Salut!

First of all, I know I’m a tad late, but WHAT A MATCH! TOMMY BOWE you legend =D It left me on a high all week. Beating the English is always so so sweet. And it’s even better when in their own back yard. I would also like to add my tupence worth to the Sexton V O’Gara debate. SEXTON ALL THE WAY =D

Well now that that out of my system, back to reality (and a bit of moaning!).

I’m sorry to say that running up to and during my mocks I had to avoid my blog like the plague in case temptation would bring me to the spoiler threads! I don’t see the point in them! Ok, fair enough, you might not have left enough time to study, and yes we all know how long it takes to revise seven courses. But there is no point in spending money sending papers off to be corrected if you knew exactly what was coming up. That’s my little “everyone-else-should-feel-bad-so-I-can-feel-good” rant!

My chemistry teacher did something that can only be described as sneaky and malicious. During our second last class before our mocks, when most students were at home taking a study day, she told us an experiment that would definitely be on our paper, having previously told us another. So, being lazy, they were the only two I learned! One came up, the other didn’t! It resulted in me making a mess of the one I did know because I was so annoyed, and getting poor marks in another that I hadn’t learned properly =( The rest of the paper went okay though, despite the fact that I managed to get considerably more marks for answering on a section that we hadn’t done, than on gases! Lol!

So, what about the HPAT? Any thoughts? I have absolutely no idea how I got on, I was just happy that I handled the exam pressure/stress pretty well! Heard a few not so nice stories about the Trinity Examination Hall centre, and that somewhere in UCD got very, very warm! I was in Goldsmith Hall, in Trinity, and apart from a little difficulty in finding the entrance the whole thing was fine =D I’m sure it went fantastically for everyone. I don’t know about you, but I for one am so relieved to just have it out of the way. Now I just have to convince myself to just sit down and study =/

In both Irish and French at the moment we’re concentrating mainly on the oral work. I like this part because, as any of you who know me will know, I never shut-up!! Last year I got into a big debate about doping in sport and the whole Cian O’ Conor and Denis Lynch fiasco at both of the previous Olympics. My French was poor and my argument was even worse!! Ah well, what can you do, at least I gave the class a laugh!!

As far as results go… I have to say that I’m pretty happy =D I managed an A2 in Irish and Maths (pass) and my only C was in Chemistry. One positive I suppose ill have to take is that if I hadn’t made 59marks worth of stupid mistakes, I would have gotten a B1! Stupid mistakes include; not using graph paper X2, mixing up words in definitions that I never get wrong X3; calculating g/mol wrongX5…… the list goes on!!! I was happy enough with English (B2) and Biology (B1) for now…. And a little disappointed with my accounting (scrapped a B3). But I have now definitely made the decision to leave out Q5 (interpretation) so that will give me time to concentrate on everything else.

French has to have been the surprise of the centaury!! No matter how hard I try, I just don’t get Bs in my written… so I was thrilled with my B1. Admittedly my tape brought me up a huge amount, and it’s generally a major downfall for most. One tip; upload those practise tapes you get with the exam papers onto your iPod and listen to them. You won’t get every word, but you’re not asked to. Just get the gist of the piece and work from there.

Anyways I had better get back to the books.

Chuala mé go bhfuil Seachtain na Gaeilge ag teacht agus bainfaidh mé trial mo chéad blog eile a scríobh as Gaeilge.

