Well as the title suggests, it wasn’t exactly favourable; a measly 141/300. I kept waking up sporadically during the night, but at 3:40, I got the email. Even in a state of grogginess, I knew immediately I’d no hope. I’ll admit I was seriously disappointed, more so in myself than anything. It was the first test I’d ever scored below average on, but in fairness, that’s below average in comparasion to the cream of the crop. I really did think the test went well on the day, especially Section 3. I mean I actually drew out what I imagined the next box to look like, and most times they were there! I thought it was the one section where you could be sure you had the right answer, but I guess not. I was convinced I got more than half correct, but not according to ACER, as I only got 49. I guess whatever marking scheme they used really messed me over!

Anyway, I’m lucky in a way that I wasn’t hell-bent on doing Medicine. Althought it has forced me to change the ole CAO. I’ve put down BESS and Maths/Economics, so I wouldn’t mind doing them either. Actuary is still the goal however, I’ll be laughing if I get offered a place there. I hope the results went well for everyone else anyway, enjoy the rest of the summer!!

Firstly, apologise for leaving it until now to blog, but oh well! I’ll go through each of them since I was on last.

Irish: In fairness, I thought it was a relatively predictable and straight forward paper, especially after last year. The essay titles might have been a bit specific and bland in that they didn’t suit people with learned-off material, but that suited me down to the ground, considering I’d nothing prepared bar a few phrases. I managed to write an absolute shed load for paper 2, the same as English paper 2 in fact! Somehow I managed a full page on Bealoideas, even though the notes in our book cover less than half of one! Just God help whoever has to correct it, for I’ve no concept of Irish grammar whatsoever!

French: Going into this on the back of an incredibly dodgy oral, the expectations were quite low. I reckon I’m possibly the only one who used the full allotted time, serious lack of time management on the comprehensions left me with forty minutes to do the written part. I spent the first twenty or so minutes writing out three pages of French expressions at the beginning, only later to use four of them, a bit of a regret to say the least, my seventh subject, or so I hope.

Biology: Despite being messed about with teachers over the past two years, the exam proved to be very simple. I did every question on the paper bar the one on Plant Reproduction, and fairly confident I did well. Everyone else I spoke to had the same reaction so I reckon they’ll kill us with the marking scheme.

Chemistry: I always imagined to become an absolute genius over the five days between this and Biology, but no, the World Cup proved far more interesting! Whatever hopes I had for an A have disappeared. I spent the first twenty minutes reading over the paper, only to end up doing ten questions anyway. Every single question seemed to have six marks where you’d feel even with the book open, you wouldn’t get the answers. I mean the IUPAC name for glycerol? It’s actually not mentioned anywhere in our book. Trying to apply what I knew, I stuck down 1,2,3 trihyrdoxylpentane thinking that sounded fairly logical, but no. On wikipedia it says that it’s another name for it, but propan-1,2,3-triol was what they were looking for. I thought the question on Equilibrium was grand, except for the Kc bit. I originally got 0.0225 and thought that was way too low for something that had a 75% disassociation, so I didn’t divide by 100, only later to find out I was originally right. Sickening.

Economics: Ah Economics, always something I thought I was guaranteed and A1 in, until the night before the test. Like Chemistry, I stopped studying for it a week before the LC began, major regret now of course. Looking over the course, I realise I’d forgotten almost everything. The only saving grace was that it was fairly topical. The whole “Rent of Ability” thing kind of threw me, and no Oligopoly? Or NAMA? Odd to say the least. I did a fifth question, something our teacher always advised against, but me being an insecure rebel, I had to rush Q1 on demand, and made a pig’s ear of it. Oh well…

It feels weird to say it’s over. No big bang at the end, it just slowly faded out. The ending for me definitely was an anti-climax to the whole thing. While things started off nicely with the three core ones being simple for a change, they lulled me into a false confidence for the last two. The whole build up and suspense for the exams was simply destroyed by the time Irish was finished. I can’t honestly say how the results will go, I’d be delighted to break 500, but I’d swap any number of points just for a place in college. Speaking off that, the ole CAO could probably do with a shake up. I have managed to find one course that is basically “me”, Maths and Economics in Trinity! It was 475 last year, and only 15 points up from the mocks, so provided it doesn’t rise too much, I wouldn’t mind that!

