10 things I Wish I Knew This Time Last Year – My Top 10 Junior Cert Tips ….

Hey guys , so I’m here today to share with you my top 10 tips for things I wish I knew before the Junior Cert !! These tips are going to be vital for you while you are sitting the exams and also the exam year in general … if you like this blog-post make sure to check out my social media’s  and give me a follow (linked below) but for now lets get into the tips

Tip 1: Slowly but surely …

If I’m honest… The minute you get into third year you need to start working , especially if you haven’t done anything in 1+2 year … Look at your weakest subject and try to bring that subject up to the same level as the rest of them ( usually your weakest subject is the subject you dislike the most )

Get working on it within the first week .. even by recalling your notes from second year and reading over them your brain is working and refreshing your mind to retain the information .. Flash cards are also very handy so you can flick over them right before the exam ..

By starting off slowly you are still writing notes and learning new material but at the same time you will have these notes well prepared and learned by the time the pres and the pre-pres come around !!

Also by doing this you are not not cramming information into your head the night before the exam !!

It is important to study continuously so you are not sitting at your desk area the night before an exam till 3am learning your material … by doing this you also have a better chance of retaining the information

Tip 2: The Time Flies

Honestly third year has really surprised me as it has just flown by … My pre-pres were in the middle of November and I found myself panicking the two weeks before them as I hadn’t even started to study !! 🤭

This was a huge mistake on my behalf but because of this I learned my lesson you need to constantly be working even two hours a day before Christmas and then increasing your time to 3-4 hours afterwards !!

Honestly you will be surprised at how quickly your exams come upon you and by studying for a short amount of time each day you are not only getting lots done but you will not get bored of studying and give up !!

Tip 3: Take your study breaks

This is VITAL , Trust me

Even if you think you don’t need them trust me take them , I like to work it for every 45mins I study I take a 10-15 break … the reason why breaks are vital is :

A) Your brain needs to retain and learn the new material you have just given it , it needs time to store it and re-cap it before another load of new material is pumped into it

B) If you don’t take your break you will end up procrastinating you may be an hour and 20 mins into your study with no breaks and you will be saying ‘ I’ve been studying for over an hour straight , that’s enough so ‘ when realistically it’s not .. you will get bored of staring into your text books and your hand will get sore from writing notes …

But If you take a break all of this will be avoided and you will become much more productive…

C) Your body needs Fuel

Whether fuel for your body is a big chocolate bar or a nice cup of tea (my personal favorite) make sure in the time you take your break you are relaxing and not thinking about study … set a timer on your phone and when it beeps it’s time to get up and go …

Tip 4: Set Goalss …

Goals are so important in third year , especially if you want to do well ..

One thing I will say is make sure they are realistic What I mean by this is :

realistically if you haven’t worked at all in 1 + 2 year it’s going to be near impossible to get all A’s in your junior cert especially if your not going to be studying ever day and you were failing all exams previous ..

Instead why not strive for all honors and not failing anything or maybe all subjects in higher level …. Small goals that are reachable

My personal goal was to achieve all honors in all higher level subjects … we will soon find out if that’s what I achieved Hopefully

Anyway .. goals are important , not only for your teachers and your parents but for you !!!

Tip 5: Study Plans

Study plans are honestly so important , especially if you like to be organized and take part in after school activities like music or sports … this way you will be a master of time management and will be much more productive in your study periods …

Tip 6: The Pre / Mock exams aren’t always harder …

I think everyone has it in their heads that the pres are always harder than the junior cert but if I’m honest that isn’t at all the case … the truth is the pres can seem harder because you don’t have all the material covered that may come up , where as the junior cert you do have all the material covered..

However in exams like geography and also history And maths this year I found the junior cert exam much harder than the pres exam as the questions asked were much more challenging in my eyes

After I done the pres and I got my results and I was so happy with them that I stopped all study until April because I felt I didn’t need too as my results were so good , but guys don’t be me !!! It’s not always easier so keep up the good work …

Tip 7: Don’t stress

I’m probably the worst person to be giving you this advice as I was honestly the biggest stress freak going , but don’t stress at the end of the day it’s only an exam and it means nothing more than an idea for your leaving cert … obviously it showcases what you have done over the past three years but at the same time there is plenty of time to improve before the actual exam

Tip 8: You can only do your best

Something my parents taught me was you can only do your best and they kept in reminding me with that phrase right up to the night before the exam and it’s so true , I knew myself if there was an exam I would hate because I hadn’t studied for it and if I hadn’t studied for it the how was I supposed to come out with a high mark …

Therefore if your best is a C and you studied the best you could and that’s what you come out with then that is perfectly fine and well done you for getting such a fabulous result … Not everyone is an A student ( I know I’m not) but once you try your best there is nothing more you can do

Tip 9: You get out what you put in …

Again another phrase that kept me motivated throughout the year , you only get out what you put in .. so if you only put in half the work your only gonna get half the result … so make sure to work to the best if your ability

Tip 10: ALL about YOU

And the last thing I will say is make sure you are setting goals for YOU !! Every parent wants their child to do well and get the top marks but again realistically school isn’t for everyone .. make sure you are comfortable in higher or ordinary or foundation level … make sure you aren’t under pressure or stressed and make sure your goals are YOUR goals … strive for what you know you can achieve and don’t worry about the rest

So guys I hope ye enjoyed this blog-post although it was a long one , I hope ye learned some things to expect and to do while in your junior cert year …

If you liked this post make sure to follow me on all my social media’s (linked below ) for more junior cert tips through the year and I shall talk to ye soon ,

Katie