Slán

Katie xxx

Mar ata Seactain na Gaelige ar suil, deanfaidh me an iarract a scriobh mo bhlog i nGaelige! Ta bron orm faoi an litriocht agus an gramadach, tá fhios agam go bhfuil mé cáic!Ar aon nos, tá mo thiortaí ó mo mhocks air ais. Bhí siad….Bhuel…. ceart go leor is dóigh liom. Táim fós ag fanacht ar mo thiortai i mBearla, ach seachas sin, fuair mé 445 phiontaí. Bhí mo aim timpeall 470, agus tar éis na scrudú, chéap mé gurbh é easca i gcompáiroid lena hArdtieste.
Fuair me 66 i Matá, 63 i nGaeilge (sin é mo leathscéal ar mo bhotúiní sa blog seo!) 76 i mBitholaiocht, 71 i Francais, 70 i gChemic agus 77 i Eacnamiocht. Táim dochasach go mbeadh mo thiorthai i mBearla níos mo na 65, ionas go gheobhadh 450 ó mo reamhscrudú… Bhí mé lán sásta leis mo thiorthai i Francais áfach, dá gheobhainn sin sa Ardteiste, bheinn áthas orm! Ní faigh mé B i Francais riomh go deo (Bhuel seachas an Teastas Soisereach, ní fhios agam conas fós!)

Thainig rud maith amahain ó na ramhscrudú, fuair mé kic mór suas mo thóin! Thuig mé an realtacht den saol ar chead uair. Dá gheobhainn na tiorthai seo, gheobhainn ‘offer’ amhain ó an CAO, eacnamiochta i Maigh Nuad. Táim ag cónaí deich kilometres ó NUIM, ach beidh gach waster i mo scoil ag dul ann, agus gach daoine eile a aitint liom. Agus an chursa freisin, meh. Is aoibheann liom eacnamiochta, ach níl sé an rud ceanna le actuair. Ní chaillím dochas a faigheann leigis tar éis an HPAT, ach beidh gá orm a gheobhaidh timpeall 540. Tar éis mo reamhscrudu, ní fhios agam más féidir liom….

An reasuin eile a scriobh mo bhlog i nGaeilge, fuair mé amach go bhfuil mo mhathar ag léamh é. Sin  saghas ait i mo thuarim! Agus mar tír ghrá orm! Is aoibheann liom an teanga, agus ba mhaith liom a bheith liofa leis í, ach bhí mo chaighdean an ísle riomh cúíg bhlian. Ach is laoch í mo mhuinteoir ag an am seo. Tá sí ag toghtha mo rang Gaeilge go dtí Conamara i rith Casca go dtí a Gaeltacht. Tá 24 daoine i mo bhlian ag deanamh ardleibheal i nGaeilge as 125, agus i scoil cailini in aice linn, tá trí ranganna lán le daoine. Mo thuarim, tá buachailli cáic ar Ghaeilge!

Ar aon nos, aon daoine liofa ag léamh seo, tá an bron orm. Tá sé pianmhar a leamh! Dheanfaidh mé tuilleadh iarraht sa chead blog eile.

Slan ar anois!

I apologise, its been a while, I’ve also got a lot of slagging cause of these blogs, pfft .. Well i have     stayed away from allhonours.ie blogging simply because there’s the temptation of mocks spoilers, so i decided it was safe to come back after mocks (: loads of students from school knew what was coming up on the exam or either had it printed off already and handed out.. i didn’t seem to bother! I only did 3 mocks, business, economics and math paper 2 ( which was an utter sham) I was in China/Hong Kong for two weeks  and i came back right in the middle of them, so meaning i had to study for a month and never practiced any math til the night before my paper.. anyways, enough bladdering on about nothing, its 98 days til the Leaving Cert i hear? At this stage i just want it over with!.. I’m confident with business and accounting to be able to go into the leaving exam now, music is progressing along with economics.. German shall always be my down fall better start studying for orals and practicals.. and lvcp exam again.. Hope everyone had a lovely mid term and Easters round the corner and im 18 in 8 days . Partt-ayyyyy!! Anyways one last thing, i said I’d mention Gera in my first blog back, Hi Gera! He’s too cool to blog anymore.. Good luck to those just starting mocks. Don’t worry they don’t mean anything, Anyways see ya soon (: x

March! Friggin’ March! Hold on a moment….

