Subject choice

MRledzepo

I've to pick my subjects for the leaving cert soon , and I've to decide between history , geography , art , business , economics , ag science , physics , chemistry , biology and accounting .
I'm only allowed to pick three and I'm positive I want to history , I'm also going to do religion as an 8th as .
I'm struggling to decide on two other subjects I really enjoyed ag science when we did it in a module ,I don't really understand chemistry and biology is fine for me , I also enjoyed account it was really practical and seemed straight forward and I liked geography as its a subject I find easy I got an A in the junior cert with more or less no study I just pick up on everythin very easy , my art teacher thinks I should do art as she says I'm a good artist , I got a B in the junior cert and she says that the course is changing and it'll be easier to get A's .

I'm not sure what two to pick from geography , biology , chemistry , ag science , physics or accounting and business and economics and art .

It takes me a while to understand things which I think would make me struggle in chemistry and physics , but I'm a good logical thinker and I can memorise mass amounts of information and once I read something it sticks really easy , could someone tell me which subjects require the most amount of memorising and which are more practical ?!?

aibreann_

I do biology, physics, chemistry and geography. I find geography and biology to be the easiest out of the four, just because I'm the same as you and can memorise a lot of information quite easily. However physics is more practical but once you practice and understand the calculations and definitions, it becomes easier as the same type of questions come up in most topics every year. Chemistry is quite similar to physics but for me, it requires a lot of understanding to really get your head around the material. I have a strong interest in science though and I think if you have an interest in something it can go a long way with how much you understand etc.

emersyn

Do you have any plans for what you want to do after leaving school? If you are planning on going to university but aren't 100% sure what course to do I would definitely encourage a science subject as not doing one will shut off a lot of options. Also, History and Religion are both heavy in essays and writing so a science subject will be a nice break.

If you don't have a passion for Chemistry I would not recommend it as it requires a good bit of dedication and understanding topics rather than just learning off information, so if you aren't very interested in it I imagine it would be get very frustrating.

I don't do Physics but I would say the same thing applies in that it would quickly get boring if you aren't interested.

I would recommend either Biology or Ag Science. Biology isn't very demanding, it's quite a large course but once you keep up with it you won't have any problems as it's mostly just memorising information. I don't know much about Ag Science but from what I've heard and from flipping through the exam papers it looks like the same sort of subject as Biology, i.e. mostly memorisation.

For the third one I would recommend either a business subject or Art. The only reason I would edge away from Geography is because it requires a lot of essays and long answers, so if you do it along with History and Religion you would be spending a LOT of time writing (although if you aren't put off by the essays then go for it!). Also be aware that 37.5% of the Art exam consists of Art History which also requires a good bit of writing.

I have heard that the questions in Accounting are very repetitive and once you practise them you won't have any problems. As it's very numerical it would complement your writing-heavy subjects nicely.

Business is similar to Junior Cert in that it's mostly expanding on topics that you will have learned about already, like Biology etc most of it is just memorisation. It's a very long course but if you enjoyed it at Junior Cert it's a good option.

Economics is a really good subject to do as the course is ridiculously short and you have a lot of choice on the exam paper. If you have an interest in current affairs and you enjoyed the Economics section of Junior Cert Business this is a good option. It mostly involves memorisation and the majority of the exam questions only require short answers. The thing that tends to catch people out is the marking scheme as they often look for very specific answers in a specific format, and a lot of schools don't pay attention to the marking scheme while teaching the subject so a lot of people come out of the exam not having done as well as they could have even if they knew everything in their textbook. However if you focus on exam questions and use the marking scheme to correct them you will do very well.

In the end make sure you pick subjects that you think you will enjoy. If you choose a subject that you don't enjoy just because you think you will do well in it or because it seems easier than others, it will be a very frustrating two years. I would recommend looking at some exam papers online or flipping through the textbooks of the various subjects if you know anyone in 5th/6th year as it can help to see if you would be interested in the course material. Good luck

MRledzepo

emersyn wrote: »

Do you have any plans for what you want to do after leaving school? If you are planning on going to university but aren't 100% sure what course to do I would definitely encourage a science subject as not doing one will shut off a lot of options. Also, History and Religion are both heavy in essays and writing so a science subject will be a nice break.

If you don't have a passion for Chemistry I would not recommend it as it requires a good bit of dedication and understanding topics rather than just learning off information, so if you aren't very interested in it I imagine it would be get very frustrating.

