Is it too late to study?

Ellenk456 · 26-01-2014 9:43pm #1

I'm doing the Leaving cert and to be honest I haven't worked as hard as I should've at all. There's only a month left to the mocks and I'm so unbelievably unprepared and have done close to nothing for them. Im fairly smart and do good when I actually study for tests, but I'm just so lazy and have no motivation. Is it too late to try and aim for 500 points at this stage of the year?

Tennis Ball · 26-01-2014 9:46pm

Ellenk456 wrote: »

I'm doing the Leaving cert and to be honest I haven't worked as hard as I should've at all. There's only a month left to the mocks and I'm so unbelievably unprepared and have done close to nothing for them. Im fairly smart and do good when I actually study for tests, but I'm just so lazy and have no motivation. Is it too late to try and aim for 500 points at this stage of the year?

Just do your best from here on in, quit making excuses. Get off boards and study.

Femme_Fatale · 26-01-2014 9:46pm

Feck the mocks. You've ages to the real thing - loads of time to study.

WellThen? · 26-01-2014 9:47pm

If your looking for the "don't bother, it's too late go have a pint" response you won't get it. You have enough time, work your ass off for the next few months, it will be worth it instead of wasting the year an repeating.

artanevilla · 26-01-2014 9:48pm

I didn't study a tap and I turned out fine.

whupdedo · 26-01-2014 9:51pm

You've loads of time, and seeing as your only 17 or 18 you already know it all anyway,just wait till your in your mid 30s like I did, then you'll realise you actually knew fcuk all, so my advice is turn off that ****in computer and start studying :-)

efb · 26-01-2014 9:52pm

Exam papers, do them ad nausium between now and june.

ronnie3585 · 26-01-2014 9:56pm

You've plenty of time. The mocks are just that - mocks. Don't worry about them.

Get the head down now, put in some hard work and you'll be fine.

DJango brekfast roll · 26-01-2014 9:56pm

it's comming up to 10 o'clock, get an early night and start tomorrow

BillyMitchel · 26-01-2014 9:58pm

Yep OP, before you know it you'll be saying "do you want fries with that".

Seriously though. Loads of time. Just don't panic make a start and you'll be fine.

Mint Aero · 26-01-2014 10:01pm

Plenty of time. Start studying now though if you wanna break 500

dmc17 · 26-01-2014 10:02pm

Give it your best for the next couple of months and it'll be worth it!

donvito99 · 26-01-2014 10:03pm

Absolutely not. You could get 600 points if you started now.

BillyMitchel · 26-01-2014 10:05pm

Mint Aero wrote: »

Plenty of time. Start studying now though if you wanna break 500

In my school though if you messed up your mocks the teachers wouldn't allow you to do the subjects to get higher points. So maybe that's something the OP should think about.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 26-01-2014 10:06pm

Ellenk456 wrote: »

I'm doing the Leaving cert and to be honest I haven't worked as hard as I should've at all. There's only a month left to the mocks and I'm so unbelievably unprepared and have done close to nothing for them. Im fairly smart and do good when I actually study for tests, but I'm just so lazy and have no motivation. Is it too late to try and aim for 500 points at this stage of the year?

Just get all the exam papers from previous years and spend an hour or so each evening doing them from now until the leaving. Put on some music or podcasts or something you like in the background if you're too antsy to concentrate and just drill them into you.

WhatNowForUs? · 26-01-2014 10:07pm

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Feck the mocks. You've ages to the real thing - loads of time to study.

If you start now.

Dj Stiggie · 26-01-2014 10:08pm

Do some exam papers between now and the mocks. Then use your results as a guide to how much you think you can improve. If you want 500 points then if you get over 400 or so in the mocks, its realistic with work. If you get less than 370, have another look at the CAO.

Ellenk456 · 26-01-2014 10:09pm

Thanks everyone

Do you think I should write out notes and stuff then look at exam papers or just concentrate on doing exam papers and learning the answers off without writing any notes?

dmc17 · 26-01-2014 10:10pm

Ellenk456 wrote: »

Thanks everyone Do you think I should write out notes and stuff then look at exam papers or just concentrate on doing exam papers and learning the answers off without writing any notes?

Make notes. It'll help you remember it and you'll have notes to read over closer to the exams

sawdoubters · 26-01-2014 10:12pm

its not too late as you over 4 months to june,get some one to help you

you don't want to repeat for another year

ask your teachers for help

https://www.google.com/#q=ireland+leaving+exam+help

jimboblep · 26-01-2014 10:12pm

Ellenk456 wrote: »

Thanks everyone Do you think I should write out notes and stuff then look at exam papers or just concentrate on doing exam papers and learning the answers off without writing any notes?

