Ok, so it’s your final year in school and the dreaded LC has finally arrived. To be perfectly honest there is no magic answer, no secret to cracking the leaving cert; it’s hard work, I just wanted to share a few tips that I found helpful during my 6th year.
Number one; Chemistry is an entry requirement for veterinary medicine. This means you absolutely must study it for the leaving certificate . For a lot of people chemistry appears a daunting mountainous subject but I can assure you it is one of the most attainable and conquerable subjects (not to mention one of my personal favourites). There are a few points to note about chemistry to make the course (and exam) easier for yourself. The experiment questions are a huge source of marks in the exam; they are limited in what they can ask you if you learn your experiments well you can bank on these questions. The next huge place to pick up points is in the paper is ORGANIC chemistry. A lot people avoid this area for some reason but it can make up up to half the paper so give it good time. Also just to note over 10% of people sitting the higher level chemistry got an A1 whereas only 6% of people sitting the higher level biology got an A1.
Number two: PAPERS . Practice exam paper questions every single chance you get. The department of education is not very imaginative and the same questions come up again and again. You can then mark yourself against the marking schemes; all available online (for free). If you enter into your exam hall without having done every available exam paper (and marking it) you will be doing yourself a huge injustice .
Number three: Take a break. I am not condoning going out drinking every Friday night but it is important to step back and let your hair down occasionally. Even if it’s just going for a jog step away from the books and do something else for a little while; it clears your head.
Number four: don’t compare yourself to others and don’t let yourself be intimidated. Comparing your grades to others will drive you insane so just don’t do it.
Finally on the subject of leaving cert; in 5th year when you calculated my results I got 100 points less than what I ended up getting in the leaving certificate. It is never too late to push to get the points and it’s never too late to succeed.
College is very much different and very much the same when it comes to study. In the way of differences; it is your own choice. There is no homework, no requirement to study (as such) past your own desire and there is no real reason to attend lectures . However the real (and very serious) similarity is that if you do not study you can and will fail.
In my own opinion it is very important to go to your lectures and keep on top of your study and past that it is very possible to enjoy all the perks of college life; societies, sports clubs, new friends.
I will post more soon about the many perks of college life and in particular the perks of being a veterinary student (the main of which being VetSoc). As always if you have any questions or comments don’t be afraid to get in touch 🙂
