(Note on title:  I’m aware that it sounds like it could have been thought up by mid-naughties emo band. hXc)

To elabourate on the title, I did actually cry during the craftwork exam. I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but as it is a blog about the Leaving Cert and the craftwork exam comes under the Leaving Cert umbrella and I am a sickeningly honest human being…yeah.
I chose the poster option which I thoroughly prepared. I entered the art room with my little preparatory sheet, covered in pictures of Alexander McQueen and Chanel collections, and got to work. The majority of the day went unexcitingly, until about 2 o’clock, when I realised I had about an hour and a half to actually make the poster and stop messing around with the lettering. I got frustrated, then panicky, then weepy.
Looking back on it now, it was lolarious. At the time, however, I was wild with terror. What if I didn’t get finished? What would happen? I’d fail my art then of course I’d fail the Leaving and then everyone would tut and then I’d cry more and then the world would explode and – well, I completely lost sight of the forest for the trees, as they say.
My project wasn’t bad, per se. It wasn’t that good either. Thankfully, the still life and life drawing went far far far better. I’m happy to have it all out of the way.
To make matters a little worse my totalitiarian dictator of an Irish teacher is “disappointed” in the Art students in the class for a) missing class and b) not getting the homework. Oh I’m sorry Miss, how could I even dream of missing your class to go to an exam worth over 50% of my Leaving Cert Art. Y’know, cos Irish is the only subject I’m really doing an exam on. All the other classes I’m doing for the craic. *shakes fist* (It is clear that the stress is beginning to affect me.)

How did everyone’s Art go? Better than mine I hope…

So we have around a month to get our shit together and make this Leaving Cert thing happen.
Some days I feel confident in my abilities, others not so much. I didn’t get accepted to English and Drama in Trinity, which was quite a knock to my positive Shiny Happy May approach, but I have to soldier on.

I love English. I like the English course, which seems to be quite unusual for a Leaving Certer. Yeah it stifles creativity, but what subject in the Leaving doesn’t? It’s fair to everyone, in my opinion. People who like poetry/theatre/novels can read up more about the poets and playwrights in their own time if they’re interested, and people who don’t just learn what they are given and do the exam. Obviously I’d love to take the question “Write a personal response to the poetry of Blah Von Blather” and tell them exactly what I think of it, but that’s not going to get us the marks. The course is the course, and it won’t change until the bigwigs in the Department deem it necessary. Though it seems if Fine Gael ever gain power in the government, they’re going to do away with the Leaving Cert altogether…can’t say I’d miss it.

Til next time (unless I have a complete mental breakdown during the coming week),

Valerie

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It’s the day of the French oral. I wait patiently in a small room, feeling confident. I am called into the examination chamber (I was going to just call it a room but chamber sounds nice and fancy) and, strangely, there are quite a few people in there. I am confused. I sit and the examiner starts talking to me in English.
“Talk in French! Why haven’t you put on the tape?” I cry.
“Shut up you,” she snaps back.
I make some feeble attempts at French conversation, she remains unresponsive. Eventually she turns to me and produces a packet of chewing gum from her pocket.
“Fine then. If you’re so smart, describe this chewing gum to me!”
I panic, I do not know the French word for chewing gum. Why is she doing this to me?
She puts on the tape, but music starts coming out. She starts dancing and singing along. She throws a book at me.
“Read that,” she spits.
I start to cry. My English teacher enters the room and sings at me as tears roll down my face.

I wake up whimpering and shaking my head feverishly, frozen for a few moments in utter terror. Then I realised it was only a dream, I had not just screwed up my oral over a description of chewing gum. What relief!

Thankfully, I’m not terribly worried about my French oral. The Irish oral is a different kettle of fish, however. I have an excellent Irish teacher who in her spare time must also be the totalitarian dictator of a small country as she controls every aspect of our Irish-speaking lives, including our oral material. She’s basically given us everything we know in the form of notes and handouts and while this is totally awesome in terms of the quality of the Irish and it all looks beautiful written down, not much of it is in my head. I have around two weeks to get it in there though, and some of the questions I KNOW we won’t be asked (the sheet of questions she gave us must be from 20 years ago…Example: What do you think of the situation in Ulster? She made us learn an answer to it, in the future tense. There will be peace etc etc. WTF?)

