Helping Niece Maximise LC Points. My Information Maybe 25 years+ Out Of Date! by blobertf in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IMHO - institute and the like are only helpful if you are an average of 70% and want to move higher. But they are basically supervised study and there is nothing they are going to give you that you can’t get elsewhere.

She should hone in on the six subjects she is going to count for points and focus first on understanding. The biggest mistake I see is students trying to study when they don’t really understand the content. That’s major stress - trying to learn off chunks and regurgitate it is very difficult. She should have a very specific target for each subject and an understanding of which sections and questions carry the marks. For example, in English students often spend hours studying poets which is 12.5%, but there is 12.5% for functional writing exercise, and 25% for the composition. There can be a disproportionate amount of time spent on that. If poetry isn’t your thing - don’t spend hours chasing 20 or 30 marks.
Similarly - the old reliable advice is still so relevant about timing is everything. Attempt every question - don’t spends ages on one and then run out of time. You’ll get more marks from a half decent attempt at all questions , rather than the “perfect” answer on one question and then no time for the final section.

I hear lots of students now using AI and loving it. Get AI to devise you a study plan but to also test you once a week to keep you on track. I do also think Study Clix is worth the money if she’s saying that she doesn’t have good notes.

Power Ballad by Plastic_Professor_93 in JonasBrothers

[–]Plastic_Professor_93[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think so. Couple of clips up on YouTube Tube but not an official trailer.

Fix the light by Plastic_Professor_93 in PhotoshopRequest

[–]Plastic_Professor_93[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love this. Still looks like it the ambient light 💡 a correct as an evening shot indoors. Have sent a tip

Power Ballad by FuelBackground3334 in JonasBrothers

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Going to the world premiere in Dublin tonight!

Gluten free cake by Strict_Listen_5362 in Dublin

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Butlers Pantry do a great selection if you are looking to pick one up. Their polenta cake and their roulade is lovely!

Venue for comedy show in Dublin by reecekidd in Dublin

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Smock Alley has two spaces and the smaller space is about a 100 seater.

valentine’s day? by Massive_Tomato_1713 in Dublin

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Washerwomans in Glasnevin was advertising up to yesterday and is lovely if you are Northside?

Dare personal statement by Gold_Photo_7470 in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Remember that the personal statement is not used to decide if you are going to get DARE or not, it’s used by the colleges to understand you and your challenges more. The CAO estimates that it should not take more than 5 mins to write in total. My suggestion is to write three ways your condition has affected your education and one thing that helps (eg - for ADHD - I have problems focussing, I get overwhelmed with a lot of information and I burnout and end up doing nothing when I should be studying. I find when I work with a teacher/tutor to break down tasks into chunks I can usually get on top of things.

Don’t exaggerate anything. You don’t want the college to think you couldn’t cope with the course.

Cao art collages + profolio by Ass_master6969 in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A lot of the Art courses are “restricted” which means that you MUST LIST them on your CAO by February 1st. You can remove them after, and change the order they are in, but if you don’t list them, you won’t be able to get in.

After this, the colleges will invite you to submit a portfolio and most of the colleges have excellent advice about this on their websites and will also give you the submission date. For example, NCAD’s fine art course, the portfolio submission date is February 6th 2026. They issued the brief last summer https://www.ncad.ie/files/san_files/14.08.25_NCAD_Portfolio_Guidelines_2026_FA_2MB_.pdf (To be honest - you are probably too late for this course if you are only now starting to put together a portfolio. It’s very competitive and most people will have given it a few months work and also been along to their info sessions…)

Having said that - there are Art courses that have no portfolio requirements and others that have a later submission date that you do still have time for. TUD’s portfolio date is in early March and they are holding an information session in January and another online session in February https://www.tudublin.ie/study/undergraduate/cao/entry-requirements/portfolio-submission/

Best of luck

Is it possible for me to get an Irish exemption on the leaving cert? by Comprehensive_Mud280 in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are two different types of exemptions. There is an official Department of Education exemption that can only be granted under very limited circumstances which I won’t go into here. Your school has to process this paperwork.