Yeah, it’s just as I thought, my heart is contemplating shutting down and locking up for good – but in all fairness on Larry (random name for my heart), he has been working overtime on ye oul’ stress levels! Gone are the days of yore when one could read Shakespeare’s King Lear leisurely, or write out a baffling Tableau de Conjuguez – from this moment on, we are now confined to actually doing something productive, maybe in learning something – but this takes time and effort, and poor oul’ Larry is probably not up to it! I mean I’m seriously considering holding a sign above my head saying, “If found, please return to September 1st 2009″.

This year has flown by in a tornado of exam papers, worry, ink, foreign languages, C.A.O forms, laughter and Ben&Jerry’s Ice Cream – at least Dorethy ended up in Oz, singing and dancing with the Munchkins after she had been spun off her heels- all I’ve got is a headache . And to cap it all off (Side Note: I want a nice green cap! *He stares into space, distracted) …Woah! Sorry about that…As I was saying, to cap it all off, my synapses and neurons are working perfectly which means every morning I’m reminded by these little nuggets of baffling protein -(I think they’re constructed of protein? God, my bio paper is going to SUCK!)- that we only have a short amount of time until the exams (As Caoimhe was only too nice to point out…Oh Caoimhe? You’re off my X-Mas Card List!) and we really need full steam ahead. Ooh pretty light……

Really, I must stop getting so distracted! So, how is everyone coping? I can almost hear the clock (we shall call him Tim) tick tock, as if laughing at the beads of perspiration that blossom like dew upon my brow (Watch out Yeats!!), until I feel capable of punching Tim in the face – thankfully, aforementioned synapses remind me that Tim is made of glass and punching him would be a very bad idea! Seriously though, if March is here already, after I procrastinated that it wouldn’t be here for ages, why, that means that tomorrow is June 9th! (This is not logic! Merely, it is my brain). But, I think I make a valid point -even if it is wayward ; we’re at the finish line now and I can almost taste the hot-cross buns – Woah! Tangent again – Easter is nearly here. What did you give up for Lent? What is your desired Easter Egg?- So, another few months hard studying is all that is required from us. Pity the new season of Desperate Housewives has begun. Pity I’ve decided to re-watch all the previous seasons. Pity Education must take the burden of deprivation. I promise to love you one day Education, but really, there is only another few years in D.H. – you wouldn’t want me to miss out now would you? I’m talking to a word- tad worrying, is it not?

Maybe reading Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has had some sort of effect on me? I could be a reflection of the Mad Hatter. (You may all be wondering why on Earth I’m reading a children’s book for? Simply because I can! I love children’s books – it could be my brain remembering, and longing for, a simpler time! A time where one was allowed to be stupid and not worry about the strain of making a complete fool (or as we say in the country: a complete arse!) of one’s self in one’s Music Practical) Worrying really that our Orals, Practicals etc are only a month away….that is it! My heart has gone haywire!!…….*mother calls “Ian? Ian!….Ian lies still….

Bet I scared you huh? Anyway…anyone else excited for Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland or am I the only one that gets excited when this man gets behind a camera!? Pure genius- I cannot wait!!!

So, word to the wise: don’t over do it people! As long as you go to school, study each night for a few hours (including homework) you’ll be fine!

A bientot,

Ian

Hi guys,

This is prob going to be one of my famous pessimistic blogs, as Ray William Johnson would say, “I’m just saying”. So my friends, you’ve been warned. Ok. I don’t even know what to say or how to put this, and i am dead serious. No sarcasm. None.Have you ever felt so confused and anxious, as if your bottling something up inside and feel as though your going to burst and fly away,crying and zooming through the air like a balloon…?  well that’s how i feel right now because basically, im moving this August. I don’t want to get into too much detail but its outside of Europe (Asia to be a tad more specific). This August,after the results are out whenever,im going awaayyy:( I shall defo still be applying to the colleges for medicine in that area but its all messed up. Ill be using my LC points so still need like mostly all As and then I’m hoping they’ll take my HPAT test instead of their own stupid entrance test…one must sit a test where there’s 70 Qs each on Biology,Chemistry and Physics .. jeez like i don’t even DO Physics whats that about? anyways,,apparently its not for definite,but the way my parents are looking at houses & making plans here and there, talking to people like we actually are ,i have a feeling there’s a 95% chance we are going. Its such a sock to say the least, ive been living in Ireland my whole life, i have friends and family here,,,But then again, I’ve also moved my whole life, ive lived in Clonmel (Tipp),Carlow,Kilkenny,Waterford and then Carlow again,where we’ve been living for the past 6 years. Whatever hospital my Dad gets a new position in,that’s where we go. Lately though he’s decided to commute since we’re all so set here.

