Tomorrow morning, starting from 9am, the 57,000 or so students who sat the Leaving Cert back in June will either receive the good news or the bad news. But apart from the hoards of drunken teens on the streets that night, what happens next?
The Good News
For those lucky enough or hard working enough to have secured the points they wanted, well done. You've taken the first step on the ladder to becoming a corporate drone, lol jk... CAO offers come out on Monday and points aren't expected to increase dramatically from last year so most courses should be around the same. If you're close to your target, whether it's below or above it, don't freak out, relax, wait for the offers to come out... Then freak out!
Remember, some of your friends might not be as clever as you and this will make them sad, don't gloat too much.
sadface :(
The Bad News
It gets better
Worst case scenario is, the lack of study you did means you haven't got any of the courses you chose, which means you're either delusional or else it was a bad day at the office. Remember, if you don't get your first choice level 8 degree give some thought to the level 6/7 diploma, in hindsight it's the worst decision I made coming out of this whole process. It may add some extra years in college but the opportunities mean your path is not set in stone, this is a good thing.
Round 2 offers come out a few days later, so there is always a chance if you're within touching distance. You can also have a look over your papers if you want to get them rechecked but don't get your hopes up, the square root of 81 still isn't 10, correctors rarely get it wrong and it's a costly route to go down.
If you didn't get the points that you really wanted, definitely consider repeating. If your heart was set on a particular course like medicine or law, don't settle for second best. Instead of repeating 1 or 2 classes for a year, you may end up wasting years of your life doing something you hate.
Don't be that guy.
So, whatever your result, don't take it as a life sentence. A lot changes in the space of a few years.
Welcome To College!
