What are my options?

Lugh97

Not gonna waste any time so here it is.
I got 305 points, I'm disappointed but I was expecting it cause I didn't do any study.
My plan is to take the year out and travel but my mother is insistent on me repeating in a private school which is €5k a year .
Repeating is my absolute worst nightmare and I don't have the motivation or want to study and get 400 or 500 points.
I don't know what I want to do in college, I'm not going to get any of my courses with my points but something along the lines of business is interesting me at the moment.
These are my options:
1. I think if I do a PLC it'll keep my mother happy and she wont make me repeat
2. I stick to my plan of taking the year out travelling and next year make a decision on what I can and want to do.
3. Repeat in a private school and in my opinion my parents will have wasted €5000 as I feel I'm not going to be able to push myself to do any better.

I think taking the year out will be best for me as it will give me a lot of time to mature and think about my options.

I need advice about PLCs, If I was to do a business PLC lets say and I do well how/can I advance into University and will I go into 1st year or 2nd year or does that depend on the PLC I do? Any information will be of great help and if anyone is in the same boat or has been in this situation before which I'm sure there are loads feel free to cop me on a little.

Alkers

It's a few years since I did my leaving at this stage but a good number of my friends who didn't get the points they hoped for did Lvl 7 degrees rather than repeating. It gets you a start at 3rd level education and then if you do well you can progress to a lvl 8. I have two friends who got firsts in their masters (lvl 9) who both did lvl 7 degrees as they didn't get the required points in the leaving.

What have you applied for on your CAO form? You could take the year our and apply for a lvl 7 course that is of interest next year with those points?

I would agree that repeating the leaving isn't the correct course of action to take.

Lugh97

Simona1986 wrote: »

It's a few years since I did my leaving at this stage but a good number of my friends who didn't get the points they hoped for did Lvl 7 degrees rather than repeating. It gets you a start at 3rd level education and then if you do well you can progress to a lvl 8. I have two friends who got firsts in their masters (lvl 9) who both did lvl 7 degrees as they didn't get the required points in the leaving.

What have you applied for on your CAO form? You could take the year our and apply for a lvl 7 course that is of interest next year with those points?

I would agree that repeating the leaving isn't the correct course of action to take.

Thanks for the info. I've applied for Computer science in UCD, a couple arts courses in UCD and Trinity, Law in UL, and Business courses in DCU. I don't even really want to do any of them, I just put things down that I have an interest in but I couldn't study them for 4 years.

Do you know if its difficult to transfer from a community college lets say after you've done your level 7 into a university? Is it common to do so?

rainbowtrout

There are two types of PLC: Level 5 and Level 6.

Level 5 is the most common type and with it you can apply to the CAO in the same way you did this year for college courses. The maximum number of points you can get from a PLC course is 400.

Some PLC colleges offer Level 6 PLCs. These are basically the equivalent of first year in college. These courses are usually specifically linked to a third level college (usually an Institute of Technology) where you can go straight into second year.

Obviously there is an advantage in that if you know exactly what you want to do and you are happy with the choice of course for progression. The Level 5 PLC will allow you to enter first year and you will have a wider choice of third level courses to choose from.

You are right I think in saying it's a waste of your parents money sending you to a grind school for the year if you don't want to do it and are not going to work once you are there. It's also not the only way to college.

To the best of my knowledge most PLC courses lead into ITs, there is a far smaller number of PLCs linked to university entry. Having said that, it is possible to transfer between an IT and a university, presuming you are transferring into a comparable course, the university is willing to take you and your grades are good enough. That is way down the line, and you might find if you go the PLC / IT route you might be very happy with it.

Also if you don't think you could stick four years of college, you would have the option of getting your Level 6 or Level 7 and then finishing. It's all or nothing in the university system. You could finish out to L8 in the IT or perhaps transfer to a university.

Check out what PLCs are on offer. Discuss it with your parents, particularly if you still want to go travelling, and presuming you are funding it yourself. PLCs and third level will still be there next year.

If you do take a year out, you have still got the option of reapplying to the CAO with this years LC results. I would imagine you would have no problem getting a L6/L7 Business course with 305.


Another option open to you is to look at the vacant places list after the first round is published. These are courses that are not filled. If anything there catches your eye you can apply for it and it will replace your previous choices. Courses on the list tend to be L6/L7

EoghanIRL

I think it's important to add that going to a private/grind school isn't going to guarantee that you score 400 or 500 points.
You didn't do any study , you said so yourself. Who's fault is this?
I don't see how changing schools will change this.
You need to change your study habits too or otherwise you will be throwing your mother's money down the drain.

Success only comes before work in the dictionary , an expensive lesson to learn.

idek1

if your doing a plc make sure its something your really interested in, my cousin wasnt expecting it to be so much work. theyre strict on grading too. she wishes she just repeated.

you can travel anytime, when your older or during the summer. personally i would focus on your education. either plc (in something you definitely want a career in!) or repeat (during this time you could also think about future jobs as well).

Maybe you would be interested in a trade or apprenticeship either? i don't know much about this but i'm sure theres info online.

best of luck in whatever you do.

spurious

I'd be wary about just doing a PLC for the sake of it. You could be taking a place from someone who really wanted it.

How about volunteering for a while? There is an EU sponsored scheme pays a small allowance while you help others, learn a language and hopefully learn a lot about yourself.
http://www.vsi.ie/volunteer/european-voluntary-servic.html