So if we do (and are) move, do i just ignore (if there IS any) any offers made on my CAO? would that matter? i have no idea. All i know is that there’s a chance i wont be studying in RCSI this year…sickened. Ill also miss the Debs in my school. I don’t even know how to tell my friends yet,,that will come eventually. The only decent thing aboout this whole mess is that i no longer need higher level irish,,well at least im telling my self that. So im thinking of dropping to pass for the simple reason that I cannot be bothered. Correct,Irish at higher level is far too long of a course, requiring me and my little, easily distracted mind to overwork and melt. Strange , as i know im able for it,,,im even applying for a gold fáinne next week,no big deal but still. Anyway, if a dwell on this too much ill probably be causing havoc around my house and people will end up shooting me for moaning 24/7. According to my mother and younger sister (who are annoyingly alike) i let out my anxieties on others..ok so what if i do. (I did warn you guys:()

On a happier or rather not as worrying note; as Cillian blogged, the HPAT was…an experience. Overall i thought it was alright,totally guessed half of section 1. I was happy afterward and thought i did my best…that’s all you can do. I was in the UCD exam hall, i thought at first it was quite intimidating,,1000s of people all wanting the same thing..Thats another thing, im not even going to be competition for most you guys now,seeing as im jetting off after the actual LC..Arghhhh!!:K

My french mock oral is on the 22nd so i should be working towards that. I said id make a new study timetable for this month, that has yet to happen. Cleaning my study room has also, yet to happen. Ive started reading though,to calm my nerves again ‘The curious incident of the dog in the nightime’ and ‘The Road’. I finished the first one on Monday,after starting it, well on Monday.  Really interesting,something i wouldn’t normally go for,,good though.I was sitting, roasting and burning away living on dairy milk bars from the vending machine in the waiting room in Crumlin Hospital from 6.30pm to 11.25pm,watching little kids from about 1-4years of age,playing in a corner with a ‘little tikes’ kitchen,half of them had the tummy bug and one girl’s nose was in bits, like it was spilling blood but that child was kissing and hugging every other kid in that room. My brother walloped his knee off the stairs at school and fractured it,now he’s got a lovely red cast and crutches for a week.

We should have most of our mocks back by this week,something im kind of neutral about. I prob could have done a bit better on some of the papers..but ive got the LC for that I also feel as though i should say that ‘Valentine’s Day’ has GOT to be the most cliché film about love EVER..so what if Patrick Dempsey is in it ? I was wrong,  so wrong,such a waste of my time.

Btw, i was wondering if many people are using a document in their oral (French),is it a photo or an article or..? sorry im just curious:) You all prob know im using a photo.

Bonne Chance!

-Ally XD

I’m back! I felt unbelievably stupid for not managing to sign in for months on end but after swallowing my pride here I am! I’m all for technology and progress and all that  don’t get me wrong, but when you see “password incorrect” for the 147th time it’s easy to get disillusioned. I’m happier being a neo Luddite if I’m honest.

Anyway back to the task at hand (which in my case should be my French Mock tomorrow! ) I cannot believe how fast this year is going, one minute its October Tests, then you blink and you’re in the middle of mocks! How did that happen??  From writing this sentence it is only 99 days, 16hours, 55minutes and 29seconds until English Paper One begins on June 9th….. Just thought I’d give us all a little heart attack there (don’t kill me!)