The HPAT results are out Monday, and to be honest, they’ll count for little at the end of the day. Still, I’m dying to see the percentile score and break down of the result, better be worth getting up at five on Monday for! I know most are finished at this stage, and the sites gone quite, but I hope y’all have a good summer! I’ll be back for the results!

Cillian

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!

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 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!!

Hello =)

I hope everyone is well, and not over stressing

The realisation hit me yesterday (I know, I know, only yesterday :O) that in 5 months time it’s all going to be over!! Every last paper finished and sent on its merry way……. scary thoughts, I know. For now though I’ve plenty of more important things to be thinking about; mocks, orals, 18th’s, and 21st’s!

We were given our oral dates last week (that was when the realisation dawned!). French is the first week after, and I will be on the Friday if it goes in alphabetical order (Weldon!!). So that’s not really too bad. Dare I say it, but I’m kind of looking forward to my Irish oral the following week!! Oh and I would like to say a huge “Thank You” to Ally for recommending Foinse =) It helps so much! I was always afraid to pick it up in case I wouldn’t be able to understand any of it, and would be totally disheartened, but I found that even if there’s a word I don’t understand, in the context of the sentence I could figure it out =D

Our mocks have been moved back a week, which is a major relief. At least now they run straight up the mid-term and we won’t be dragged back in for a week after them. The thought of sitting two three hour papers in one school day really isn’t going down all that well. It’s going to mean one very short lunch break! As for the subjects? Well the one I am dreading most is chemistry!! I just haven’t had time to revise everything! Hopefully, I will have enough done to get me through 6 questions. I’ll probably do the Q5 (periodic table and the atom), the question on rates of reaction (if we have it finished), both organic questions, environmental chemistry and hopefully something else I know will come up!!

With regard to the 18th’s and 21st’s, well that’s more of an “I wish” story =P I was at probably the best 21st ever last week, and then wasn’t let out for my friends 18th this week =/ Yes, I am sure I will be glad when I get a groggy phone call asking about our homework tomorrow evening @ 9. Maybe everyone has gone back to college and Kells would be deserted once again. And I know it would have been such an anti-climax to last week – the road trip was epic (it took us 2 and a half hours to get to Oldcastle from Trim – A forty minute journey :L. We tried to do a U-turn and got stuck in a ditch!! The guards pulled us out. And some poor-unfortunate mass goer will probably have found their car without a wing mirror on return!!! :O). Meh, I suppose once in a while it’s ok to use “I’m not allowed….” as a cover up excuse??

I was just wondering, what poets are you guys studying and how are you finding them? At the moment I’m working my way through Longley – and he is definitely my favourite!! I love the way he brings in the ancient legends and myths and makes them his own . Their stories do all the telling. What way do you write your poetry essays?? Do you start on one poem and dissect it, then lead into one of the same theme…. or do you mix around with all the different poems? I’ve already covered Boland, Kavanagh, Yeats, Keats, and am almost finished Longley. My teacher is only going to cover those five poets, but armed with Mr. Kelly’s notes, I think I’ll do Elliot too, and maybe leave Keats out in my revision. He did come up last year after all =D

Other than that exciting road trip, Trim has been graced with my presence (ha!) on a number of occasions recently as I try to put those New Year’s resolutions into action. I suppose throwing a ball around in a swimming pool is exercise right?? My goal is to be able to beat my brother (16) in a swimming race…. this could take some time!! I used to be a good swimmer, really I did. Then I discovered how boring swimming up and down racing the clock is compared to galloping across fields!! The only thing is you don’t get fit enough to compete at horse riding by horse riding – unless you do it all day!!

Just thought I’d pick your (considerably more intelligent) brains for a few minutes…… Yes, it is back to the chemistry, but what method of studying it works for you guys?? I was on the Allhonours website earlier and studying for chemistry seems to be a big topic for discussion!! Mostly it was just people who found it difficult to understand looking for help, but does just reading through your notes work for anyone?? It certainly doesn’t help me!!! Just curious that’s all =P

Oh yea, I knew there was something else I wanted to say :L I had my first day of HPAT practise last Saturday, and yes, you were right Ally, – the guy is a genius. I really put me at ease to know that I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t make sense of those puzzles!! I found the extra questions he gave out (the mock 2) much more difficult than the ACER ones though!! I did the whole section one this morning and that was tiring. It’s probably my second favourite section but I got a way lower score in it than I had form the ACER one =( I think I’ll put it down to needing practise though so I don’t get too disheartened!!
Anyways I had better go do some proper study instead of just pretending to =S

Have a good week…… oh and make sure those cao applications are in!!