I received a letter from Trinity a while back containing a questionnaire for the English and Drama Studies course, which I filled out hurriedly and horribly while trying to prepare for History grinds and which has more tip-ex on it than actual ink. However, it seems they didn’t mind that or the hopelessly contrived answers as I now have to go to an interview/workshop thing on the 20th April. Woo, go me!
Except not really. That week happens to be the week of my Irish oral and Music practical. Yeah. I don’t know if all schools do their orals/practicals at the same time, but gosh Trinners! How am I going to work that out at all – as the French say, on verra…

I must get going and do some study. Grrr.

Valerie

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So, don’t expect me to use the words stress or pressure in any of my posts

What I’ll be covering is the more political and current affairs side of education. If the government decides to introduce third level fees, If there’s a cut in education funding or if there’s to be a teacher’s strike I’ll be the first to let you know.

I run my own political blog at www.davidhiggins.net

*BIAS WARNING* I’m a member of Young Fine Geal and as a result I will be just a tad critical of the govenment. But, I’ll try to keep things balanced.

As you may have guessed I’m into politics and I’ll probably study it in college. Being in 5th year my mind is not made up but I’m looking at Economics and Politics in Trinity College.

I could go to another college in Dublin but the 15 bus goes straight from my doorstep to the gates of Trinity. Funny how you plan your future around a bus timetable!

Music is my other passion. I play the piano, the guitar and I sing. I’m in a rock band and numerous choirs. I’m even looking to start my own choir, similar to the new TV show Glee.

Check out my music http://www.youtube.com/davidhiggz

For the Leaving Cert I’m studying the core 3, Music, Physics, Economics and French. I got 8 A’s in the junior so I’ll be hopeing for the big 600 in June 2011.

Wish me luck!

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Higgz
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/davehiggz

I moved up from the shticks to my lovely Appartment on the UCD Campus on Tuesday and started Orientation the following day. I was having a ball of a time there. Loved it. Myself and the student bar really hit it off.
On Friday, I moved all my stuff back out.
SCHLATERZ DUBLIN.

I’m sure most of you are wondering what the hell I was thinking. I repeat, dead set on getting Medicine and, after lots of bother, finally manage to get it, one year later than expected. Then I drop out!?

Well, basically, what happened is this.
I woke up bright and early Thursday morning, got dressed and set to go into my Academic Advisory lectures in UCD, when I got a phonecall from a number I didn’t know.
Guess who it was?
Trinity Admissions office.
Guess what they were offering me?
The 5 Year course in Medicine over there.
Guess what I did?
Jumped up and and down excitedly, before accepting my THIRD ROUND, RANDOM SELECTION CAO offer the following morning.
And then?
I dropped on out’a UCD and started calling myself a Trinity student.

It’s been a few days since I got the offer and I’m still somewhat in disbelief. Like, this doesn’t happen all too often.
Although, astoundingly, it also happened to a very good friend of mine last year.
I was loving UCD, it’s a great place altogether, and the craic is mighty, but I couldn’t resist Trinity. I mean, the course is a year shorter and it’s what I truly wanted. And I got it on Third Round offers. FATE.

So basically, I’m now a winner. A Trinner Winner. Life is good.
This will certainly be a final post from me, the LC and all that’s related to it is well and truly over.

Moral of the story though- Thank God I repeated. It’s a wee bit later than I’d hoped for, but I’m officially where I want to be, doing what I want to do.
Wooohoooooooo!

Good luck class of 2010!

EDIT: (09/10/09)
I’m so unbelievably fluky! I got bumped up on my Biology recheck to an A1. 575 points- hello!

Anyway, it’s a day that I’d very much been dreading for the last few months. Thousands of us sat our HPATs last February, with little idea of how we actually got on. It was a vague, wishy-washy, stressful exam which makes me physically ill when I so much as think of it, and I had absolutely no idea how exactly I got on.
I remember very few details about it (Mental Blockage, you see) but the blog I wrote about the exam at the time reminded me how depressing the whole day was.