Ah all panic aside I cannot wait to leave secondary school. Im quite young at 17 in sixth year but I’m sure you’ve all looked at first and second years and thought “was I really ever that small??” (and standing at 5′4″-ishI’m hardly Goliath myself!) Seriously though, I can’t help but look at some of them with their teddy key-rings on their schoolbags and little decorated lockers and think “GET ME OUT OF HERE!!”

When CAO deadline came around on the 1st of February it was such a relief, it was like “that’s it! it’s done and I’m not thinking about it until may!” My first preference is UCD for International Modern Languages (DN069) but since it’s only in it’s first year I don’t know anyone who’s taken it. Languages at Third Level are supposed to be pretty difficult so I’d love some advice if there’s anyone out there  who’s been there?!

Anyway for me it’s back to my Jounal Intime

Bye!

Caoimhe

Like the 4,000 or so Med hopefuls across the country, I took the HPAT test on Saturday. I did mine in the Examination Hall in TCD. It was an almost surreal experience, when I walked into the place at 9:45, it was practically already full. 341 I figured to be in the hall, courtesy of having to wait over an hour in the hall before the test started. It seemed pretty well organised at first, and that there would be no horror stories or the like that came from the RDS last year. That opinion soon changed however! There was one toilet between the 341 people in the hall, like come on!! Secondly, there was one clock in the entire room, so anyone who was at the back relying on a clock was pretty screwed! And then lastly, an absolute fiasco with the exam papers. It seems that one person moved tables before the exam, which led to everyone receiving the wrong paper. Whatever the invigilators done to correct the problem didn’t seem to work, with everyone in the hall getting atleast three different papers! I can only presume these people were Med school students in Trinity, but their problem solving skills clearly weren’t the best. The girl who was in charge of the supervisors seemed some what lost, she even informed us while filling out the date that it was the 27th of January, much to the amusement of everyone in the hall!

Anyway that’s before the exam even got underway! To be honest, it didn’t bother me in the slightest, but I see some people growing angry over it. We eventually got started some time just before 11. My biggest fear was blanking on the first Q, like I did in the practice test, but thankfully it was very straight forward, basically working back through a sequence of cards (I hope anyway!)
Section 1 in general went ok, it was my worst section in the practice test, so I knew I’d have to be sharp. I heard a few people say after that some of the questions were exact replicates of last years exam, hardly fair! Most Q’s went well, except for that mostquito one, horrible, just couldn’t comprehend. Otherwise, most of them were fairly good educated guesses. I timed it perfectly which was a great help, just finished as time was up!
I presumed there was a gap in between the sections considering the test is only 2.5 hours abd they say to expect to 4.5 hours from start to finish. But no. ‘Pencils down…. and you can now start section 2′. Deadly. This was everyones best section seemingly in the practice booklet, but let me tell you, they are so much harder in the real exam. It left me feeling like a social recluse. I think I might just have to get tested for Asbergers! For every question, there seemed to be atleast two right answers. Not only that, the section was more of a vocabulary test than anything to do with interpersonal skills. I know some of it is down to my own ignorance, but whether the doc was ‘nonchalant’ or had ‘unpreturbed patience’ hit me for six. I went for the latter, thankfully(again, I hope!), but if I learnt one thing from the test, I can add nonchalant to the list of adjectives used to describe me!!!
The ambiguity of the section I feel killed me slightly, but I’m hoping it went ok! The passage involving the aunt and sisters was quite horrid too, almost in impossibility for me to grasp what was going on!
Finally section 3 came around, while a lot of people I know hate it, it appears to be my forte for some bizzare reason. I loved this section because it’s the only one where you can be sure of having the correct answer. For some of them, I didn’t bother looking at the answers, but drew out what I thought the next picture was, and usually to my joy, there was one there! It was actually a joy to do this section and I managed to finish with about five minutes to spare. Without doubt, this was my best section. Whatever identifying sequences has to do with suitablity to medicine, let alone intelligence is beyond me, but I for one am glad it was on the test. I suppose this left me feeling a little inflated and confident after the test, which is good in a way I suppose. I’m looking forward to seeing the results, I’ve always scored well above what I should in apptitute and IQ tests, so I guess this HPAT thing suits the likes of me in a way. We’ve to wait until the 28th of June I believe to get the results, so fingers crossed I’ll be lying on a beach in the south of France with good news that morning!
Althought then there is the possibility it went absolutely awful, I know I sound a tad cocky from this but believe me I’m not, I’ve no idea how I done. In fact I doubt there’s a person who did the test who can tell how they really done. People have asked me for predictions, but it’s impossible. I mean I’m up against the top 3,000 or so people in the country, and to compare myself to them in an aptitude test, impossible. Being pragmatic however, unless I get 170+, there isn’t a chance. And then I wonder am I mad even applying for medicine.

