospital. Having to deal with injections and everything completely threw me off and the LC didn't go as planned.

I ended up with 490 points on results day which was my worst nightmare. I had been aiming for 580 so almost a hundred points off. None of my friends scored that well and were all ecstatic while I was heartbroken. I decided to repeat. When they heard I was repeating they made fun of me for heading back to the old school and not progressing.

My reason to repeat was simple. I knew in my heart that I had more in me. I hadn't done my best because I was so preoccupied with my diagnosis. Also, the whole ordeal with my diabetes had made me want to be a doctor even more so there was no way I was going to do a course I didn't want. I did my LC before the HPAT so I luckily didn't have that to contend with. I don't know how you faired in that.

So, I donned my uniform again and went back to work. Initially repeating was horrible. I hated it and I did ponder the idea of just waiting for next years CAO offers and seeing what I'd gotten but then I just got motivated and worked so incredibly hard for the next 9 months. I didn't find it easier. It was on par with my first LC however I was less stressed and I knew the workload involved and I didn't have the pressure of the first orals/ practicals etc.

I did my LC and this is where repeating was easier. I just didn't have the stress levels that I had the first year. I was so cool and calm and this is definitely to do with repeating. I got my results the following August and to my sheer delight got 600 points, 110 points more than the previous year. So yes, it was so worth repeating and I did go up.

I got my first choice, medicine in Trinity and have not looked back. I'm going into my final year now. Trinity's course is technically a 5 year but you can do this strange PhD thing that I did in 3rd year which makes it a 6 year. I, of course, did lots of research into diabetes and it was so interesting. I met my boyfriend on the 2nd day of college and we're still together. I also met the best friends a girl could ask for. I always think, if I hadn't repeated then I wouldn't have these people in my life. The friends that laughed at me. Most of them graduated about 2/3 years ago. A lot have emigrated and some are even unemployed. I will have a job as soon as I finish.

So yes, I would do it again in the morning. It's a tough year but if you feel that you had more to offer and still have that burning desire to get your course then by all means repeat. There will be times when you want to throw in the towel and other times when you feel you can beat the world but it's an experience that has made me so much stronger and more determined as a person.

I'm so sorry that this is so incredibly long but I just want you to see the impact repeating had on my life. I barely even remember the first LC. It's only impacted my life in a positive way. If you have any questions at all about repeating please feel free to PM me.

shunter07

Yes!!!
I repeated after getting 525. (it later increased to 535 when i got re-checks.)
But there yesterday i came out with 605! I was cautious repeating as i had a physio offer waiting for me but, like yourself, med was number one for me. Basically repeating works if you work. I went to college of commerce, (no fees) and got on great. Teachers and students are fantastic. Crazy scores all round really with people getting 100 points and more above their last years score. Cant recommend repeating highly enough. The year flies. Why spend your life doing something you don't want to, when with just one more year of really hard work you can do what you wanna do? Do it.

Laura says

First of all, congrats on your results. . . fantastic leaving cert by anybodies standards! On the whole repeating thing,I sat the leaving cert first time in 2010 and decided to repeat it in 2011 for a couple of reasons. . .
I knew i could give it a better shot and i hadn't reached my potential and capabilities and secondly, i just didnt feel ready to go to college, for me, i just needed another year to really think about what course I wanted.
And honestly, it was the best decision I could have made! Although i got offered general nursing in 2010, and funnily enough ended up doing general nursing in 2011. . . i definitely don't think it was a year wasted.
It helped me mature, do some more research into the course and decide it was for me, all the while going up 50 points win win!
With regards to finding it easier. . take into consideration though that I repeated in my old secondary school which had a designated repeat class, but, you can carry your entry requirements from the previous year, which meant I didn't have to repeat English or Irish allowing me to do the subjects I really enjoyed- Although, I think thats different when you want to do medicine!

iiHyPeRize

It depends really. Some subjects are easier to repeat as they course remains the same; the likes of Geography, Biology, French, Chemistry etc... have a course that is the same every year. Other courses vary, Irish will be the same next year but it was a nightmare for me this year, trying to squeeze the stories and poems in in one year.