Toodles

Katie xxx

Salut!

hi guys, hope this week back wasn’t too stressful. I am so glad i revised my chemistry course because we got back and jumped straight into a new, difficult chapter with a substitute teacher. I have yet to make a new timetable but I’m sticking to my old one which isn’t too bad I suppose. I’m feeling more and more nervous about the HPAT exam though,which is on the the 27th of next month, time flys I guess. I was reading in the Irish Medical Times that this year (2nd ever sitting of the exam!) students can ask for rechecks of their answer sheet if they feel they may have been incorrectly scored. You have to pay a €90 fee though. To be honest I wouldn’t really mind, what’s done is done, unless I really get a bad result,seeing as im practicing every few days id be shocked to see a really,really low score. Just if anyone wanted to know Btw, how was the final HPAT practice course in the IOE today if anyone attended? iId love to know what you thought! Also, HPAT registration closes on MONDAY, so get your CAO code and sign up ASAP if your thinking of doing medicine.

We were given an Irish essay to do this weekend “what would Ireland be like in 2050″. Our teacher based it on a book of a similar title. I really enjoyed writing it actually,,scary that i just admitted that but yet, it’s true. I must say though, Foinse is amazing! iIve been buying the Irish Independent for the past few weeks every Wednesday just for the Foinse supplement. They have published so many articles in Irish about the ‘Tuilte’ or floods and the snow, new year, movies, concerts  and loads of other worldly topics, it really is helpful when it comes to composing. Last week in ‘Foinse sa rang’ they had a sample Oral convo about the Irish point system which i cut out and stuck in my oral copy:) My other secret weapon to getting As in Irish essays is a lovely little book my Dad got as a gift from his colleagues who bid him farewell from his post in Cork by saying “Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí”. An almost perfect seanfhocail as gaeilge for a child psychiatrist. At the time i thought, who in their right minds gives someone a book of proverbs? why? it frustrated me at the time and my young 12 year old mind just failed to accept such a ‘useless’ present. Today however, I thank those people,wherever they are for this magnificent piece of work. It has over 200 proverbs and sorts them out into categories, like ‘happiness’, ‘patience’ or ‘love’. I use about 10 or more in each of my essays and have some for my orals too. Simple, old, traditional ones. They boost your marks so the more the better, obviously you shouldn’t saturate your essays with just proverbs, but it’s clever when used correctly.

Did anyone go to the RDS for the BT Young Scientist competition? I hoped to, but i had my ‘Gaisce’ work experience that day. My brother went (TY) to support his two friends,who,were as a matter of fact, featured on news2day on RTÉ, “excuse me,would you like a rose”,yep those guys Fair play to them for representing their school I guess..I really regret not trying out for the competition when i was younger and had more time..its seems a great experience. Richard O’ Shea’s project i thought, was deserving of the win. He even said he’d prob donate the money to charity. His biomass fired cooking stove was thoughtful of the current time, third world countries could really make use of his idea, especially Gaza and now,unfortunately Haiti. I wrote in my Irish essay that Ireland would most definitely produce some of the world’s brightest scientists, our country really does embrace this subject and offers kids of all ages the chance to experience it in some shape or form,that i think, is commendable.

Mock timetables are up…Biology and L.C.V.P on Friday then a week off then back again. Thank God i did Business in J.C and actually got a B to my surprise! i always hated the subject, boring and irrelevant (well to me anyway), it was prob the hardest subject i had to do for the J.C,,,L.C.V.P is basically business for dummies,so i love it! (no offense intended). I got free, extra English notes today in I.O.E because my french teacher (also teaches English) had a few extra notes left over. What a legend ^_^

Anyway, i felt i had to blog, ill get back to my studying now, or rather have to

Bonne Chance mes amis! ^_^

Hello everyone =D

Firstly, I’m sorry it’s been so long since you’ve heard from me….. I haven’t even got a proper excuse…