Anyway anyone else who’s done the test, it’d be great to hear your views on it, seen as there wasn’t too much thread activity about it, especially those who did prep courses, did ye find they helped? I heard a few say they were of no use on the day…

Elsewhere, mock results are back, well three anyway. Four words to describe them, Kick. In. The. Arse. Apparently I did better in Irish than Economics. How I laughed when I discovered this. And then got a massive slap across the face when I realised it’s one of my A1 subjects. The only consolation is that the highest in the class was 63, and that’s the guy in our year who’s destined for 600. Anyway, our teacher who’s an Economics corrector for the LC rechecked his paper and it turns out he got 90! All of our papers are being rechecked this weekend, so hopefully tomorrow I’ll have gone up a bit seen as I wasn’t too far off 63! I’ll post my results as soon as I have them all, fingers crossed by next weekend! Biology has turned into somewhat of a disaster! We got our 3rd teacher in two years on Tuesday. She came in and told us we were basically f¥€@ed as we’ll have the course done with just three weeks to spare. Not only that, but rumor has it she’s gone again on maternity leave after coming back for just one day. It’s a pity because she’s suppose to be a brilliant teacher, but here we are, once again, teacherless! Rumor also has it our teacher from last year is coming out of retirement to finish the course with us, epic or what! As long as we can get her to stick to the point and not ask her class wasting Q’s such as ‘Miss, what would happen if I ate the guy next to me?’ or ‘is it possible to bread a human and horse?’, we should be grand, as she’s the type who would go into great effort to scientifically explain it to us! Anyway, I’ve just realised how ridiculously long this post must be. Ooops. I really should be studying. In truth I haven’t done any really study since the week before my mocks, which is exactly a month ago. Yes Cillian, model student! I apologise for any spelling mistakes, the whole blog was written on an iPod so there’s my excuse! I’ve become slightly pedantic lately, so I’ll probably corrrect it. But then again it’s me, I’ve gotten very lazy, so I probably won’t!

Anyway, it’d be interesting to hear your view on the HPAT if you took it?!

Hello there,

I haven’t blogged in quite a while but to be honest there weren’t many school-related topics to write about the past few weeks. We spent nearly all of January rehearsing and staging our school musical, which was a total hit! It also meant I didn’t have a lot of classes, which was brilliant at the time, although boy was it like a smack in the face with a raw fish when we got back to work! Then we had the mid-term and now things are getting stressful. However, I know these problems are minor in the eyes of all those dealing with Mocks at the moment. Hope everyone did/does well, even though I remember after the Junior Cert ones last year I thought to myself “these really didn’t matter at all”! They’re great practice though and people really shouldn’t be trying to find out what’s going to be asked because in the actual exams, it’s all about the element of surprise! We all complained about Thierry Henry for cheating in the Ireland-France match, so if you cheat for the mocks then you’re not much better than him!

So as my blog title suggests, I moved to pass maths yesterday. I really couldn’t stick higher level any more and since I don’t need it for any courses I want, I decided to cut the stress (or at least some of it) by moving down to ordinary level. Now I don’t dread trudging up to maths because ordinary level is very manageable for me. The thing is, they’ve actually gone past the sections we did in higher level so I’m behind at pass maths- oh the irony! You can’t blame me for thinking it was going to be easier, seeing as in Texts and Tests 3 for the differentiation equation they tell you how to pronounce it- ‘dee y, dee x’. Thank you maths book for giving me that pointless bit of information that’d only be handy if there was a Maths Oral! Imagine…

The only thing that really has me burdened at the moment is History. We’re starting work on our research topics already and after changing the topic a few times, I finally settled on my project title. By Friday we have to have roughly 20 pages of handwritten notes about our project from our sources, along with an essay. It’s Wednesday evening and I haven’t even started to read my sources.