That day was nowhere near as depressing as today, however.
The night after the HPAT exams I went out to my favourite club and got rather drunk with a few good friends.
Today is a Monday. The option just isn’t there.
One of my very best friends is moving to France for a year. Tomorrow. And she more than likely won’t be able to come home for visits, even at Christmas.
Another of my best friends (Who I’m heavily dependent on) has been in Germany all Summer.
I recently got a bad haircut.
I was already fragile. Already an emotional wreck. Now this has been very much so heightened.

I couldn’t sleep at all last night, I was tossing and turning until about 4am. I was tempted to pull an all nighter, refreshing my inbox every 5 seconds approximately, waiting for ACER to send me out that all important email which would reveal my results.
I eventually decided it’d be a tad ridiculous, a tad excessive, and succumbed to sleep, but I was up at 8.30am, bounding towards my computer, adamant to see the dreaded Results email. They’d been sent out at 5.52am (A somewhat odd time, yes.)

I wish I’d stayed in bed.

Without further ado, my results are as follows:

Points (Out of a total of 300): 173
Percentile Ranking: 84

Now, I know these results aren’t as drastic as I’m making out, but for me, this has come as quite an awful blow.
I’d been hoping to get within the top, maybe, 10 percentile of candidates to try and secure myself a place in Medicine in Trinity.
I only landed into the top 16.
Hope is not lost, no no no, but it’s definitely diluted somewhat.

On one hand, I know that I’m more suited to Medicine, apparently, than 84% of medicine applicants- but it’s that pesky 16% who would, apparently, be better than me who are the problem.
I say “apparently” because I don’t think a, frankly tenuous, multiple choice exam can truly determine someone’s capability as a Doctor, Surgeon, Psychiatrist or what have you.
Heck, there’s no easy way of doing it- but because of SHEER determination alone I feel as though I’d proved myself somewhat able to study the damn course next year.
I cannot describe how much I want to study Medicine, and I feel as though I’ve given it my all. I know I’d be good at it. I know it’s the only career I’d truly enjoy, and work well at.
But my HPAT results haven’t reflected this all too well.

On the CAO website, it’s possible to get a breakdown of your results Section by Section- I excelled in Section 1- So it seems I’m pretty logical and can solve problems pretty nicely, then.
Section 2- Interpersonal Relationships- wasn’t great. I’d honestly assumed this was my forte- I’d always done best here in the sample tests- but it was only mediocre on the day.
Section 3, however, is where I really got dragged down. I didn’t even score 50 points here. I’ve come up with an excuse though, of course,- I’m a girl.
It’s not much of an excuse, but I’m blaming the sexist nature of the paper- Girls suck at that kind of thing, generally speaking, compared to boys. Seriously, FACT. We were raised playing with our Barbies- they had their lego and K’nex and what have you. We learned nothing, only how to be subservient and fashionable, they developed spacial awareness.
Yeah. So I’m blaming bad parenting, then.

I thought I’d be able to tell if I got into Medicine or not today, but it’s impossible to do so, really.
Combining my Leaving Cert points from last year as an indication with my HPAT results, I get as follows:
550 + 173 = 723.
723 out of 860, seems a bit awful, right? Does anyone understand why I cried, just a little?

However, I’ve since discovered that nobody seems to have got more than around and about 207-210. That, of course, means the very maximum could be, what, 560+ 210= 770?
I’m a good 60 or 50 points off the top candidates, but I’m still a hell of a lot higher than some of the average or weaker students.
Most people seem to have gotten 150 or thereabouts in the HPATs, and I wouldn’t go as far as saying hope is lost for any of them, or for me, merely diluted.
Because all the HPAT results seem to be over such a narrow range, the Leaving Cert results are still of fundamental importance.

Anyone who thinks they’ll get into Medicine with 480 points is horribly deluded- but there’s hope for people who break well into the 500s, especially if their HPAT results were even alright.

Sigh. I don’t know.
I can’t wait for August 12th. But, more importantly, I can’t wait for August 17th- the day of CAO offers.
I’ll take Medicine anywhere in Ireland. If Trinity’s out than I’ll gladly head to Galway. I’d even take the plunge and accept CORK if I had to- even though I hate the city (nothing personal, guys) and would really hate to end up there.