Dont stress about the mocks use them as a way to highlight what you need to work at most for the real thing

WhatNowForUs? · 26-01-2014 10:12pm

BillyMitchel wrote: »

In my school though if you messed up your mocks the teachers wouldn't allow you to do the subjects to get higher points. So maybe that's something the OP should think about.

Are you saying that they wouldn't allow you do the higher paper, if so, they don't have the final say in that you do.

Capt'n Midnight · 26-01-2014 10:15pm

Ellenk456 wrote: »

Thanks everyone Do you think I should write out notes and stuff then look at exam papers or just concentrate on doing exam papers and learning the answers off without writing any notes?

if you are going down the learning off the answers route then you aren't ready until you can write down all the answers without looking at books or notes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgt8-oy8wkI

BillyMitchel · 26-01-2014 10:22pm

WhatNowForUs? wrote: »

Are you saying that they wouldn't allow you do the higher paper, if so, they don't have the final say in that you do.

They don't have the final say but if you failed higher in the mocks and done ordinary from mock to LC you'd have to be pretty stupid to to try the higher.

I remember an eejit in my class done it with maths and he ended up failing the subject and tried to blame the school!

_Redzer_ · 26-01-2014 10:25pm

I started studying properly the weekend before my leaving cert. I used to do my homework all the time, but I'm just not a studier and it's not in me. I still got all Bs higher level.

It's not too late. Make out flash cards and get revise wise books and only take out the information you need and that is relevant. So in the end you're left with a small pile of flash cards and not a mountain of books filled with 70% junk information you don't need (biology was notorious for over stuffing information you never needed)

You'll be grand.

Foxhound38 · 26-01-2014 10:36pm

Don't worry too much about the mocks - see them for what they are supposed to be: a swift kick up the hole for people like yourself (and myself too back in the day). Stop making excuses and put the head down for the rest of the year - the LC is a load of balls (I'd rather saw a leg off than do that again - I remember it well!) but if you put the work in you'll only have to do it once and you'll thank yourself when you get to college (which is honestly as awesome an experience as you can imagine it to be - absolutely nothing like LC hell).

Get off boards, knuckle down and get your head into a book OP - the more discipline you put into this thing (and we're only talking about a few months at the end of the day), the more it will pay off and the less pressure you'll be putting yourself under by the end of it.

Call Me Jimmy · 26-01-2014 10:38pm

OP you're gonna get a lot of people who are 'older and wiser' posting stuff like 'you'll be grand' 'I did a week/ weekend of study and did fine' etc. etc. and they are all absolutely right.

If someone actually did well-focused study, even ALL their homework with some well-focused study, consistently until the leaving cert, assuming medium brain activity, they'd be well into 500+ points if not close to 600.

Legs.Eleven · 26-01-2014 10:50pm

Wish I'd the internet back in the day for advice like this; I didn't have a clue where to start. Was completely overwhelmed at the time, so gave up.

Good luck with it, OP. Get your head down and study. The LC isn't the be all and end all but getting into the course you want now will make life so much easier long-term.

WhatNowForUs? · 26-01-2014 10:57pm

BillyMitchel wrote: »

They don't have the final say but if you failed higher in the mocks and done ordinary from mock to LC you'd have to be pretty stupid to to try the higher.

I remember an eejit in my class done it with maths and he ended up failing the subject and tried to blame the school!

So if you failed your honors mock they would kick you out of the honors class and into a pass class?
Anyway I would imagine that most of the course would have been covered by the time of the mock exams and surly you'd be able to go it alone from there.

astrofool · 26-01-2014 11:05pm

Ellenk456 wrote: »

Thanks everyone Do you think I should write out notes and stuff then look at exam papers or just concentrate on doing exam papers and learning the answers off without writing any notes?

Do what works for you when you get high marks, some people write lots of notes and learn by rote, others don't.

I never studied, I'd teach myself by learning the fundamentals, the exceptions, then figuring everything out from there.

Polka_Dot · 26-01-2014 11:07pm

You'll be fine, I got 490 in my mocks and failed the higher maths paper, in June I got 560 and a B3 in higher maths. Just keep on top of your homework and practice exam papers. Don't learn answers off, understand the course.

whirlpool · 27-01-2014 4:19am

You have MORRRRRRE than enough time. Too much time, really.

usersame · 27-01-2014 4:36am

Make a plan! Start working and get excited, huge opportunity here, it's definitely not too late. I'll never forget the amount of women hanging on my friends every word on LC night when he got 600, he was like a minor celebrity.

MonaPizza · 27-01-2014 4:51am

Ellenk456 wrote: »

I'm doing the Leaving cert and to be honest I haven't worked as hard as I should've at all. There's only a month left to the mocks and I'm so unbelievably unprepared and have done close to nothing for them. Im fairly smart and do good when I actually study for tests, but I'm just so lazy and have no motivation. Is it too late to try and aim for 500 points at this stage of the year?

