Studying Abroad in Dublin, Ireland Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

My class sizes were bigger than at home, sometimes having 300 kids in a lecture. All my classes were lectures and in most cases only met once a week for two hours. They did not take attendance and we were assessed on one or two group projects and a final exam at the end. Most of the final exams were worth 50% of the final grade, with the group projects making up the other percentage. You may not have any homework or quizzes, but the group projects became very time consuming trying to meet with sometimes 4 groups in one week and trying to get work done. The emphasis on presentations and group work was much larger than at home, and you were expected to work with people from all over the world, many who did not have english as their first language. This proved difficult sometimes in communicating where to meet, who was to present, etc. Teachers are there to lecture, and most of their slide shows they read off of are available online. Differences would be that in Ireland, kids are not graded out of 100%, the grades build up from 0% so it is normal to receive a 70% in a class as a good grade. Also in UCD, the first year (freshman) kids are graded as pass/fail only, which sometimes means they don't take the work as seriously. Most of my classes were with 3rd year kids, with that year being their final year so they were taking the work seriously. I would not reccomend taking major requirements you are worried about abroad, I took finance at UCD (needed for my major) and ended up with a horrible professor who did not teach or give any helpful insight, and the final exam was 90% of the grade. Since this class is not pass fail, I ended up stressing double because I do need to for my major

On-site administration of your program

Arcadia was great. They had a 4 or 5 day orientation right when we got to Dublin before going to UCD which made it easier to meet other Americans in a smaller setting. There was a lot of meetings, but they gave us completely relevant information about ireland, UCD, the acedemics in general, which made me feel more comfortable. the administration made sure we knew they were available to us whenever we needed them, which was helpful. they gave us loads of maps and guides and sponsored a few trips during the semester, which was really nice. We also got an introduction to the Gaelic games during orientation, which helped us all to get to know one another and had fun. They always had good meals planned (a welcome and goodbye dinner was included) so we could see other arcadia kids every once in a while. There was a few people in Arcadia that were always available to talk to and meet with with any concerns, and they really made us feel welcome and comfortable.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My housing was great at UCD, better than anything I had at home. I was in an apartment on campus with 5 other boys and girls, some were from Ireland and some were from other countries (France, Canada, etc.) I had my own room and bathroom and then we shared a common area and kitchen. The kitchen didn't have an oven but it had everything else. the apartments were new and clean and modern, and UCD is in a great neighborhood. I never felt unsafe walking around at any time of day or night, and it is only a 15 minute bus ride from dublin city centre. It was also very close to the academic buildings, about a 5-10 minute walk which was easy. there was also a small food store about 3 minutes from my apartment, which was nice to pick up small things for lunch and dinner. the laundry wasn't inside my building but was a 30 second walk outside of it. It once closed down for about 3 weeks, which was frustrating, and it is very expensive to do laundry (4.50 euro for a wash/dry) but besides that it was convenient. You need to buy a lot when you get there, it comes with a duvet and pillow, bed, desk, lamps, etc. but you need sheets, towels, kitchen supplies (forks etc.) and things like that. These are all easy enough to get and probably worth bringing from home if you have the space for sheets you like or a towel.

I cooked most of my own meals except when I decided to go out to dinner in town, etc. so the food was really up to me. Food in Ireland has no preservatives and is very fresh so it goes bad a lot quicker than in America, which is frustrating if you buy a salad and you need to eat it that day so it doesn't wilt. If you buy things in small quantities and eat them quickly it is fine. there is plenty of grocery stores in dublin and even one on campus so theres always somewhere to buy food. there is also tons of little places to grab food on campus if you don't want to cook. I thought the quality of Irish food was great, everything was very fresh so I always felt healthy. Some places to grab a bite in town I would reccomend would be, Lemon, Munchies, Tolteca, and Galleghers. If you're missing American food there is mcdonalds, burger king, dominos, subway, quizznos, papa johns, and some of them deliver to the dorms!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Ireland has a ton of cultural events if you look around for them. We heard tons of live music and went to dance shows, there was christmas fairs around the holiday season, and a farmers market every saturday in temple bar which i would recommend to anyone. It is always worth it to go to the touristy sights such as guiness, and arcadia gave us a free dublin hop on hop off tour voucher so we could go see all the attractions.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not need any vaccines to go to Ireland and never had any medical issues. Dublin, and Ireland in general is very safe and I never felt threatened, even at night.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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