I hope you all had a good Christmas, and that Santie was good to you! My Christmases are usually filled with racing around from one horsey competition to the next, trying to get as much in as possible. The weather put a stop to that this time! Believe it or not I’ve only been able to get out on the horse once in my three weeks off. The ground is just too hard! So you’d think that I would have had lots of time to complete all my set revision and more – not a chance!!!
Ok well since it’s been so long since I’ve blogged this is probably a distant memory to most! I found the evening focus group in Dublin on the Friday very interesting and the different tips I picked up from different people were very helpful =D It was interesting to sit and talk about different study methods and tools. You guys are all so organised! And will definitely get whatever results you need in June. Anyway it was great to get a chance to put a face to some of the blogs and meet some really sound people at the same time =D

That Sunday I did possibly the stupidest thing I have ever done, and that’s saying something! I tripped over my feet, fell down the stairs, and split my ear off the pool table….. Please laugh… it will make me feel a little less special!! One incentive not to do it again (aside from the mess to be cleaned up) is that I never ever want to have to spend a Sunday night (or any night for that matter) sitting in A&E in James’ street….. Not a pretty sight. I arrived in at about 10.30 that night wasn’t seen by a doctor until 8.30 the next morning, left at about 9 with the addition of nine stitches in my right ear. Lovely!!

One good thing came out of it though. I am afraid of injections, and I want to be a doctor. I needed lots of local anaesthetics for my ear. This terrified me. But it worried me even more to think that the one thing that I was letting stand between me and the career I wanted was a tiny piece of metal! Crazy, I know… Well, I managed to get over that fear. It was all in my head!! Since that I’ve had blood taken without a single flinch. Result. Mind over matter.

That was basically the drama of my holidays! Naturally I spent the next week lounging around feeling sorry for myself… Santie came and brought lovely red hunter wellies (I’m a culchie at heart!) and lots of other nice things and I began to face up to the reality that yes, I had chosen to cut my holiday short for this Leaving Cert malarkey, and head up to Leeson street for 5 days. I now realise how lucky I was to have had that choice to make!! I took Biology (both halves), English and Maths. The latter was probably a foolish choice since I’ve just dropped from honours, but hey, I was intent on “getting the course done in a week!!” My own naivety surprises me! Of course I was useful revision but my time (and money) could have been spent on something else.

As for the biology and english… Mr. Burke and Mr. Kelly, I bow down before you… you are proper teachers. You know your subjects and, more importantly, you know how to teach it. To anyone who says that in Leeson Street they just “throw the notes at you,” “they’re hardly teachers,” I challenge you to sit in one of the afore mentioned teachers classes and not be inspired. Mr. Burke, as old as the hills he may be, but I have never seen anyone explain photosynthesis in one single diagram – no words, just labels…. wow!! It was definitely time well spent. Trying to negotiate the buses on New Year’s day would have been fun but I got a lift home =) Only in Ireland would a little dusting of snow equate to a national emergency!! Crazy…

Over the last few days it has been such a chore to actually sit down and study while I could hear the snowball fights going on outside! I made a compromise; study for three hours in the morning and then I could whizz down the Hill of Tara on fertiliser bags to my heart’s content! Exercise combined in with fun! Perfect =DThose are days that will be remembered.

Delighted and all as I was to get those two extra days off, now I’m kind of worried about the amount of catch-up work that is going to have to be done when we eventually get back to school… Oh well the teachers can worry about that one and ill just get as much revision done as I can =D Anyway, we’ve enough to be thinking about with the CAO closing date and the HPAT all coming up.

I completed my levels eight choices on the CAO for what I hope will be the last time, but that’s doubtful! Medicine in Trinity is sitting at the top, but sure we’ll see how it goes! As for the HPAT, I’ve registered and am trying to do as much practice as possible from the sample booklet. I find the timing really difficult to stick to but I suppose it all takes practice. My Mum insisted that I enrol in a prep course so I’ll be back up in Leeson Street next weekend. I suppose doing it is better than regretting not doing it.

I hope everything is going according to plan for everyone, and if it’s not, well don’t worry. “Brick by brick my citizens, brick by brick.” (I watched seabiscuit last night!! Red Pollard you legend)
Remember its all mind over matter!
For now, there is a slippery slope on Tara with my name on it =D
Toodles
xxx