1. Subject Choice And The Leaving Certificate
St. Mary’s College
Subject Choice And The Leaving Certificate
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

2. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
A Time to Choose
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

3. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Core Subjects
All students will study the following core subjects
Irish
English
Mathematics
Religion(non - exam)
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

4. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Subject Options
Choose
Four
from
Eighteen
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

5. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
The 18 Subjects to choose from are...
Geography
History
Home Economics
Art
French
German
Technology
Construction
Design & Communication Graphics
Physical Education
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Agricultural Science
Accounting
Business
Economics
Music
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

6. Subjects are grouped as follows:
Languages
French
German
Students must have studied a language for Junior Certificate
if they wish to study it for the Leaving Certificate.
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

7. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Science Group
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Agricultural Science
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

8. Business Studies Group
Accounting
Business
Economics
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

9. Applied Science-Practical Group
Home Economics
Construction
Technology
Physical Education
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

10. Humanities/Practical Group
History
Geography
Art
Music
DCG
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

11. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
What not to do ...
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

12. Reasons for choosing a subject
Personal interest and enthusiasm
Aptitude for a particular subject
Possibility of high attainment
Relevance to possible career
Entry requirement for desired third level course
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

13. Do’s and Don’t of Subject Choice
Choose a subject because your friend is taking it
-Drop subjects you hate. Choose subjects you enjoy
Choose a subject just because you like or dislike the teacher
Choose subjects you are good at
Choose a subject because you think it will be easy
Choose subjects you need for your chosen career
Choose a new subject without finding out more about it
Keep your options open for the future by making a balanced choice now
Make a decision at the last minute without thinking about it
Talk to your Guidance Counsellor and your teachers -look at LC text books.
But don't panic
Talk to your parents or guardians
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

14. What to Consider when Choosing
Leaving
Cert.
Subject Options
Career (s)
of Interest
What I’m
good at
What I
like
Discussion
with
Subject
teachers
Options
Meetings
Minimum entry
requirements
to courses
My perception
of difficulty of
subject
Subjects
Available
Influence of
Friends
Parents’
influence
DATS
Interest
Inventory
Reach +
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

15. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Why seven subjects?
CAO (Central Application Office)
Award points based on the
best SIX subjects
The Seventh subject can be a safety net
Timetable is structured on all students studying seven subjects
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

16. Grading System Changes in Senior Cycle
Leaving Certificate Grade %
H1 /O
H2 /O
H3 /O
H4 /O
H5 /O
H6 /O
H7 /O
H8 /O
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

17. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Common points scale
Higher Or
Ordinary
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

18. National Framework Of Qualifications
The framework is a structure of levels, designed to bring an increased clarity to the meaning of each type of qualification, allowing qualifications to be compared easily
The framework comprises TEN levels
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

19. National Framework of Qualifications
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

20. Qualifications after Leaving Certificate
Post Leaving Certificate /P.L.C.-Level 5
Higher Certificate - Level 6
Diploma
Ordinary Degree - Level 7
Honours Degree - Level 8
Postgraduate Diploma - Level 9
Masters - Level 9
Doctorate - Level 10
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

21. Planning on going to College..
Students must satisfy 3 requirements
in order to obtain a place on a Third Level Course
1. College Requirement
2. Faculty Requirement
Having met both the College & Faculty Requirement Candidates are deemed to be Suitably Qualified
3.Places are then awarded on Merit.
Obtain the relevant number of Points
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

22. Universities Different Colleges have different entry requirements
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

23. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Colleges of NUI
University College Dublin
University College Cork
NUI Maynooth
NUI Galway
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
St Angela’s College, Sligo
Shannon College of Hotel Management
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

24. National University of Ireland
Passes in
Irish
English
Mathematics
Third Language-Arts,
Medicine
Commerce (except Maynooth University)
Not required for Agriculture, Engineering or Science
Two additional subjects
Honours Degree Level 8
Require 2H5 and passes O6/H7 in four additional Subjects
Exceptions for those born NI/GB
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

25. Trinity College, Dublin
3H5 and 3 passes -O6/H7 which must include
English
Mathematics
A Second Language(Irish ?)
And three additional Subjects
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

26. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Dublin City University, University of Limerick & Institutes of Technology
2H5 and four passes O6/H7 to include
English or Irish
Mathematics
And four additional subjects
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

27. Ordinary Degrees Level 7 & Higher Certificate Level 6
Institutes of Technology
inc. Technological University of Dublin
Trinity College:
Dental Nursing – Level 6
Dental Hygiene- Level 7
Dental Technology –Level 7
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

28. Minimum Entry Requirement for Level 6 & 7
5 Passes to include - for most courses
Irish of English
Mathematics
Three additional subjects
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

29. www.Qualifax.ie Subject Requirements Module
You can easily see the implications of
CHOOSING or NOT CHOOSING
a particular subject

33. St. Mary's College, Dundalk

34. St. Mary's College, Dundalk

35. St. Mary's College, Dundalk

36. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
All Subjects are Equal
In terms of entry to third level colleges
Almost all subjects count equally in terms of point
For Example an A in Art is worth the same points as an A in Physics, for Engineering!
One might be more useful but they both score the same
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

37. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Science Requirement
Most colleges requiring a science subject only require one
Trinity College, UCC and DIT have specific requirements
Physiotherapy and Pharmacy in TCD need two science subjects
TCD Pharmacy HC3 Chemistry
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

38. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Pharmacy
UCC & TCD
H2 Chemistry & H2 in one other Science Subject
RCSI
Pharmacy H2 in a Science Subject
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

39. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Engineering Level 8
H3 Mathematics ( very few exceptions)
UCD
A Science Subject Preferably Physics or Chemistry
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

40. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Closing Doors
Not choosing a science subject can close doors at this stage.
Nursing requires a science subject
Find out the specific requirements needed for your area of interest.
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

41. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Common Questions?
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

42. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Accounting
Do I need to study Accounting in order to be an Accountant?
Answer is No
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

43. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Languages
Do I Need to have previously studied Spanish to take it in College?
No. Italian, Japanese, Polish & Russian can all be taken at beginners level
A minimum level is required for most other language courses
For example; Business and French in DCU requires H4 in French.
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

44. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Architect
Do I need DCG to study Architecture?
A laboratory Science Subject is required for UCD
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

45. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Remember
Three things are important when choosing a subject:
Aptitude/Ability – Consider your exam results
Interest
Common sense
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

46. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
But most importantly….
Choose subjects that you ENJOY
If the PLEASURE is there the POINTS will come
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

47. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
What should I do next?
Check out college websites.
Check out Subject information Booklet
Visit relevant websites
St. Mary's College, Dundalk

48. St. Mary's College, Dundalk
Marist Website
This Presentation can be found on the school website
Pastoral and Guidance Section
Entrance Requirements are constantly changing.
Information today is correct at the time of publication
February 2019
St. Mary's College, Dundalk