GOOD COUNSEL COLLEGE

SENIOR SUBJECT CHOICE

2020

Leaving Certificate Programme

• Leaving Certificate is a 2 year programme.• Full time commitment required over 2 years.

• 5th year is very important especially for those hoping to gain entry to high points courses.

• Usually a maximum of 7 subjects are taken for the Leaving Certificate.

• An 8th Extra subject? Applied Maths for eg.

• Almost all subjects are of equal importance.• 25 extra points will be awarded by the universities and

ITs for a score above a H6 Maths (> 40%)

Points System *** new LC 2017

Honours Points Honours Grade % Bands Ordinary Grade Ordinary Points

100 H1 90 - 100 O1 56

88 H2 80 - 89 O2 46

77 H3 70 - 79 O3 37

66 H4 60 - 69 O4 28

56 H5 50 - 59 O5 20

46 H6 40 - 49 O6 12

37 H7 30 - 39 O7 0

0 H8 0 - 29 O8 0

Points System *** new 2017

Bonus points

H6 or above in Maths

Extra 25 points

Sample Calculation

Paul

Subject Level Grade Score

Irish H 3 77

English O 1 56

Maths H 2 88+25=113

Geography H 2 88

Biology H 3 77

Physics O 2 46

German H 2 88

t

Add the 6 best scores shown in RED Points = 499

Leaving Certificate Programme

• Highly Desirable Subjects• Unless there is a substantial reason otherwise, all students

should definitely consider choosing:

1.a modern language (NUI/UL/TCD)

2.a science subject.

• Subject Levels• Higher and Ordinary level all subjects.

• Particular care needs to be taken with Mathematics. Failure in this subject can be detrimental to overall L.C.

• LC subject selection• Core subjects: English, Mathematics & Irish*

• Optional subjects: Usually 4 other subjects are chosen

Optional Subjects (4 from 15)

BUSINESS

• Business

• Accounting

• Economics

SCIENCE

• Agricultural Science

• Biology

• Physics

• Chemistry

LANGUAGES

• Spanish

• German

PRACTICAL / APPLIED SCIENCE

• Technology

• Design and Communication Graphics

• P.E. * 2020

SOCIAL STUDIES

• History

• Geography

• Music

• Art Information on LC subjects is available on curriculumonline.ie and careersportal.ie

Entry Requirements

• When choosing Leaving Certificate subjects great care must

be taken as the choices of subjects made now may

determine 3rd level and career options in 2 years time.

• Why? Regardless of how many points you get in your LC,

you will be ineligible to even apply for a course if you have

not met it’s “Course Entry Requirements”

• Meet Entry Requirements Qualified

Applicant for Course

• College Faculty Points (CFP)

Minimum Entry Requirements of

major CAO Colleges

Institution Minimum grades Required subjects

NUI Colleges: UCD, MU,

NUIG, UCC. (RCSI, Shannon)

2H5 + 4O6 O6/H7 in Eng, Irish &

Modern Language*.

Trinity College Dublin 3H5 + 3O6 O6/H7 in Maths, Eng &

another Language

University of Limerick 2H5 + 4O6 O6/H7 in Maths, Eng. &

Irish or another Lang.

Dublin City University 2H5 + 4O6 O6/H7 in Maths, Eng or

Irish

Technical University of

Dublin

2H5 + 4O6 (H.D.)

5O6 (O.D. or H.C.)

O6/H7 in Maths, Eng or

Irish

Regional Institutes of

Technology

2H5 + 4O6 (H.D.)

5O6 (O.D. or H.C.)

O6/H7 in Maths, Eng or

Irish

Specific Course Requirements

• Specific L.C. subjects / grades required for entry to

particular courses.

• They tend to be in the following subject areas:

• Science subjects

• Languages

• Mathematics

• E.g. Veterinary Medicine in UCD

Entry Requirements:

• 2H5 + 4O6, O6/H7 in English, Irish, Modern Language &

Mathematics, H5 in Chemistry.

