University College Dublin

[Guus]

Hi all,

I'm in the middle of IB and I'll be graduating in May 2009. Right now I have a 4.17 GPA with very decent grades overall. However, I don't take classes that are too difficult:

Highers:

History, English A2, Dutch A1 , Spanish B

Stanards:

Environmental Systems, Math studies.

I've done AP Spanish Langauge (got a 4/5), AP US History (3/5) and AP Environmental Science (2/5).

As you can see I'm not the best in math and science, luckily I have no interest in studying that. One of the colleges I'm looking at (and am interested in) is UCB (University College Dublin). This is its ranking.

Is this college right for me? I find it hard to determine which colleges are good and which are not. And the ranking just confuses me, I see the rankings of 3 different institutions all with very different scores. Argh!

Anyone here that knows something about UCD? I was thinking of trying to contact current students at UCD but I'm afraid they'll only give my positive stories since they're studying there..

[deissi]

Well, since it's Dublin, they'll probably look at your IB predicteds more than your APs, so it would be more useful if you could tell us what kind of grades have you received in IB so far. As far as I know, European universities aren't TOO picky about the subjects you have, so you should be fine with your selections, especially as you have 4 HLs.

[Guus]

I haven't gotten any predicted grades yet.. all my IB exams are next year. I've only gotten letter grades, which are all A's except history and enviro, both B's.

I don't know about you but I always get the feeling Math studies is a joke. Same with Environmental and English (and Spanish and Dutch too actually, haha), I can't take those classes seriously. I'm afraid colleges look at it the same way and think I took the easy way out of IB.

Edited May 26, 2008 by Guus

[deissi]

Well, if you're planning on doing something like history, the subjects you have should be perfectly fine, as you do HL languages, which are valuable for social sciences and HL history which is particularly good (although nothing special).

[Guus]

I'm planning on studying something along the lines of International Relations, nothing with mathematics or science.

I didn't know UCD was entirely in Irish. That is ridiculous, their website is completely in English and in their description of UCD they don't mention anything of it being in Irish. Also, they create this image of being an international university.. who on earth speaks Irish besides the Irish themselves?

Well the search continues then.

Thanks for all the help, UCD is out of the picture now.

[BIO-AQUA]

I re-checked their website, and it seems that they may have changed their policy. I had researched the university around 8 months ago; the info I had received might have been out of date or something - or even wrong. Anyways, checking their prospectus it says:

Applicants born outside the Republic of Ireland and certain other categories of applicant may be exempt from the Irish requirement.

- Do check the website and see what they have about it.

So anyways, try to go for it. Certain majors require Irish, which may be given at the university if needed.

Sorry for getting on the wrong foot earlier. I do hope that you succeed in getting into the university of your choice!

Have a nice day.

(deleted the post above, to make things more sane).

[Guus]

"Sorry for getting on the wrong foot"? Not sure what you mean, I can only be thankful for your help dude!

I actually emailed UCD about two weeks ago asking if Irish was required for international students.. no response

I'll ask them again, hopefully they can give me (good) news. My counselor here is of no use. My school has 5 counselors for 11th and 12th grade, all of them are American. Not saying their nationality has anything to do with their performance but they try to get everyone into an American college and basically refuse to help you if you want to study in Europe. Thankfully there are websites like these.

"Ah! The sweet taste of freedom.."

I take it you finished IB this year? Congrats. I'm so jealous, wow.

[BIO-AQUA]

"Sorry for getting on the wrong foot"? Not sure what you mean, I can only be thankful for your help dude!

Guess I wasn't clear, or used the wrong phrase, but sorry for the whole misunderstanding. I thought I knew something and it turned out to be something else or wateva. Nevermind.

"Ah! The sweet taste of freedom.."

I take it you finished IB this year? Congrats. I'm so jealous, wow.

Right. IB2 goes faster than IB1, trust me. However, there is more hard work to wait for . You won't even notice how fast it goes, so make sure you manage your time carefully.

[~Lc~]

Well, if you're planning on doing something like history, the subjects you have should be perfectly fine, as you do HL languages, which are valuable for social sciences and HL history which is particularly good (although nothing special).

*looks at her department courses*

oi! since when is history a social science? was it under social sciences in yout TOK class? don't. Think. So!