If you're so lazy and unmotivated, where does this desire to achieve 500 points from? One doesn't even need to pass in order to flip burgers or fart around Malaga as a tattoo artist.

Incidentally ....you do well, but we'll get to that Tommy.

Overheal · 27-01-2014 4:57am

Ellenk456 wrote: »

I'm doing the Leaving cert and to be honest I haven't worked as hard as I should've at all. There's only a month left to the mocks and I'm so unbelievably unprepared and have done close to nothing for them. Im fairly smart and do good when I actually study for tests, but I'm just so lazy and have no motivation. Is it too late to try and aim for 500 points at this stage of the year?

I suggest you meet with your teachers and look at the course syllabus.

The course syllabus is a document that outlines exactly what competencies you should have upon completing the course.

You can then get a pretty fair idea of what you know and what you need to work on. Then, go back and start a fresh set of note that cleanly explains what you know and what you've learned.

Never too late. The mocks are a good thing to take seriously but do not psyche yourself out. Seriously advise studying about 3 hours per night as an average. Don't just slave away on one subject that entire session, but then again do not try to cover all your subjects in 3 hours either. Rotate out a few every night. Always start with your favorite/best subject.

Definitely do not just stare at a book. Pencil and paper. Summarize what you're learning.

Pulsating Star · 27-01-2014 5:38am

Thanks for all the responses folks, the positivity in here is great! I'am feeling really pumped now..

Oh wait.. It's thirty years too late..meh,not even time to go back to bed,early shift down the mine

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy · 27-01-2014 5:51am

Of the people I know who never bothered with study/college/qualifications etc one is a security guard now, and the other works in a nursing home as a carer.

Both of them bitch and moan about having to work late nights, evening's and weekend's. Takes all my self control not to say Wtf were you expecting, it's the nature of the work, patients need looking after 24/7 and criminals don't do 9-5 either, so just get on with it

Give the Leaving Cert your genuine best shot, pick a course you like, go do a J1, come home and get a decent job, get involved in sports. Your life's what you make it, and if you give up at this age you'll spend the rest of your time regretting it.

joe swanson · 27-01-2014 8:32am

Its way too late op. You should probably start to research the location of your local social welfare office cause that will be your life from now on.

playedalive · 27-01-2014 8:48am

Ellenk456 wrote: »

Thanks everyone Do you think I should write out notes and stuff then look at exam papers or just concentrate on doing exam papers and learning the answers off without writing any notes?

If you're writing out notes from your book, try to put the words into your own words. That way, you'll know if you understand the topic or not. Then, you can ask your teacher.

It's not too late to find out what areas you can improve before sitting the real thing. The mocks are more just getting you used to the exam structure.

27-01-2014 10:05am

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Was completely overwhelmed at the time, so gave up.

This is the single biggest issue with exam students I think, that feeling that it's too late and there's too much to do so it's a waste of time trying.

It's not. But it is very hard if you don't have that discipline to begin with. I suggest you go with Frada's suggestion and take short notes as you go along, just enough to jog your memory back to what you've read.

Don't stare blankly, make a real effort to engage with what's on the page, and get your teachers help in determining what exactly you should be concentrating on. Tell them you feel you left it late and are overwhelmed, you'll be surprised how helpful they can be when you're honest with them.

Get yourself everything you need in a quiet space and set your alarm for 45 minutes, and give it all your concentration, then take 15 minutes to have a break, then set the timer again. It'll stop it becoming a blur of information overload if you take breaks.

Good luck, give it your best shot from now on, and if it doesn't work out, repeating is not the end of the world.

Merkin · 27-01-2014 10:12am

I actually think you've left the optimum amount of time to get decent grades. I personally can only perform when I'm cramming reams of information at the last minute and when under pressure. Don't focus on the mocks, focus instead on flying through your courses in the next few months and rely heavily on past exam papers for practice. You can easily do well but you will have to get the finger out and put the work in.

27-01-2014 10:18am

Ellenk456 wrote: »

I'm doing the Leaving cert and to be honest I haven't worked as hard as I should've at all. There's only a month left to the mocks and I'm so unbelievably unprepared and have done close to nothing for them. Im fairly smart and do good when I actually study for tests, but I'm just so lazy and have no motivation. Is it too late to try and aim for 500 points at this stage of the year?

If Motivation is an issue then I would recommend the incremental approach.

Too often people sit around trying to get into the habit of doing a few hours study a night. They lose interest and get into a "Ah sure ill start NEXT monday" mentality. And then it is the monday after that. Or after that. And in the end you end up getting nothing done and much time is lost.