For now though, I’m going to just try and forget about it and enjoy my Summer.
I’ll return in August to let you all know how I get on! Keep your fingers crossed for me, please.

EDIT: This article from the Irish Times is wonderfully informative.

Since I’ve last blogged, an abundance of extremely fascinating education-related things have happened. I apologise for the massive gap between posts, I’ll start posting more from now on, and that, my friends, is a Jennie Promise.

Firstly, I sat my Christmas exams, which, as I mentioned in my last post, did not seem to instil any fear in this hardened secondary school student. They were ridiculously grand, except for Chemistry which I honestly thought I’d failed. I didn’t, I actually got 84%, but that’s merely the sign of a nerd. I haven’t got most of my results back, but those A1s in Irish and Biology are just lovely. I arrived into the Geography exam 30 minutes late (Surely a sign that I’m too easy going?) so those results may not reflect the work I did (Which is actually minimal, but it’s such a wonderfully easy subject that… well…meh). I’m usually quite punctual, so in my defence I’d like to point out that it was the fault of my bus for taking 2 hours to get me to school, I didn’t just decide to go have a look around town or something.

In relation to the aforementioned Christmas tests, which bored me to death and didn’t affect my sleeping pattern whatsoever, I have to tell you all that there was absolutely no late night cramming. None. The only thing I did differently in the run up to them was stay home from the beloved pub the Saturday night prior to their commencement, which was pointless, seeing as I watched television instead of studying anyway. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I can still get somewhat stressed, but I’m way more relaxed about the whole thing this year than I was last time around. My wonderfully non-ginger hair is fully intact, I’m pretty much stress free.

Moving less than swiftly onwards, Open Days have been attended. Well, Open Day actually.

On Wednesday I went to all the bother of getting a 7.30 train up to the buzzing metropolis of Dublin in order to spend a day looking around the Trinity College campus, and what a wonderful waste of time it was. Please don’t get me wrong, I had a great day, I just don’t think there was anything overly rewarding about the whole experience. The 5 hours or so spent on trains was actually quite enjoyable- Oh you De La Salle boys, how you keep me young. I just feel the actual Open Day itself was a disorganised mess. I couldn’t get into any of the medicine talks as they were packed full of kids wearing Abercrombie & Fitch hoodies and talking about the best brands of fake tan to use (Do I sound bitter?). I went to the stall to talk to Medicine students or whatever and they just weren’t in any way helpful. The course I was offered last year was Radiation Therapy, but I obviously didn’t accept it. Perhaps I should have, the guy at the stall was incredibly nice and really sold the course well. So now I just don’t know whether to put Pharmacy or that down on my CAO form after Medicine. Thanks really-sound-radiation-therapy-student, look at the decisions you’re forcing upon me!
I’m not letting the messy Open Day put me off the college of course. It’s still really nice, with an excellent reputation. A few of my wonderful friends are already first years up there, so they kindly showed me around the “secret parts” of Trinity. Y’know, like the cool hang out place for priests and stuff. Thanks guys.

WIT Open Day was on Tuesday actually, not that I went. I don’t actually live in Waterford; I didn’t go to school there before or anything like that, so I’m not up to date on the traditions of Waterfordians (and many of their slang terms: they say “boy” at the end of every sentence. Weeeeeeeeeird). Yeah, so I went into school on Tuesday, expecting a regular day of classes and the likes. What a fool I am- there were no other 6th years around, they’d all gone out to WIT (Or stayed home in bed), even the ones who don’t want to go to college at all, or don’t want to go to WIT or what have you. I was torn between spending the day in the Study Hall and going home, but as you can imagine the latter won.

Anyway, this post’s becoming rather lengthy, and in fairness I should stop now while I still have somebody’s attention. There are plenty of other things that need to be done, like watching television or getting out of my pyjamas or something. Potentially, I could go off and study, but I could also log into msn…
On an aside, did anyone notice that it’s almost Christmas? Maybe I should go get into the festive spirit. Or gorge on Mince Pies. Decisions, decisions…
I’ll be back soon!

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