Sample Requirements

Irish

• Primary Teaching – H4

• Irish & Journalism (DCU) – H4

• Early and Modern Irish (TCD) –H4

• Gno & Gaeilge (DCU) – O1/H4

French

• Law with French Law (UCD) –

H3

• Bus. Studies and French (TCD) –

H3

• Law and French (TCD) – H3

A Language• Many courses require a

language but may not specify a particular one:

• International Tourism &

Languages (TU Dublin) – H3 in

Ge, Sp, Ir, It, Ch or Fr.

• Applied Languages (DCU) – H4

in Fr or Ge or Sp.

• Speech and Language Therapy

(TCD) – H4 in En, Fr, Ge, Ir, It,

Ru or Sp.

• Cadet School – O6/H7 in a

modern Language.

Sample Requirements

Mathematics

• Honours Engineering – H4

• Business Studies (DCU) –

O4/H6

• Optometry (TU Dublin) - O3/H7

• Economics & Finance (UCD) –

H4

• Business (TCD) – O4/H6

• Science (UCD) – O2/H6

• Commerce (UCD) – O2/H6

• Financial Maths (UL) – H3

Science

• Particular care needs to be taken with

science subjects.

• Many courses require any one science

subject

• Some courses require 2 science

subjects, particularly TCD and UCC.

• UCAS courses

• Nursing – O6/H7 in a Lab. Sc.

• Medical/Para medical courses

Chemistry

• Pharmacy – H4 TCD & UCC, H5 RCSI

• Human Nutrition, Medicine & Dentistry

(UCC) – H4, Veterinary Medicine - H5

Specific Course Requirements

• Unlikely that students will know exactly, which courses they will wish to pursue at this stage.

• But from looking at their interests, abilities and aptitudes students may be able to identify broad areas of interest and hence check potential course entry requirements.

• Course Entry Requirements can be accessed:

a) In the college’s prospectuses

b) On the college’s websites

c) Directory of LC Entry Requirements – Careers Office

d) www.qualifax.ie - Subject Requirements

• It is only when all course entry requirements are met that students are qualified to apply for a course.

General Advice

If a student is unsure of what to do in the future:

Pick a broad range of subjects in order to keep options open

Many students will change their minds about their future a number of times in the next 2 years

• E.g.

• one language

• one science

• one business

• one humanities / applied science.

• This combination would allow access into a broad range of courses/careers.

Choosing a Subject

A wise choice of subjects requires:

RESEARCH

DISCUSSION

REFLECTION

DECISION

L.C. Books, Guidance

Classes, Other Students

Subject Teachers, Web,

TY Prog., Publications

Guidance Counsellor,

Current TeachersParents, Friends

Consider all the

information, views and

opinions

Then, ultimately each

student must make up

their own mind.

Choosing a Subject

Key Questions

1. What subjects are the school offering?

2. If I’m interested in a particular course/career area, what subjects are essential? ( Course Entry Requirements)

3. If not essential, what subjects would be useful/helpful for this course/career area? (useful vs. points)

4. What subjects do I like? (motivation) (not the teacher)

5. What subjects am I relatively good at? (DATs) (JC)

Important Points

• DCG/Technology are not needed to do Engineering. Maths and Physics are more important.

• Art is generally not needed for Art and Design courses. A portfolio is however.

• For Business courses, Maths is generally a requirement rather than Business subjects.

• Every student is a unique bundle of interests, abilities and aptitudes, hence they should choose subjects based on these and not current friendships or the opinions of others.

• Learning vs. understanding subjects.

• Students should be aware of balancing subjects which help maximise points vs. subjects which may be of benefit to them in the future.

Good Counsel College

SubjectsAccounting * requires JC Business History

Business Geography

Economics

Agricultural Science

Art

Biology

Chemistry Technology * JC

Physics Design and Communication Graphics

*JC

Spanish Requires *JC P. E.

German Requires *JC

Consequences of poor Subject Choice

• Student may be quite unhappy in the subject for 2 years

and hence motivation will be a recurring issue.

• Student may not do well in subject and the overall grade

may be impacted on.

• Student may end up not having a subject they need for a

particular career/college course they are interested in.

• In 5th year student may want to change to another subject.

We will try to facilitate this where we think it is the best

option, however, we may not always be able to do this.

• Changing a subject 6/8/10 weeks into 5th year has a lot of

disadvantages and should be avoided if at all possible.

Thank You

• Good Evening.