The rise of extreme Leaving Cert study regimes online: 5am alarms and marathon cramming sessions

Irish Times

2 days ago

'Any hour I had, I was studying ... My downtime was a bit of Netflix in the shower,' says Colin O'Donovan, a grinds tutor and
TikTok
influencer currently advising students on how to prepare for the
Leaving Cert
exams.
The quote is from
a recent video in which O'Donovan explains how much study
he committed to secure 625 points in the Leaving Cert in 2019.
For all of sixth year, he says, he did 'nothing but study to guarantee perfect results'.
Plenty of current students are also sharing their extreme study regimes online, detailing exhausting cramming schedules, sleep deprivation and ominous countdowns to individual papers.
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10 hour study days were light work
It may work for some, but experts in education will likely tell you these are mistakes to avoid.
Can extreme study routines work?
Eoghan O'Leary is a teacher in Hamilton High School, Co Cork, and head of maths at The Tuition Centre in Bandon. In two decades at Hamilton, he has seen plenty of students achieve maximum points, but none have followed an extreme study routine.
'Some of them have been academically very able and you wouldn't be surprised at them getting 625, or 600 in the old days,' Mr O'Leary says.
'Others have been all-rounders who would have balanced their sporting commitments with their studies and still have performed very well.
'There's none of the students I can think of who would have followed a routine like that successfully. I would say it is almost mythical. I'm sure there are people out there doing it but whether it's successful for anyone, I'm not quite sure.'
The rise of TikTok study stories
O'Leary runs a 21-day maths challenge, which revises the whole maths course over three weeks of daily one-hour lessons.
This week, he asked students if they felt they had been influenced by TikTok and other social media accounts advising them on study methods.
A significant number said they were affected by videos promoting 10- to 12-hour study days, all-nighters and 5am alarms. They mentioned feeling peer pressure too, particularly around anecdotes of friends taking on marathon study sessions in the library or using productivity apps like Flora to track and compare the hours they spend working.
Some students say they have been influenced by videos promoting 10- to 12-hour study days, all-nighters and 5am alarms. Photograph: iStock
Danger of burnout
Though he is not sure how many of his former students have adopted an extreme study routine, O'Leary has seen the danger of burnout among those that place too much weight on the final few days before exams. It may not seem helpful to those that feel underprepared at this stage, but cramming can be dangerous.
'The vast majority of people – it's a stressful time but they get through and they're out the other end of it in a couple of weeks,' Mr O'Leary says. 'There are a few students I can think of who possibly didn't perform as well in the exam as one would have thought.
[
Classroom to College: our expert guide to navigating the Leaving Cert for parents, guardians and students
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'I would say, if they had perhaps had a more balanced, steady routine, it would have served them better. We all know people can leave things to the last minute and then try to cram in too much, and I do think that can be counterproductive.'
Prioritise sleep
'I would say, to any student of mine, to prioritise rest,' O'Leary says. 'If you plan to get up at eight o'clock in the morning to do your first exam in English – well if you want to get eight hours sleep, you have to be asleep by midnight. And then you want to be winding down maybe from 10pm.
'In the hours before that, from the time you get up in the morning until 10pm, what you want is a balanced routine. A mixture of studying but also exercise and diet is very important. To eat well and to stay away from things like caffeine drinks and so on.'
How can parents help with exam anxiety?
From the survey O'Leary ran with his maths students, most reported feeling nervous, stressed or afraid.
Comparing yourself to other students online doesn't help, and oftentimes, neither do well-meaning parents, explains Dr Clare Finegan, a lecturer in education, guidance and counselling at Maynooth University.
'My [advice] for parents would be to see this as a milestone, not just for young, budding adults, but one for parents equally to transcend,' she says.
'My recollection of being in this bubble as a parent remains very visceral even today. It was like being wrapped in slimy cling film for what felt like forever, in order to keep yourself together and appear supportive.
'There's a slow dawning emerges that there was actually no sense to all the hype and that somehow, you've been conned. There's almost a sense of guilt at what you've put your students or children through.
'The dawning is that not only is there an endless choice of career pathways – there are more sensible, mature [routes to those careers].'
Dr Finegan worked as a teacher, guidance counsellor and psychotherapist with children for years, and has seen the impact of anxiety and stress on students approaching their Leaving Cert exams.
They tend to understand the situation better than parents, in her view, and as such warrant a level of trust.
'What I would suggest is that really, parents should look after themselves and make themselves scarce if they are feeling stressed,' Dr Finegan says.
'If that means being silent and saying nothing, then they'll be in a better place to be able to do that. At the end of the day, it's about entrusting the child with going through this journey of resilience and coming out the other end. And supporting that journey regardless of what the outcome is.'
Comparing yourself to other Leaving Cert students online doesn't help, and oftentimes, neither do well-meaning parents, says Dr Clare Finegan. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
What can you control?
Over the years, Mr O'Leary has found that one pearl of wisdom seems to stick with his students more than any other – 'if you don't know what to do, do what you know.'
It is a piece of advice that can be useful for any exam, job interview or dilemma.
In a Leaving Cert context, days out from the start of exams, it might encourage students to focus on their strengths, and to tackle problems incrementally.
Even if you are faced with an unfamiliar question or title in a paper, you might know how to take the first step towards answering it.