So instead try losing time in a constructive fashion. Start today. Not "next" anything. Simply sit down today and do 10 minutes of study. Nothing more. And no 6 minutes preperation and 4 minutes study. Sit down - get comfortable - get the materials open in front of you - start the clock - and study your best for 10 minutes straight.

Then tomorrow do 15. The next day do 20. The next 25.

This incremental approach will get you into the routine of doing 2 hours study a night by the middle of next month. And because the change is incremental and not sudden - it will not be as difficult as trying to will yourself into being a good studier now.

Do not worry about the mocks, just worry about getting into a study routine for the real thing. The mocks are just there to give you experience of the real exam and the real exam setting. The results are meaningless. Just take what you can from the experience.

sunflower27 · 27-01-2014 10:25am

Stick your head in the books, OP, and go for it. You may actually find you enjoy it. You have the rest of your life to waste on here

Butterface · 27-01-2014 10:44am

Don't worry about the Mocks. And don't let a teacher push you down into pass for the Leaving Cert if you believe yourself that you're able for it.

For this next term, make sure you do all your homework and go over what you've learned in each subject every evening. That way you're taking it in twice and there'll be less need to cram on topics closer to the exams.

What subjects are you doing? I found making mindmaps for science subjects and history & geography to be very helpful. I'm in final year of University now and I have an exam tomorrow... have a load of mindmaps for all my topics spread all over my bed!!

In terms of length of time, you have loads OP so don't stress. I would advise you start taking full advantage of your weekends, or at least a Saturday from about March onwards!

kowloon · 27-01-2014 1:25pm

Dj Stiggie wrote: »

If you want 500 points then if you get over 400 or so in the mocks, its realistic with work. If you get less than 370, have another look at the CAO.

That seems oddly specific.

JumpShivers · 27-01-2014 1:29pm

Not too late at all, OP.

Lapin · 27-01-2014 1:37pm

Far too late now OP, but hey. Don't worry.

The world will always need ditch diggers.

B.A._Baracus · 27-01-2014 2:03pm

I know a few people who failed their leaving cert and some who didnt even do it. Didnt stop them from going to college and this is a few years ago when the mature student age was 23. Now its 21 I do believe.

Obviously, since recession some 18yo would be best off going to college immediately after school. As you are unlikely to get a job for a year or two with todays market. So waiting those 3 years until you are 21 would be wasted years.

But who cares. Still a VERY young man at 21.

_Redzer_ · 27-01-2014 2:08pm

Dj Stiggie wrote: »

Do some exam papers between now and the mocks. Then use your results as a guide to how much you think you can improve. If you want 500 points then if you get over 400 or so in the mocks, its realistic with work. If you get less than 370, have another look at the CAO.

Nonsense. I did pretty terribly in the mocks and got nowhere near my points, yet I pulled it together for the real thing. The mocks are a great kick in the arse, and if you're smart with your revision and cut down on the work by only taking down key bits of information and go through loads of test papers you'll do very well.

Queen-Mise · 27-01-2014 7:44pm

Break it down OP - from what I remember of the Leaving Cert, for example, in Maths, you had to do four questions in each paper. Pick out the ones you are best at - and then work at them only.

Do the same for the other subjects.

So 8 or 9 exams by 4 questions in each is 32-36 questions to prepare.

Break it down, you have loads of time.

SamAK · 27-01-2014 7:59pm

Ellenk456 wrote: »

Teachers have this way of making you think that all is lost if you feck up the L.C...

I'm very uncomfortable with the whole situation. I didn't know my arse from my elbow when I sat the exams in 2009. I certainly had absolutely no fecking idea what I was interested in after college.

If you do, then good for you, all i'm saying is that it's scary as hell seeing 17/18 year old kids just going for any old college course just because that's whats expected of them. Most of the time, parents don't care if it's your calling, they just want you to do SOMETHING.

Like I said, if you know what you're passionate about, then good for you. But, it took me three years of bumming around and experiencing the world before I stumbled across something that really got my attention, that really made me thing 'god, I love this'..

So, I actually LIVED for a couple of years after secondary school, and I learned some things that school can never teach you. I found something that i'm really, really sure I want to dedicate my life to, and if I had aimed for going straight from S.C to college, I would have picked any old thing, even if I wasn't into it. And i'd have regretted it, or dropped out of the course.

I'm nearly finished my second year of a PLC course, have applied through CAO for the course I WANT in an I.T, and I think i've got a good chance of getting it. Funny thing is, my chosen field (music tech/media production) didn't exist as far as my secondary school was concerned. Nothing music related on the cirriculum whatsoever.

School is a system, and sometimes it fails to provide adequate opportunity and to cater for an individuals strengths. That's what I learned anyway.

(Long winded post and not at all intended to convince you of anything, but it's food for thought and I wish someone had told me when I finished S.C that there's a whole world out there that we know feck all about)

Is it too late to study?

Comments