I don't do Physics but I would say the same thing applies in that it would quickly get boring if you aren't interested.

I would recommend either Biology or Ag Science. Biology isn't very demanding, it's quite a large course but once you keep up with it you won't have any problems as it's mostly just memorising information. I don't know much about Ag Science but from what I've heard and from flipping through the exam papers it looks like the same sort of subject as Biology, i.e. mostly memorisation.

For the third one I would recommend either a business subject or Art. The only reason I would edge away from Geography is because it requires a lot of essays and long answers, so if you do it along with History and Religion you would be spending a LOT of time writing (although if you aren't put off by the essays then go for it!). Also be aware that 37.5% of the Art exam consists of Art History which also requires a good bit of writing.

I have heard that the questions in Accounting are very repetitive and once you practise them you won't have any problems. As it's very numerical it would complement your writing-heavy subjects nicely.

Business is similar to Junior Cert in that it's mostly expanding on topics that you will have learned about already, like Biology etc most of it is just memorisation. It's a very long course but if you enjoyed it at Junior Cert it's a good option.

Economics is a really good subject to do as the course is ridiculously short and you have a lot of choice on the exam paper. If you have an interest in current affairs and you enjoyed the Economics section of Junior Cert Business this is a good option. It mostly involves memorisation and the majority of the exam questions only require short answers. The thing that tends to catch people out is the marking scheme as they often look for very specific answers in a specific format, and a lot of schools don't pay attention to the marking scheme while teaching the subject so a lot of people come out of the exam not having done as well as they could have even if they knew everything in their textbook. However if you focus on exam questions and use the marking scheme to correct them you will do very well.

In the end make sure you pick subjects that you think you will enjoy. If you choose a subject that you don't enjoy just because you think you will do well in it or because it seems easier than others, it will be a very frustrating two years. I would recommend looking at some exam papers online or flipping through the textbooks of the various subjects if you know anyone in 5th/6th year as it can help to see if you would be interested in the course material. Good luck

Thanks so so much !! I've picked history religion and art and I've to decide between ag science or geography , I got an A in geography for the junior cert and a C in science but a lot of courses require a lab science and I think ag science would be the easiest for me .

David1997

I'm in Leaving Cert this year and I'm doing German, Biology, Geography and Economics. I can't stress enough how large the Geography course is, it's all easy to understand but it's a pain when revising. In my opinion it takes up too much time so I'd steer well clear of it.

Definitely keep up a science subject, Biology is mostly just learning off notes and the course isn't too big (we finished the course last week). I've also heard that there's a big overlap between Biology and Ag. Science.

I find Economics relatively simple, we're also finished that course. A lot of learning off of notes but a large amount of it is common sense. I'm assuming you're doing a foreign language.

I picked these subjects as I had no clue what I wanted to do in college, and I thought these subjects would keep my options open. I've since decided I want to do Medicine after several Career Guidance sessions and lots of research. My only option is to go to NUI Galway to do the foundation year in Medicine first as I don't have Chemistry as an entry requirement, so in my case I hadn't really kept my options open.

If you've an interest in anything medical, i.e. Pharmacy or Medicine, my advice would be to keep on at least two sciences (Chemistry, Biology, maybe Ag Science) and a business subject is always handy. If you've a genuine interest in History then you might find it easier but from what I've heard it's tough going learning all the essays.

spurious

The JC is a very different exam compared to the LC. In some subjects almost 70% doing the exam get an A or B, so I wouldn't base LC potential performance on the JC.

Mr Rhode Island Red

AFAIK Biology is the most popular choice subject country-wide, nothing too challenging there. Even a moderate amount of effort will have you getting Bs.

Stay away from Chemistry unless you like it or you need it for medicine, veterinary, pharmacy etc. Even though it's a short course, it gets very theoretical and some concepts can be difficult to grasp. I'm doing it myself at the moment, as well as Bio and Physics, and think that it is certainly the trickiest of the sciences.

If you come from a farming background, you may find Ag a good choice. That being said there are some elements of the course that would put you to sleep at times (soil, for example). Again, many perceive it as a joke of a subject and think they'll sail through it, however 6.5 % failed the subject at HL last year, 18% of the cohort failed it at OL.

I'd recommend that you're strong enough in maths if you want to do Physics. People say: "You don't have to be good at maths to be good at physics"

Now, I know it's not completely representative, but in the current LC Physics class in my school, anybody who's doing Pass Maths is also doing Pass Physics...go figure.

Pick subjects you like