OP: how can you get a 4.17 GPA? isn't the full one from 4.0?

I actually emailed UCD about two weeks ago asking if Irish was required for international students.. no response

make sure you emailed the right person! don't just email the Uni' date=' find the admissions tutor for your course and email them

I take it you finished IB this year? Congrats. I'm so jealous' date=' wow.[/quote']

and I finshed a year ago, be very jealous! oh and HMSchocolate finished a year before that, be very very jealous!

:diablo:

[BIO-AQUA]

and I finshed a year ago, be very jealous! oh and HMSchocolate finished a year before that, be very very jealous!

..and I'm guessing you have a lot of free time so you're very very very excited?

[Guus]

and I finshed a year ago, be very jealous!

Curse you!

how can you get a 4.17 GPA? isn't the full one from 4.0?

At my school we get a +1 GPA for highers. So the max for those is 5 and for standards it's 4.

make sure you emailed the right person

I did. I emailed the admission's office. And if I sent it to the wrong person at UCD I still expected some sort of response.

I emailed them again just now, hopefully they can put in the effort to help a sleep deprived IB student.

[MarianaHP]

Hey!

it looks like were in more or less the same situation, I want to study International Relations, im also really inetested in UCD, and I'll also be graduating in May 2009. In a months time im going to go to Dublin to visit some family i have there and to talk to some people that teach in UCD and TCD, so if u would like me to ask them aything on ur behalf id be more than happy 2...

[Guus]

I've sent UCD two more emails, no response whatsoever.

if you would like me to ask them anything on your behalf I'd be more than happy to

Mariana, since we're pretty much in the same situation (what a coincidence!), I think the questions you would ask there apply to me too. Most important thing is that it is entirely in English. Don't know about you but I don't speak a word of Irish.

Oh and perhaps dorms. Does everyone stay on campus? For me it would be very convenient if that were the case, I don't know anybody in Dublin and don't feel like getting an apartment somewhere.

On a different note: Where else are you applying? I'm focusing on Europe but am not sure where exactly. I don't really care to be honest, as long as I can study IR.

[deissi]

Oh and perhaps dorms. Does everyone stay on campus? For me it would be very convenient if that were the case, I don't know anybody in Dublin and don't feel like getting an apartment somewhere.

I can answer this question with 80% certainty: There are not enough dorms for all students, since the university is in Dublin (aka a city). Usually universities will prioritize first year undergraduates in getting university housing, however, so you should be fine for the first year at least.

On a side note, have you tried calling the university? It shouldn't be so expensive these days with Skype and since I'm guessing you live in Indonesia, you can call them during the evening and they should pick up. That way it'll be harder to ignore you . If you can't find a direct number for admissions, just call the general university number and ask them to connect your call.

*EDIT* Here's a link you might want to take a look at: Click!

It's about housing allocation. Since they need to allocate, I take it they don't have housing for all students.

[Guus]

From that link (thanks by the way!):

Distance from home to UCD will be the most significant criterion when evaluating applications.

Perfect, my home is in Indonesia, probably the furthest from anyone there

Calling them is a very good idea, I'll do that.

I can't believe how helpful people are! Wow... thanks all!

[MarianaHP]

Hey!

I'll keep in touch during the holidays to tell you how things in UCD went, and i have more or less the same questions as you... so it should work out ok.

Im applying to Edinburgh, Sussex, Glasgow, UCD, TCD, and maybe Cambridge, also for IR You??

[Guus]

Wow, it's been a while. Just got back from holiday, I hope you have some info for me

I'm not sure where I'm applying yet. UCD and UCU (University College Utrecht)... besides that, no clue!

Edited August 2, 2008 by Guus

[MarianaHP]

Hey!

im so sorry it taken me so long to answer, i meant too do it for ages and then totally forgot about it...

the ib requierment is 30-32 point, i think it is 32 for politics, but from what the head of the politics dpmt. was telling me they are more flexible with international students.. the application has to be done online threw the UCD website, and addmitions dont open until december, and they close on the 13th of Feb.... you dont have to speak irish because that would be really stupid to ask from an international student... they do have on-campus residences for int. students in which most students stay in for the first year and then move out and rent their own place.... you also need to get a high score in TOFEL... and i think that is about it

If you have any other questions or if there is anything I forgot about please tell me and i wont forget to write back this time