vakibs wrote:mark wrote:nope. sounds similar to our leaving certificate though, 2 years, 1 marathon round of exams, and a score from 0 - 600 which determines what university course you'll be able to do. 2 years of hell, made up for only by the drunken insanity that is 1st year in uni.
hmm.. I thought Irish schooldays should have had been much happier. Dont know why this stupidity persists everywhere though !!
the leaving cert points system is based on demand, the college points are adjusted according to how many people have applied in a given year. Therefore, you are trying to hit a moving target, you don't know how many points you need until after the results are published and the demand calculated. you have to go on points from previous years for the same course, and rising/falling point trends.
It's flawed in a few ways, it puts huge stress on 17-18 year olds, it doesn't take into account suitability for the profession (e.g. if you want to do medicine, you gotta get 560 points, it doesn't matter if you've worked in hospitals before, if you have a suitable personality to be a doctor, etc.), and it emphisises academic knowledge (learning off by heart) rather than practical skills which may be more useful in a chosen career/university course.
However it's a good general education, you take 9 subjects until age 15, then 7 subjects until age 18. Compulsary subjects for leaving certificate are Irish, English and Maths, and 1 modern foreign language.
This tends to leave Irish people with a broader (but shallower) education than people from the UK, who take 3-4 A levels. The system is well respected within Europe, doesn't carry quite as much weight as the A levels, but we're only a small country.
While one who sings with his tongue on fire Gargles in the rat race choir Bent out of shape from society's pliers Cares not to come up any higher But rather get you down in the hole that he's in