I went up by 80 points, which was considerable but trust me, repeating isn't easy, you're the one that has to put the uniform back on and face them teachers again and you'll feel very awkward at first.

You run a slight risk by repeating; as you scored very high this year, it may be difficult to bring it up by that much and it all really depends on the day of the exams. You also have the option of re-applying next year using this set of results and you may change your mind on what you want to do as that happened to me and is probably why I repeated as I changed my mind on what I wanted and it was too late to change my CAO preference list.

In conclusion repeating can be worth it, you'll grow a year older and if you go back and get a high set of results and beat this years one and get your course, it'll be the best decision of your life and you'll realise it, however; if you go back and get either A) traumatized by the whole leaving cert ordeal again you could end up dropping out which is very common amongst repeats Not get what you want next year and realise you wasted a year as 520 is a huge score, and you'd need to work very very well to beat it.

No matter what you do, it's your decision and you know what's best. Everybody tried to talk me out of repeating, even the guidance councilor tried to get me a PLC and siad it was better that repeating but I knew what I wanted and hopefully come the offers on Monday my efforts paid off.

Mysteriouschic

Repeating was a good option for me, I still feel like I made the right decision I tried my best and thats what I did.
And when I got my results I was very shocked I'd been doing well in every single subject through out the year . My results still didn't turn out to what I wanted so it feels slightly like a waste and as some of my grades did not go up when they were throughout the year. A few others went down in points quite a and but others got the points they wanted. It all depends on each person .
I still feel like my results should be better but there's no way I'd repeat a third time. I'd just be worried I'd be wasting my time knowing I put the work in for it still to turn out to be not what I wanted.
Also what I want to do is in IT there's surely other ways into it and there's no point on me repeating again.

I'd say if you haven't repeated it's worth giving it a shot , it varies person to person and you do learn a lot more during the year.

kayleigh01

Thank you to everyone who replied!

As regards to going back into my school, I have great relationships with most of my teachers so that wouldn't be something that would put me off too much. Also I know the year I would be in pretty well too.

My main worry is getting to this stage next year and having not gotten it again. I don't know how I'd handle having wasted a year that I could have been in college for?

gerbilgranny

Louisa2 wrote: »

Kayleigh,

I was in the exact same position as you this time 6 years ago except I didn't even score as well as you. 520 is a fantastic leaving cert result. Well Done! I know however that you're heartbroken at the prospect of not getting med. I also repeated after not getting med.

I had quite a tough Leaving Cert year. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes the end of the April before the LC and spent two weeks in hospital. Having to deal with injections and everything completely threw me off and the LC didn't go as planned.

I ended up with 490 points on results day which was my worst nightmare. I had been aiming for 580 so almost a hundred points off. None of my friends scored that well and were all ecstatic while I was heartbroken. I decided to repeat. When they heard I was repeating they made fun of me for heading back to the old school and not progressing.

My reason to repeat was simple. I knew in my heart that I had more in me. I hadn't done my best because I was so preoccupied with my diagnosis. Also, the whole ordeal with my diabetes had made me want to be a doctor even more so there was no way I was going to do a course I didn't want. I did my LC before the HPAT so I luckily didn't have that to contend with. I don't know how you faired in that.

So, I donned my uniform again and went back to work. Initially repeating was horrible. I hated it and I did ponder the idea of just waiting for next years CAO offers and seeing what I'd gotten but then I just got motivated and worked so incredibly hard for the next 9 months. I didn't find it easier. It was on par with my first LC however I was less stressed and I knew the workload involved and I didn't have the pressure of the first orals/ practicals etc.

I did my LC and this is where repeating was easier. I just didn't have the stress levels that I had the first year. I was so cool and calm and this is definitely to do with repeating. I got my results the following August and to my sheer delight got 600 points, 110 points more than the previous year. So yes, it was so worth repeating and I did go up.

I got my first choice, medicine in Trinity and have not looked back. I'm going into my final year now. Trinity's course is technically a 5 year but you can do this strange PhD thing that I did in 3rd year which makes it a 6 year. I, of course, did lots of research into diabetes and it was so interesting. I met my boyfriend on the 2nd day of college and we're still together. I also met the best friends a girl could ask for. I always think, if I hadn't repeated then I wouldn't have these people in my life. The friends that laughed at me. Most of them graduated about 2/3 years ago. A lot have emigrated and some are even unemployed. I will have a job as soon as I finish.