I’m screwed.

Hello everybody again!

Mocks have come and gone, and not quite as bad as I thought. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best I suppose. It was crazy to see the amount of people trying to find out what was coming up. And I’m not talking about the typical no hopers. Some of the cleverest people I know had seen the papers before hand. What, could they not contain their excitement to see what was coming up? That’s probably not the answer but even still, they ruined the whole point of the mocks in doing so.

For me, it was getting the timing right. I’d never sat down to do a full paper in one go before so it was great to see what timing is going to be like with the LC. I managed to time everything pretty ok, and got everything answered and usually an extra question or two (or even all eleven in Chemistry!). English paper 2 was the only exam that I was writing until the very end, I never thought it was humanly possible for me to 21 a4 pages, but with only two or three words per line, I suppose it wasn’t too difficult! The only exam that went bad as such was Maths paper 2. I started a Biology paper at 7:30 that morning and ran a cross country race in between, so by the time Maths came around I was mentally exhausted! As far as I know I had all DEB papers, how did everyone else find them?

It’s less than a week to go to the HPAT and usually I’d start getting a little apprehensive about such an event by now, but I don’t think I will be. I’m doing it in Trinity which is handy ,seen as it’s closest, but everyone else I know got UCD. As for strategies for the test, I’ve got a few worked out, so hopefully they‘ll happen! I’ve been contemplating lately the thought of if I actually was offered a place in Med school (even though there‘s ridiculously little hope!). I don’t know if it’s something that would suit me. Don’t get me wrong, I love science and the idea of helping people, but the workload I’d be taking on, it’d be like re-sitting the LC another 5 times! If I was to get in though my dream would to end up in the army, that’d be my route in!
So now for the dramatic irony, because I’m not too pushed about doing well in the exam (well of course I still want to do my best!), I’ll end up doing better in the exam than if I was hell bent on getting a place in Med school! (Nerves do get the better of me sometimes!)
So if I do get in, I’ll owe it to the fact I didn’t really mind, I kind of like that!!
It annoys the hell out of me though when you hear ‘Oh well you really have to want Medicine to get it’ comments. Absolute BS! If that was the case there would be a bloody attitude test and interviews, not an aptitude test!

That then got me thinking about my other choices on my CAO, like Pharmacy and Actuary. Frankly, all the have in common is a y of their names. Pharmacy is third and fourth, while Actuary is fifth and sixth. Being pragmatic(I hope!), I’ll end up doing one of these. I’m having serious problems deciding which one however. I went on work experience back in the good old days of TY in the local Pharmacy and really enjoyed it. I mean the guy who owns it is the nicest you’d ever meet, an inspiration of sorts. But then I sat in on two Actuary lectures in UCD and DCU during the week on economics and absolutely loved them. I met up with a guy who got 600 in his LC and he claims to love it. So I’ve been thinking, maths and economics or chemistry for the next four or five years? Hmmmm….

I have my French oral left to do later this week, and to be honest, I can wait for it. I said I’d practice for it over the midterm, but I thought I deserved the week off! I started reading Wuthering Heights again for my English comparative. And when I say again, I mean for about the 6th time, I just can’t read the bloody thing! I’ve lived off chapter summaries from the internet to find out what actually happens because I could never follow. Finally I’ve started to start comprehending what’s going on for myself! I used to love reading but ever since I’ve started secondary, sport has just taken over and I’ve never really had the time to indulge in a good book!

