• Question: How well did you do for your leaving cert, what did you study in college, what did you need for that course

    Asked by anon-39929 on 4 Nov 2022.
    • Photo: Vincent Monchal

      Vincent Monchal answered on 4 Nov 2022:

      I did ok for my leaving cert (65/100) because I didn’t have the motivation to study more on topics that I was forced to study and that I was not interested in at all.
      In college I started my first year doing biology chemistry and geology which were way more motivating for me. I specialised myself in geology after that first year.
      For geology in college, you need to be good in maths, in physics and in chemistry, depending on your specialty you will need more one those three than the others.
      In general, to go to college and have the motivation to have a degree you need to find what you are really interested in.

    • Photo: Ingmar Schoen

      Ingmar Schoen answered on 4 Nov 2022:

      My leaving cert was really good (second best at my school).
      I studied physics at the University. I needed to work very hard and form learning groups. Without these discussions with my fellow students, I would not have gotten on so well.

    • Photo: Siobhán O'Flaherty

      Siobhán O'Flaherty answered on 5 Nov 2022:

      I was disappointed with my leaving cert, in particular my grade for higher level chemistry for which I received a D. I found the experience very stressful but I managed to get where I wanted to go as there are always back doors into everything. I studied for a level 8, Bachelor of Science in Chemical Sciences with Medicinal Chemistry in DIT (now TU Dublin). I needed higher than a C grade in one science subject so I got my place in the course with my biology grade. I worked hard throughout the 4 years and graduated with a 2:1.

    • Photo: James Brown

      James Brown answered on 7 Nov 2022:

      I was in the Australian system (being Australian), and studied Biotechnology in university. It was similar to most science courses (worldwide), in that you needed at least higher level marks in higher Math’s, English and one science subject (most did biology and/or chemistry).

    • Photo: Anna Desmond

      Anna Desmond answered on 7 Nov 2022:

      I did well enough in my leaving cert to do the course I wanted to do but I had a backup plan where I could study a basic biology post-leaving cert course for 1 year and then I could apply again to do the course I wanted to do which was Nutrition and health science in MTU. To do any science course in MTU, you need to at least pass one science class e.g. biology, chemistry or physics and you need to have passed maths (higher or ordinary maths).

    • Photo: Lyndsey Moore

      Lyndsey Moore answered on 8 Nov 2022:

      I went through the American college system (being American), and I did well enough in my leaving cert. equivalent that I got into my top choice of colleges and was able to study Biochemistry. My maths, reading comprehension, writing and scientific reasoning were all examined in my exams.

Comments

  • Photo: Vanessa

    Vanessa commented on :

    For my leaving certificate, I had taken Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math, English and I scored 85/100, which was in the average of my class. I also had to move to another country (India) after 12th grade and had to several extra entrance examinations to get into a good engineering college. I had taken tuitions for Math for 3 years and a crash course for the science subjects in the 12th grade.

  • Photo: Elena

    Elena commented on :

    I did Biology, ag science and geography for my leaving cert. I wish i had taken chemistry though as I did science in college and found it very hard to catch up on the chemistry modules because they assume you have done chemistry at leaving cert level. I did science teaching in UL at the points at the time were 475. But a lot of people in my course entered through other indirect routes because they might not have got the points and did just as well in the course as those who came through the CAO