So yes, I would do it again in the morning. It's a tough year but if you feel that you had more to offer and still have that burning desire to get your course then by all means repeat. There will be times when you want to throw in the towel and other times when you feel you can beat the world but it's an experience that has made me so much stronger and more determined as a person.

I'm so sorry that this is so incredibly long but I just want you to see the impact repeating had on my life. I barely even remember the first LC. It's only impacted my life in a positive way. If you have any questions at all about repeating please feel free to PM me.

This post is an example of what's great about the internet.

Ajireland95

I was wondering the same thing as the original poster. I only got 465 points in my LC this year and am still terribly dissappointed by that result. I found the months leading up to the LC absolute hell and i went through some hard times. I would like to thank the people who have replied already but i have another question to ask. How exactly did you all repeat? i know nearly nothing about the process, do you come and go from school or is it a new school year again (i.e in every single lesson) and how did you all cope with the changing courses? Was it just a large amount of studying/ hardwork that got you through it? I've no problem putting in the work but i just wanted to know what i would be getting myself in for.

shunter07

It is all in your head! A big part of you wants you to quit, go out with your college friends, not turn up etc. But if your heart is in it you will succeed. I repeated in a different school because my own wouldn't take me back Sounds worse than it is :P. By the time you start into it it is nearly October so the pressure is on! We did more of a continuous assessment style of course were we had tests on a weekly basis. You would really want to be putting on hold anything that may take more than an hour or two a day because the worst thing in the world would be missing out because you played Rugby 5 nights a week or whatever. It is healthy to escape for a bit but rugby brings with it its own problems such as, poor studying mood after losing, inability to study due to injury etc. Generally last year i did 7 hours per night 1 per subject and 1 for HPAT. I took Sundays completely off and worked 9-5 on Saturday so just did Saturday evenings. You are under a little pressure all of the time but it keeps you on your toes. As regards new courses?? Total pain! You would have to do half of the Maths course and likewise with english, same as myself. But it all serves as practise anyway! I would suggest you be selfish to a certain degree. Pretend you are in a bubble when it comes to many nights out but don't lose your sanity either! Give yourself little targets to motivate yourself also. For instance.. If someone said to you. Right, study 1 hour per day per subject and i will hand you 600 points would you do it? Of course. It is that easy because you know what you must do. It is by far the most difficult year of your life however. I suggest to watch inspirational videos on youtube on a weekly basis :P Best of luck with it and pm me if you need more info!

Louisa2

kayleigh01 wrote: »

Thank you to everyone who replied!

As regards to going back into my school, I have great relationships with most of my teachers so that wouldn't be something that would put me off too much. Also I know the year I would be in pretty well too.

My main worry is getting to this stage next year and having not gotten it again. I don't know how I'd handle having wasted a year that I could have been in college for?

This is going to be the main worry of every single person who decides whether or not they will repeat over the next few days. This is the logic I had in relation to that dreaded prospect.

I could have accepted a very good course after my first leaving cert. I think it was science I was offered however I am unsure of whether it was in UCD or TCD (this is an example of how much the two years blur into one a few years after you repeat). I thought about accepting this and then going on to do Graduate medicine and also just doing a PhD and seeing how that went. If I was to go the Grad route for medicine is would have been longer than doing a six year medicine course and repeating. If I had decided to do the PhD it'd be just as long as a six year med course and repeating and I'd have no real qualification after. Also, there is always the chance that I wouldn't be accepted to a graduate medicine course. This is when I did some thinking about 5 or even ten years down the line. How would I feel if I had just taken Science and gone on to do a PhD. In my mind I thought that I'd really really regret not taking that one short year to give my dream one last shot. Same goes for doing science and then failing to get into graduate level medicine. So, to make sure that I didn't have any regrets, I repeated. I accepted that if I had only gone up/down 5 points or more points the following year I gave it my all and there was nothing more I could do.