I’ve decided to give up Facebook for Lent, forty days I thought I could handle it. And then I discovered Lent is actually forty-seven days long, never have I felt so cheated! But it’s probably a good thing, there’s nothing worse than spending copious amounts of time on stuff like that and the feeling after. Although I’ll probably just replace it with MLIA!

I reckon it’ll be a while before any results come back, but fingers crossed by Paddy’s Day I’ll have everything back! Best of luck to all of ye doing mocks this week, and the HPAT too!!!!
Slánners!

Hi guys,

I’m hoping to keep this blog short since I’m in the middle of learning my Irish notes for ‘an t-oiléan’. Anyway, so, iIhope that whoever has finished their mocks that they weren’t too bad and that we kept our cool for the most part (yeah easier said than done). For all of us, including myself who have yet to even BEGIN, hang in there! So yes,I basically had biology and L.C.V.P. on Friday and now I have a week of studying to do and then a week of mocks. Great stuff…:( I’m not going to give anything away about the biology paper but tbh I loved it. I mean, it was such a lovely paper, everything I learned came up, t’was a great feeling L.C.V.P. on the other hand.  Let’s just say a person can only talk about crap and lie for so long. I kept repeating myself and made no sense about what I was trying to say, I dont’ know, maybe it was just me,but iIvery much dislike that small subject, I’ll thank it if I actually ended up needing the 70 marks in the end…if i even get a distinction that is!

I got an email from HPAT Ireland this week. I am delighted to have gotten a place in the Dublin Centre. I’m in UCD,in some business school, not Quinn though. I still have to print my ticket out and I think I’ll bring my driver’s licence for the photo identity (don’t forget that!!!!). Let me just add that I am now insured to drive But something much greater  is lingering in my mind atm….the actual HPAT itself. I have slacked off the sample papers and haven’t done a question since 2 months ago, terrible I know, I’m going to start again tonight.  I have another week anyway..its on the 27th sooo….yeah.

The Irish Medical Times recently published 3 articles on the HPAT,including sample questions. They looked at the controversial suggestion that the test was introduced to balance gender in medical schools.  However,it proved to be incorrect. Then David Ball (from the Institute of Education) gave some last minute tips on how to prepare for the HPAT.

He said that the most important thing is to test yourself on some sample papers and if you want to be comfortable going into the test that morning you need to be aware of the format of the exam-what kinds of questions are going to be asked and how to approach them. The more you know about the format the better you will feel when it comes to sitting it. He continues to say that you should know before you go into the HPAT centre, that your not going to get everything right. The test is designed to put pressure on you and as a result, nobody gets a perfect score. So don’t beat yourself up about it if your not sure of an answer. Importantly, unlike other exams, you will be taking in your final year in secondary school,there is no point reading though your section before starting, simply get in and begin with Q1, then work your way through the rest. David also says to make a time plan for each section and then stick to it. Don’t waste time on questions you don’t know,take a best guess and move on. You can make a quick note in the marking booklet and come back if you have time in the end. Make yourself familiar with the marking booklet. Make sure you enter the answers into the correct corresponding place. If you accidentally answer 2 questions in the same box it could make the rest of your answers incorrect. Just like every other exam, rest well the evening before the exam and eat a substantial and healthy breakfast prior to the exam also. Bring a reliable watch with you and a bottle of water to keep you hydrated, a pencil and an eraser (get an e-mail on things like that from HPAT Ireland). Ball concluded that one of the most important things is to bear in mind that the HPAT is just one component of your application to med school. Familiarise yourself with the papers and do your best. There are a lot of other exams just over the horizon!

I found those little tips useful so I thought id share them:) Just stay positive and all you can do is your best. In a way I cant wait! Its going to defo be an experience I wont forget, yet, I still get anxious at times thinking about it too much. Iknow I’m not the only one though:P ’Il faut que tout le monde vive’; Live and let live, whatever happens, happens. I should really get back to Irish, so much for a ’short’ blog, hope everyone’s enjoying their midterm break so far and I wish all you HPATers the very best of luck in the exam, I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about in a week or so

I’ll see you there!!! Bonne chance!!