Dublin felt like home, UCD did not Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

My science classes were far less challenging than at Brandeis. While I chose classes that would have been at my level at my home institution, (3rd year out of a 4 year program) we spent a surprising amount of time reviewing concepts that would be covered in AP courses in high school. The professors were generally very good instructors, but not very accessible to students. Irish science students generally do not participate in research as an undergraduate and so I was disappointed by the lack of rigorous research skills taught in classes.

On-site administration of your program

Arcadia was helpful and accessible when they needed to be. They weren't super involved in students lives once orientation was over

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The housing itself was beautiful, I had my own bathroom and the kitchen was very spacious and nice. However, I lived with exclusively American students. In fact, many Irish students at UCD do not live on campus and this was hugely isolating. Also we lived in apartement/suite style housing and the way the building was set up- a heavy locked door guarded each apartment, it was even difficult to meet other international students who lived in the same building.

I am a vegetarian and finding vegetarian options at restaurants in Dublin was extremely difficult (even worse when in parts of Ireland outside Dublin.) Irish people are, however, extremely nice and would be so accommodating at restaurants if I asked about options without meat. The food at grocery stores was cheap and the produce was very good and fresh!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It was extremely hard to meet people at UCD. The community was very tight-knit. I study art history and biophysics. Art history here is only a 3-year degree (like most of the humanities degrees) and attending in the Spring meant that everyone in those classes was graduating and not really interested in making friends. My science classes were fairly large lectures and it was also difficult to meet new people since there was little opportunity for discussion or group work, as would be expected in American lectures. I did try to join some clubs, but I found that since it was the second semester many of the clubs didn't have introductory meetings and much of their events heavily involved socializing and alcohol, again hard to break into as a new-comer. It was also difficult to join clubs once the club fair day passed, as they didn't really have listservs to subscribe to at whim. You also needed to pay 2-3 euro per club you were interested in joining. Irish people in Dublin were very welcoming and nice, and despite difficulty integrating into UCD I felt very integrated into the city at whole.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I only ever had to go to pharmacies to get OTC medication. The pharmacists here are extremely helpful, much more than they would be in America, and offer advice and medical information. No idea about other aspects of medical care here.

Ireland is extremely safe. There is little to no crime, and guns are pretty much eradicated, but despite this I'd say Irish people are almost obsessed with being safe. UCD is a very nice neighborhood. To enter my dorm you needed to swipe with a key card at three different points. Everything was well lit and night, even including Dublin streets. Most bars had bouncers and people paroling for safety. I don't think I went a night without seeing a policeman or woman walking around in Dublin, and of course here, police have a good reputation (they are unarmed and generally extremely helpful)

I loved Ireland and Dublin. UCD was not the program for me. There were over 6,000 international students (out of a 30,000 student undergraduate body) and in the school's choices, we were often grouped together in large American clumps. I also think Irish people at UCD were so used to large bodies of American students being obnoxious and drunk they weren't very interested in being friends. The academics were less than rigorous too, which meant I had little homework and lots of free time, which made UCD very lonely, especially on weekends when Irish students go home. Dublin however, was so welcoming and wonderful, it was easy to feel like a local once you got a hang of things.

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

Dublin was not that much more expensive than Boston for general living expenses. Going out and drinking, however, was very expensive as a pint costs about $6, and its common to have several in an evening. Going on several weekend trips to Europe and other parts of Ireland often got expensive as well, although they were entirely worth it.

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• Apartment

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• Americans

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• location
• dorms
• Dublin nightlife

• UCD guidance
• integration