There are lots of factors to consider when choosing your subjects for senior cycle, so it is extremely important to do your research and make informed decisions. Choosing subjects for Leaving Certificate is crucial to ensuring you achieve the best result you can in your Leaving Certificate.
Every year some students tend to get bogged down on entry requirements or picking the subjects their friends are studying and very often this can lead to bad choices for the student in question.
Furthermore, a lot of students in third year or transition year have no idea what career path they would like to pursue when they leave school as they are just too young to have given this any real thought. This can often cause additional stress for students, and indeed their parents who are trying to navigate their way around subject choice and matriculation requirements for entry into third level courses. Matriculation requirements into third level simply mean that certain subjects or subjects taken at a certain level is mandatory to gain entry into a particular college course. For this reason it is imperative that students who have a particular career or course in mind conduct their research and know what subjects are needed as a minimum entry requirement on to that course, and also if they need to take that subject at higher level and achieve a particular grade in the subject to meet the minimum entry requirements to be considered for the course.
Minimum entry requirements
For example, in order to study veterinary medicine in UCD, a student must have studied chemistry for the Leaving Certificate, and a student wishing to study primary school teaching in any of the teacher training colleges in Ireland must achieve a minimum of a H4 in higher level Irish. If the student does not meet the minimum entry requirements then he/she will not be considered for a place on that course, regardless of how many points they achieve in their Leaving Certificate. For this reason it is so important that students are aware of this before they make their subject selection, and if they are in any doubt about what they may need to gain entry to a particular course they should speak with their guidance counsellor who will be able to advise them better.
For students who are unsure about what they want to do after school, it would be advisable to keep a broad selection of subjects in order to keep their options open and not block any options for college entry later on. It is always a good idea to keep on one of the science subjects and a European language which is a requirement for a lot of courses in NUI Galway, NUI Maynooth, UCD, and UCC. That said, if a student is really struggling with those subjects and didn’t perform well in the Junior Certificate after putting in a genuine effort, then it might be unfair to expect him/her to keep it on for senior cycle and could bring down his/her overall result in the Leaving Cert examination. At this point it is worth noting for the majority of courses at third level there are alternative routes into a particular course. It may take a little more time but if it is what the student really wants, and he/she is willing to persevere, he/she will get there.
Students who do not study a European language for Leaving Certificate still have lots of options available to them in the institutes of technology around the country and the other universities such as University of Limerick, Trinity College Dublin, and DCU which accept entry with English and/or Irish for the majority of courses, but again it is up to students to ensure they have themselves well informed of their options before making their final decision. Science and engineering courses in general also don’t fall under the third language requirement at third level.
Generally students study seven subjects for the Leaving Certificate and they will be marked out of their best six for CAO points purposes. The more points a student receives in the Leaving Cert, the more options will be available to him/her so it is vital that students play to their strengths. In other words pick subjects they like and are good at, if they do this they will not go too far wrong and this will make their two years in senior cycle more enjoyable and indeed more manageable.
Subject choice
Senior cycle can be a tough two years for students in school with the Leaving Certificate looming but if they are doing subjects they like, they are good at and have a genuine interest in, this will make it a much more rewarding and enjoyable experience. If a student liked a particular subject at Junior Certificate level then the chances are he/she will also enjoy that subject at senior cycle, and in turn these are the areas that students should be considering for further study and future career paths.
Parents and students often dismiss particular subjects for senior cycle as they feel they wouldn’t be beneficial to the student as they won’t be pursuing a career in that area. However, this is certainly not the case, for example if a student was very good at art, he/she really enjoyed this subject and achieved a very good grade in the Junior Cert, but was adamant he/she would not continue it for senior cycle as the career prospects would be limited and couldn’t see him/herself having any interest in pursuing a career in that area. This can often be a huge misconception as although the student may have no interest in doing anything with that subject after school, because he/she is naturally talented in that area it could greatly increase his/her points overall, and in fact could be the difference in achieving the points to get into his/her first option course in college.
Students can access a lot of useful information to assist them with their subject choice and any queries they may have in relation to college courses (minimum entry requirements and points ) on qualifax.ie, careersportal.ie, and the college websites. It is also a good idea to consult with their guidance counsellors and subject teachers who will also be able to offer advice.
Carmel Shannon Career Consultant, email: [email protected]. Website: www.careerguidancemayo.ie
