Students entering fifth year in September 2014 will be either:
- Studying to complete the Junior Certificate in June, or
- Coming to the end of their transition year in school.
Finishing transition year
For students that are almost finished their transition year, now is the time to consider your Leaving Cert subject choice very carefully. The subjects you choose will affect how much you enjoy and succeed in studying over the next two years. This will impact your grades which will determine the amount of points you achieve in the Leaving Cert. This then will influence the third level course you are accepted into and hence your future career.
Changing your mind
At this early stage, you probably aren’t yet sure what points you are capable of achieving. Therefore make sure to cover all of your options. For example, if you want medicine now, it is possible that by this time next year you might have changed your mind, realised the points required are outside your capacity or even that the HPAT may work against you. You might change your mind and want veterinary instead. Veterinary has different requirements to medicine. Make sure in this case that you cover the requirements for all the medical/ paramedical courses as it is likely that you will stay within this area for your college course choice.
Subjects you like
Now look at your chosen subjects and ask yourself if you like them. When it comes to studying your subjects, it is important that you enjoy them and find them interesting to be able to excel at them. For example, there is a huge correlation between studying history at Leaving Cert level and choosing law at third level. A student with a head for law enjoys the learning, analysing and researching involved in history. Studying a subject you enjoy can decrease the pressure and workload immensely.
Match your interests/abilities
Compare your chosen subjects with your Junior Cert, aptitude and interest test results. There is a very basic question you should consider: "Am I good at this subject?" There is nothing worse than spending two years battling with a subject you just cannot do well in. If you are good at a subject, it will come naturally to you. Make sure to choose subjects that suit your capability best.
Sitting the Junior Cert this year
For students who are preparing for their Junior Certificate this coming June and hoping to skip transition year and go straight into fifth year, subject choice can be slightly more challenging. At this stage you will be unable to reflect on your Junior Cert results and see what subjects you have done best in. My advice is to choose the subjects that you enjoy the most and take most interest in. It is likely that these are the subjects you will put more effort and work into studying for. Your mocks may also be a good indication of what subjects you are better at than others.
Subject requirements for third level
Most importantly, have you met the subject requirements for your preferred courses? You can find out what these requirements are online, through college websites or qualifax.ie and careersportal.ie.
You can download a full PDF version of the Exam Times subject choice supplement
, or visit
[ www.ioe.ieOpens in new window ]
to learn how the Institute of Education can help you achieve your goals.