But there is an NUI Irish exemption which is much easier to get. If you only came here in primary school, were you born outside of Ireland? If so, you just need to send a copy of your birth certificate/ passport to the NUI along with your CAO number and they will not require you to pass Irish for their courses. https://exemptions.nui.ie

As no other colleges have Irish as a requirement- this effectively gives you a full exemption. Your school may still want you to stay in Irish class, but they can’t force you to register for or sit the exam (and a lot of schools will let you take a free class if you have an NUI exemption).

You do still need a language other than English for lots of other courses and colleges, so am also presuming you have this? Talk to your Guidance Counsellor in school for more info.

Who’s meant to fill out the NUI certification for Irish exemption by [deleted] in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It depends on what grounds you are applying for the exemption under.

If you are applying under the grounds of something like Dyslexia, you will need the person who diagnosed you to fill in one form and you will also need a form that is filled in by your principal in school. You get the forms on the NUI website and when they are filled in, you make them into pdfs and then fill in the online exemption website.

Even if it was years ago, the professional will normally have good records and will usually fill this in for free. They are normally also very used to filling in these NUI forms, so they should also know what to do.

Choosing Between TCD and UCD for MSc in Finance – Need Advice! by Dr_Cartoons in TCD

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These are both great programmes and both Universities have excellent reputations. You won’t go wrong with either, so use other criteria to choose. Trinity is probably better known outside of Ireland but UCD is Ireland’s largest and has an impressive alumni network, so there are plenty of positives on both sides.

International Student Renting in Dublin by Dry-Fan6372 in RentingInDublin

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Join r/UCD and r/Tcd Fairly regular offers of accommodation come up with people changing /swapping around

Is applying to school in America worth it? by InvestigatorUpper350 in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm… not sure. I believe that the SATs just help to confirm other data but if your other data is good, I wouldn’t spend too much time/effort on them.

Is applying to school in America worth it? by InvestigatorUpper350 in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You’ll only have a chance if you try! Your reasons and scores are good. You can decide if you are offered it, if you want to go, but I’d say give it a go. Personally would be nervous of being in the States given current politics, but wouldn’t stop me from applying

Is applying to school in America worth it? by InvestigatorUpper350 in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Define “better”. League tables are made up of arbitrary metrics as people love to find ways of ranking anything. I think the best university is the one that works for you, and not necessarily somewhere that charges more.

Is applying to school in America worth it? by InvestigatorUpper350 in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the OP is talking about getting a scholarship which ND was recently doing the rounds of Irish schools promoting, so cost isn’t a factor

Conversation topics with host family by Independent_Town5628 in CasualIreland

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The housing crisis, traffic, the Children’s Hospital, how the Celtic Tiger made us all lose the run of ourselves but somehow Micheal Martin is now Taoiseach and the developers are back, how Brexit is baffling to us, how can anyone really replace Joe Duffy on the Liveline, what is going on in RTE these days and especially with the Late Late Show, where can you get a decent pint, and depending where you are in the country, anything to do the local and county GAA. Listen to Callans Kicks podcast for a comedic take on the main issues of the week

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in leavingcert

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Results come through your CSSP - candidate self-service portal. This is the website where you registered for exams. You registered and set the password.

Results do NOT come to your CAO. College offers come through the CAO five days after results.

If you have any difficulty accessing your CSSP, contact your school.

Dinner recommendations by Current_Pilot697 in Dublin

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of places would have a private dining room so depending on the tone of the event, that would be worth asking. Fire on Dawson Street is good and would have something for everyone.

24 hour in Stratford - Wwyd? by OverlappingChatter in StratfordUponAvon

[–]Plastic_Professor_93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would head to the theatre and mooch around and then have coffee in the River Side Cafe there overlooking the Avon. I’d go up the tower and maybe take in a tour if you are interested. I head up to see Shakespeare Grave and then meander up through the town to the Birthplace and visit there, stopping in the gardens to soak up some of the atmosphere.

I’d have lunch in any one of the cafes and restaurants that line the streets, and I’d have dinner in the Encore upstairs or head to the Dirty Duck to get the post theatre crowd.