So to sum up all that useless waffle (again I apologize) I decided to pick the option that meant I'd regret spending one year of my life doing something that yielded the same results as the previous year (repeating) rather than regretting spending 4 years doing a course I was never truly interested in only to try for medicine again (sci+grad route) or spending 7 years doing something I never loved and having nothing really out of it (sci+PhD).

I'm sorry for going into so much detail but I know only too well the turmoil you're in now trying to decide whether or not you repeat. One last piece of advice. Forget about EVERY other person right now and do what makes you and only you happy.

Good Luck with the decision. It sucks, I know.

kayleigh01

Louisa2 wrote: »

This is going to be the main worry of every single person who decides whether or not they will repeat over the next few days. This is the logic I had in relation to that dreaded prospect.

I could have accepted a very good course after my first leaving cert. I think it was science I was offered however I am unsure of whether it was in UCD or TCD (this is an example of how much the two years blur into one a few years after you repeat). I thought about accepting this and then going on to do Graduate medicine and also just doing a PhD and seeing how that went. If I was to go the Grad route for medicine is would have been longer than doing a six year medicine course and repeating. If I had decided to do the PhD it'd be just as long as a six year med course and repeating and I'd have no real qualification after. Also, there is always the chance that I wouldn't be accepted to a graduate medicine course. This is when I did some thinking about 5 or even ten years down the line. How would I feel if I had just taken Science and gone on to do a PhD. In my mind I thought that I'd really really regret not taking that one short year to give my dream one last shot. Same goes for doing science and then failing to get into graduate level medicine. So, to make sure that I didn't have any regrets, I repeated. I accepted that if I had only gone up/down 5 points or more points the following year I gave it my all and there was nothing more I could do.

So to sum up all that useless waffle (again I apologize) I decided to pick the option that meant I'd regret spending one year of my life doing something that yielded the same results as the previous year (repeating) rather than regretting spending 4 years doing a course I was never truly interested in only to try for medicine again (sci+grad route) or spending 7 years doing something I never loved and having nothing really out of it (sci+PhD).

I'm sorry for going into so much detail but I know only too well the turmoil you're in now trying to decide whether or not you repeat. One last piece of advice. Forget about EVERY other person right now and do what makes you and only you happy.

Good Luck with the decision. It sucks, I know.

Thank you SO much. This is exactly the sort of thing I need to hear right now and it's so helpful! These are my exact options now and when put into plain and simple writing, I know what I have to do.

I cannot put into words how grateful I am for all of your input!

Vetton

I'm guilty of not reading through the other posts, so ignore if this is repeated.

Bear in mind that courses change for the next year, and quite dramatically. For me, repeating this year was lucky, every subject was near enough the same as the year before (Hamlet was running it's second year for English, Maths was half different, etc.) So factor in the new amount of learning you have to take on if you do make the choice to repeat. It may be tough, but it can really pay off. Just follow what you think is best, and don't forget that whatever happens, there's no dead-ends.

ele1992

I did my LC in 2010 first and went to NUIG for a year, all along thinking it wasn't for me at all! So during the summer of last year I decided to drop out of college and repeat the LC.
I mean it was the most horrible year ever, well it felt that way during it. But looking back it doesn't seem as bad, made friends with the other 'repeats'! It is very tough because all my friends including my boyf were in college and felt very lonely at times. But was definitely worth it, got 580 and am absolutely delighted! I want to do pharmacy in RCSI so i'm hoping i'll get offered it tomorrow.
It will be worth it all in the end and it seems like the year flew! Just work your ass off and you'll be happy! Just imagine opening your results this time next year and being so happy.
Also it does depend a lot on the subjects, i left out english, irish and french and picked up two subjects but i think for medicine you have to have the subjects in one sitting of the LC? but the other subjects pick subjects that there's really just learning off in it like business?

Kayren95

shunter07 wrote: »

I went to college of commerce, (no fees) and got on great. Teachers and students are fantastic.

Hey, was wondering what is your personal experience with the cork college of commerce? What subjects did u do there and how was the teachers? I'm planning on repeating in September too at Ccoc and is looking for some advices, thanks

randylonghorn

You're unlikely to get an answer, shunter last logged in to Boards in August 2012!!

Zombie thread rezombified!