Good advice here lads. My leaving cert year was the worst of my life. 2 people very close to me died, I lost all enthusiasm for anything academic. My results weren't awful but not what I needed to get into Uni. Skip 6 years after that and I had numerous certs, 3 diplomas, 1 degree (1st) and a Masters degree (1st). The best part was working in the industry I wanted to. The leaving cert is only a starting point to a career or to further education. As was pointed out earlier on it matter what you do NOW that really counts. To use earlier advice also, if anyone brags about getting a billion points in the leaving bang his mrs in front of him...then point the index finger in the style of a gun and say "Biology 101 bitch"