Considering moving to the Institute

Leinsterr

Hi all. I hate my current school with a fúcking passion. Its a public school with pathetic teachers, i hate the majority of my year and we are forced into religion. The only positive aspect is that it is a 2min walk from my house. I know i am good enough to get the points but my school offers nothing for me. I want to move schools mainly for the teachers and the facilities. The teachers in my school give no insight into structure of the exams and for the JC they just told us to go into the exam, write as much as you can and you'll be grand . If i can get more clarity and structure I'll be happy. Don't know whether I should move school completely or get grinds because the institute costs a lot. Please give me some advice. Thanks in advance.

MightyMandarin

Leinsterr wrote: »

Hi all. I hate my current school with a fúcking passion. Its a public school with pathetic teachers, i hate the majority of my year and we are forced into religion. The only positive aspect is that it is a 2min walk from my house. I know i am good enough to get the points but my school offers nothing for me. I want to move schools mainly for the teachers and the facilities. The teachers in my school give no insight into structure of the exams and for the JC they just told us to go into the exam, write as much as you can and you'll be grand . If i can get more clarity and structure I'll be happy. Don't know whether I should move school completely or get grinds because the institute costs a lot. Please give me some advice. Thanks in advance.

As far as I know you're too late. My friend is moving there next year and had interviews about a month ago. Honestly anyone can get 600 points anywhere as long as they work hard and have a reasonable amount of intelligence (I say reasonable as the LC is, in my opinion a flawed system that doesn't accurately show a students true knowledge of subjects) but anyway try go through the course yourself, I know it's a pain but, Hey, It's the LC. The 'stute isn't all that amazing although they have some good notes but as long as you work hard you'll be grand.

little sis...

No its not too late, I know people who got in the week before school and a few weeks into september, as long as you have the money.

I don't think anyone needs to go to the institute to get a good leaving cert.
The leaving cert is all about your own effort that you put in and not that of others. People have gone to the institute and still did badly or not as well as they'd hoped because they thought 'Oh ill just go to the institute and I'll automatically get high points'. This is not the case.

It takes hard work throughout the year and I personally think it can be achieved in any school.
But its your choice at the end of the day

a0ifee

have you considered other schools in the area? the institute seems like an expensive choice if there's a reasonable public school near by!

aimzLc2

I disagree with some posters here that are implying that teachers etc don't really make a difference , i know well that you must put in the work yourself but in certain situations you can't put work in as well as possible if you have no guidance at all , i know from experience , repeating the leaving this year how i have greatly improved with amazing new teachers. Even though i feel it is a hell of a sum of money ,i don't know of many other places that do sixth year.

MightyMandarin

aimzLc2 wrote: »

I disagree with some posters here that are implying that teachers etc don't really make a difference , i know well that you must put in the work yourself but in certain situations you can't put work in as well as possible if you have no guidance at all , i know from experience , repeating the leaving this year how i have greatly improved with amazing new teachers. Even though i feel it is a hell of a sum of money ,i don't know of many other places that do sixth year.

I know what you mean but there is now way a student anywhere could be doing 7+ subjects with all terrible teachers. There is a flipside with people thinking they have great teachers and so lessening the effort. Bottom line don't put the effort in, don't expect good results.

DublinArnie

If I had the money, i'll move to the Institute, one of their teachers work in my school and I get straight A's in all class tests for him.. imagine having their teachers for all subjects *sighs*.

Aoifums

I went to the Institute for more or less the same reasons as the OP wants to. It made the world of difference for me, simply because I was miserable in my old school and wasn't in the Institute. Teaching was fantastic and both my mam and I reckon I did a lot better than I would have done had I stayed in my old school.
It's not too late to apply. I think I applied this time a couple of years ago and the interview wasn't until the start of July. Good luck if you go for it.

Issac

I left school early and worked for 6/7 years before deciding to go to the Institute to finally tackle the LC. I have to say it was the best decision I could have made.
Most of the teachers there are brilliant. They guided me through the course in one year and I came out with flying colours. The flip side however is that it took a huge amount of effort on my half. The teachers will guide you and make it as easy as possible for you but it really is up to you to put in the hours. Typically I was starting class at 8.30 am and wouldn't leave the premises until 7 or 8 in the evening (bear in mind though I was learning the course pretty much from scratch).
There's also an air of competition between students that I'd never experienced before - everyone wants to do well (bar one or two spoiled brats) and so everyone is very focussed. I felt that really added to the whole experience.
If I were in your position I would save my money for next year and work as hard as you can where you are, then join the institute in your LC year.

Make sure you pick <snip- please do not name staff> for math - he is the best teacher I've ever had and still inspires me today.